JUDGMENT

PER HON’BLE MR. VIRENDER BHAT, JUDICIAL MEMBER

1. The instant appeal relates to the claim of the appellant M/s Korba Power Limited for interest for the years 2016 to 2022 on the amounts to which it was found entitled from respondent no.3 by the 1^st respondent Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission as well as by this Tribunal vide various orders passed in different proceedings between the parties. In effect, assail is to the order dated 12.05.2022 passed by the Commission in petition nos.5/2014 and 3/2016 and review application no.3/2022 wherein the Commission has held that once the principal amount is paid, the interest outstanding thereon does not attract any further interest even though the same is paid after the substantial period of time, thereby overturning its own conclusion reached in previous order dated 03.03.2022 in the same proceedings between the parties wherein the Commission had held that upon payment of principal amount, the interest outstanding and not paid partakes the character of principal and attracts interest. The appellant is also aggrieved by the rate of interest allowed by the Commission.

2. The appellant runs a 300MW coal based thermal power plant in the State of Chhattisgarh and had entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) dated 19.10.2005 with 2^nd respondent PTC India Limited for sale of 273MW power (net power output) from Unit-2 of said power plant. The 2^nd respondent PTC separately entered into a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) dated 21.09.2006 with Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited for sale of power purchased by it from appellant under the above noted PPA.

3. It appears that on account of failure on the part of respondent no.2 to fulfill its conditions precedent under the PPA, the appellant terminated the PPA on 11.01.2011.

4. We find it apposite to take note of the following proceedings between the parties and the orders passed therein by the Commission as well as by this Tribunal.

5. On 23.01.2015, the Commission passed an order in petition no.05/2014 thereby determining the tariff for the power supplied by appellant during the period commencing from 07.05.2011 till 21.03.2012 as Rs.2.8875/kWh for Financial Year (FY) 2011-2012 and Rs.2.9218/kWh for FY 2012-13. The appellant had been paid a flat tariff of Rs.2.32/kWh for the said period.

6. The said order of the Commission was assailed by both appellant as well as 3^rd respondent Haryana Power Purchase Center (HPPC) by filing appeal nos.117/2015 and 107/2015 respectively before this Tribunal.

7. Meanwhile, in pursuance to the order dated 23.01.2015 of the Commission, the appellant filed petition no.3/2016 before the Commission seeking recovery of the differential tariff along with interest. The said petition was disposed off by the Commission vide order dated 12.07.2016 awarding differential tariff to the appellant. However, the Commission did not pass any order qua the interest sought by the appellant on the said principal amount of differential tariff.

8. Petition filed by appellant for review of order dated 12.07.2016 was dismissed by the Commission vide order dated 27.03.2017.

9. Accordingly, the appellant preferred an appeal bearing no.308/2017 in this Tribunal against the order dated 12.07.2016 of the Commission in so far as interest on the differential amount of tariff was not granted to the appellant.

10. The appeal nos.117/2015 and 107/2015 came to be disposed off by this Tribunal vide common judgment dated 21.03.2018 thereby upholding the tariff order dated 23.01.2015 passed by the Commission except on the issue of Operation & Maintenance (O&M) expenses which had not been granted by the Commission but were allowed in the said judgment. Hence, the matter was remanded back to the Commission for fresh consideration on this aspect.

11. Application filed by the appellant in pursuance to said judgment dated 21.03.2018 of this Tribunal was disposed off by the Commission vide order dated 31.10.2018 thereby allowing the claim for O&M