IN THE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL FOR ELECTRICITY (Appellate Jurisdiction)

APPEAL No. 330 OF 2022 &

IA NOS.1194 OF 2022 & 213 OF 2023 Dated: 31.01.2025 Present: Hon’ble Mr. Sandesh Kumar Sharma, Technical Member Hon’ble Mr. Virender Bhat, Judicial Member IN THE MATTER OF:

ACME Heergarh Powertech Private Limited

104, Munish Plaza, 4637/20, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi- 110002 ...Appellant VERSUS

1. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission Center No. 1, 13^th Floor, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, Colaba, Mumbai- 400005

2. Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited Prakashgad, 5^th Floor, Station Road, Bandra (E), Mumbai- 400005, Maharashtra …Respondents Counsel for the Appellant(s) : Mr. Aniket Prasoon Ms. Priya Dhankar Ms. Shweta Vashist Ms. Akanksha Tanvi Mr. Akash Lamba Mr. Shubham Mudgil Mr. Rishabh Bhardwaj Ms. Anandini Thakre Mr. Nimesh Jha Counsel for the Respondent(s) : Ms. Pratiti Rungta for R- 1 Mr. Ravi Prakash Mr. Samir Malik Mr. Rahul Sinha Ms. Nikita Choukse Ms. Udita Saxena for R- 2

JUDGEMENT

PER HON’BLE MR. SANDESH KUMAR SHARMA, TECHNICAL MEMBER

1. The captioned appeal has been filed by ACME Heergarh Powertech Private Ltd. (hereinafter “AHPPL” or “Appellant”) against the Impugned Order passed by Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter “MERC” or “Commission” or “Respondent No. 1”) in Case No. 07 of 2022 dated 07.07.2022 for extension of Scheduled Commercial Operation Date (hereinafter “SCOD”) of the Appellant’s 300 MW solar power project situated at Bhadla, Bap, Jodhpur, Rajasthan from 20.04.2022 to 23.05.2022, on account of Force Majeure event of disruption in global supply chain due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Description of the Parties:

2. The Appellant, ACME Heergarh Powertech Private Limited qualifies as a generating company under Section 2 (28) of the Electricity Act, 2003. It is a Special Purpose Vehicle (in short “SPV”) created by ACME Solar Holdings Private Limited to develop the project and sell the generated energy to Respondent No. 2.

3. Respondent No. 1 is the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, formed by virtue of Section 14 of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 1998 and it continues to function under Section 82 (1) of the Electricity Act, 2003.

4. Respondent No. 2, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (in short "MSEDCL") was established under the Government of Maharashtra's General Resolution No. ELA-1003/P.K.8588/Bhag-2/Urja-5 dated 24.01.2005, and commenced operations on 06.06.2005, in accordance with the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003. MSEDCL holds a distribution licence under the Electricity Act, 2003, and is responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity throughout the State of Maharashtra, excluding the Mumbai license area.

Factual Matrix of the Case

5. ACME Solar Holdings Limited was selected as the successful bidder for the development of 300 MW (AC capacity equivalent to 450 MW DC capacity) solar power project situated at Bhadla, Tehsil: Bap, District: Jodhpur, Rajasthan through the Letter of Award dated 19.03.2019, in the competitive bidding process conducted by the Respondent No. 2, MSEDCL (Request for Selection Document No. MSEDCL/RE/2018/1000 MW Solar/T-037 dated 05.12.2018), and thereby, the Appellant, ACME Heergarh Powertech Private Limited was established by ACME Solar Holdings Limited as a SPV for the execution of the Project.

6. The Appellant thereby furnished the Performance Bank Guarantee in terms of the LoA and the RfS, which was amended on 31.03.2022 and now amounts to Rs. 24,00,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty-Four Crores Only).

7. Thereafter, the Appellant and Respondent No. 2 entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (in short “PPA”) under which the Appellant was obligated to develop and operate the Project and supply the electricity generated to MSEDCL at a tariff of Rs. 2.72 per unit for 25 years from the Project's Commercial Operation Date (in short “COD”).

8. Also, as per Article 3.3 (1) of the PPA, the A