IN THE APPELLA TE TRIBUNAL FOR ELECTRICITY (Appellate Jurisdiction)

Appeal No. 211 of 2018 & IA No. 995 of 2018 th Dated: 14 July, 2021 Present: Hon`ble Mrs. Justice Manjula Chellur, Chairperson Hon`ble Mr. Ravindra Kumar Verma, Technical Member In the matter of:

Tata Prasanna Kumar S/o Tata Srinivasa Shetty, Jyothi Nilayam, Sreenidhi Layout, Tumakuru – 572 102 Karnataka .… Appellant(s)

Versus

1. Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission No. 16 C-1, Miller Tank Bed Area, Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru- 560 052 Karnataka .… Respondent No.1

2. Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd.

Corporate Office, K.R. Circle, .… Respondent No.2 Bengaluru – 560 001 Karnataka Counsel for the Appellant (s) : Mr. Basava Prabhu S. Patil, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Neha Garg Counsel for the Respondent (s) : Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, Sr. Adv.

Mr. H Shanti Bhushan, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Vibhav Kumar Srivastava For R-2 JUDGMENT PER HON’BLE MR. RAVINDRA KUMAR VERMA, TECHNICAL MEMBER

1. This Appeal is filed against the order dated 05/07/2018 passed by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter referred to as “State Commission”) in O.P No. 136 of 2017 whereby the State Commission has reduced the tariff of the Solar Rooftop Plants installed by the Appellant from Rs. 9.56/unit to Rs.

5.20/unit for the life of the PPA i.e 25 years.

2. Tata Prasanna Kumar, the Appellant through his proprietor concerns i.e Jyothi Enterprises and Jyothi Bio-Fuels, is engaged in the business of storage of dry husk and preparation of briquettes for supply to various industries.

3. The first Respondent i.e. Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Karnataka exercising powers and discharging functions under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003.

4. The Respondent No. 2 – Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as “BESCOM”) is one of the distribution companies in the State of Karnataka.

5. Prayer of the Appellant (a) Allow the appeal and set aside the order dated 05/07/2018 passed by the State Commission to the extent challenged in the present appeal;

(b) Direct BESCOM to pay the arrears of electricity charges at the agreed rate in PPA of Rs. 9.56/unit from the date of supply along with the agreed upon interest for the belated period;

(c) Pass such other Order(s) and this Hon’ble Tribunal may deem just and proper.

Facts of the case:

6. The Appellant had obtained permission to convert his agricultural land for industrial purposes so as to carry out business in storage of dry husk in 20.04.1994 and after obtaining sanction of plan from the Town Municipal Council, Pavagada, (PMC) constructed and completed building and industrial sheds on such land on 27.03.2015, as confirmed by the Town Municipal Council on 10.04.2015, which demanded and collected applicable property tax.

7. The construction of the industrial shed in the property of the Appellant was completed as per the approved sanction plan by PMC.

8. The State Commission, Respondent No. 1, is the Regulatory Commission for the State of Karnataka, exercises powers and discharges functions under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003.

9. The Respondent No. 2 – Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) is one of the distribution companies in the State of Karnataka.

10. On 10.10.2013, the State Commission passed a Tariff Order (2013 Tariff Order) wherein the State Commission determined Tariff for various kinds of Solar Power Projects including SRTP Projects in the State of Karnataka. The Tariff Order was made applicable for projects entering into PPA’s on or after 01.04.2013 and commissioning upto 31.03.2018. KERC in the Tariff Order specifically recorded that while the construction period for these projects is close to six months but substantial time is required to get Financial Closure, therefore, KERC determined/ prescribed a total control period of 5 years. Under the said tariff order, KERC had determined the tariff for SRTP Projects as Rs. 9.56 /unit. It is also pertinent to mention herein