IN THE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL FOR ELECTRICITY (Appellate Jurisdiction)

APPEAL No.358 OF 2017 Dated: 07.03.2025 Present: Hon’ble Mr. Sandesh Kumar Sharma, Technical Member Hon’ble Mr. Virender Bhat, Judicial Member In the matter of:

Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd.

Incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 Having its Registered Office At - LumJingshai, Short Round Road Shillong – 793 001, Meghalaya … Appellant Versus

1. The Secretary Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission Having its Office at – 1^st Floor, (Front Block, Left Wing New Administrative Building, Lower Lachumiere Shillong – 793 001, East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya

2. The Secretary Byrnihat Industries Association

13^th Mile, Tamulikuchi, Byrnihat, Rio-Bhoi District, Nongpoh, Meghalaya – 793 101 … Respondent(s)

Counsel for the Appellant(s) : Sakie Jakharia Counsel for the Respondent(s) : Buddy A. Ranganadhan, Sr. Adv.

Shri Venkatesh Shryeshth Ramesh Sharma Ashutosh Kumar Srivastava Bharath Gangadharan Akash Lamba Nihal Bhardwaj Siddharth Nigotia Shivam Kumar Kartikay Trivedi Mohit Gupta Manu Tiwari Aashwyn Singh Harsh Vardhan Suhael Buttan Priya Dhankar Anant Singh Vineet Kumar Nikunj Bhatnagar Kunal Veer Chopra Vedant Choudhary for Res. 1 Parinay Deep Shah Ritika Singhal Mandakini Ghosh Saransh Shaw for Res. 2

J U D G M E N T

PER HON’BLE MR. VIRENDER BHAT, JUDICIAL MEMBER

1. The appellant, Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited ( in short MePDCL) has filed this appeal against the tariff order dated 31.03.2016 passed by 1^st respondent Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission” or MSERC” ) in a petition filed by the appellant for adjustment of true-up of ARR for Financial Year (FY) 2011-12, true-up of ARR for FY 2012-13 & 2013-14, provisional true-up of ARR for FY 2014-15 and revision of Retail Tariff and Open Access Charges for FY 2016-17 for Distribution Business, and also the order dated 30.03.2017 whereby the Commission has dismissed the review petition filed by the appellant seeking review of said tariff order dated 31.03.2016.

2. Before adverting the facts and circumstances in which the instant appeal has been filed, we may note that in exercise of powers conferred under Sections 131 and 133 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the State Government of Meghalaya notified “The Meghalaya Power Sector Reforms Transfer Scheme 2010” on 31.03.2013 leading to restructuring and unbundling of erstwhile Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) into four entities namely (i) Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), the holding company; (ii) Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL), the distribution utility; (iii) Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Limited (MePGCL), the generation utility; and (iv) Meghalaya Power Transmission Corporation Limited (MePTCL), the transmission utility. However, the holding company MeECL carried out the functions of distribution, generation and transmission utilities from 01.04.2010 to 31.03.2012. Thereafter, vide notification dated 31.03.2012, the State Government notified amendment to the Power Sector Reforms Transfer Scheme leading to effective unbundling of MeECL into MeECL (holding company), MePDCL (distribution utility), MePGCL (generation utility) and MePTCL (transmission utility) from

01.04.2012 onwards.

3. The 1^st respondent Commission is an independent statutory body constituted under the provisions of Electricity Act, 2003 and is vested with the authority as well as power to regulate the power sector in the State including determination of tariff for electricity consumers.

4. Now, we shall note the important dates and events which are relevant for our consideration in this appeal.

5. The issues raised by the appellants in this appeal are noted hereinbelow: -

A. For Financial Year 2011-12

1. Power Purchase Cost 2. Prior Period Charges

3. Penalty for non-achieving AT&C Loss Reduction Target B. For Financial Year 2012-13 to 2014-15 (provisional):

1. Re