नई दिल्ली

NEW DELHI यादिका संख्या./ Petition No. 294/MP/2024 कोरम/ Coram:

श्री जिश्नु बरुआ, अध्यक्ष/Shri Jishnu Barua, Chairperson श्री रमेश बाबू वी., सिस्य/Shri Ramesh Babu V., Member श्री हरीश िुिानी, सिस्य/Shri Harish Dudani, Member श्री रदवंिर दसंह दिल्लो,ं सिस्य/Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Member आिेश दिनांक/ Date of Order: 04th of February, 2026 IN THE MATTER OF Petition under Section 79 of the Electricity Act, 2003, read with Article 12 of the Power Purchase Agreement dated 19.10.2020 between Avaada Sunrays Energy Pvt. Ltd. and NHPC Ltd., seeking a declaration that (i) change in Goods and Services Tax from 5% to 12% and 13.8%, respectively, w.e.f. 01.10.2021 by way of GST Amendment Notifications dated 30.09.2021, and (ii) requirement of installation of bird diverters on overhead transmission lines in terms of the order dated 19.04.2021 issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in W.P. (C) No. 838 of 2019 qualifies as ‘Change in Law’ events under Article 12 of the PPA and consequently, directions to NHPC Ltd. to compensate the Petitioner towards additional expenditure incurred on account of the ‘Change in Law’ events along with carrying cost.

AND IN THE MATTER OF:

Avaada Sunrays Energy Private Limited, C-11, Sector-65, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh-201301.

... Petitioner Versus

1. NHPC Limited, NHPC Office Complex Sector-33, Faridabad, Haryana-121003.

2. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, The Mall, Near Kali Mata Mandir, Patiala, Punjab -147001.

3. Jammu & Kashmir Power Corporation Limited Gladni Complex, Narwal, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir - 180016.

... Respondents Parties Present: Shri Abhishek Kumar, Advocate, ASEPL Ms. Shubham Mudgil, Advocate, ASEPL Ms. Suparna Srivastava, Advocate, PSPCL Ms. Arshiya, Advocate, PSPCL Shri Rajiv Shankar Dwivedi, Advocate, NHPC Shri Jagpal Singh, NHPC Shri Mukesh Negi, NHPC आदेश/ ORDER The Petitioner, Avaada Sunrays Energy Private Limited, has developed and commissioned a 320 MW solar power project in Tehsil- Fatehgarh, District-Jaisalmer, in the State of Rajasthan. NHPC Limited (NHPC) issued a Request for Selection (RfS) dated 03.09.2019, for the selection of SPDs for the development of a 2000 MW Solar Power Project with ISTS connectivity, being developed by Solar Power Developers (SPDs), anywhere in India. M/s Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL/parent company) submitted its bid on 31.01.2020. The e-reverse auction process was carried out on 16.04.2020, and M/s Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL/parent company) was declared the successful bidder, having quoted a tariff of INR 2.56/kWh for a capacity of 320 MW. On 02.06.2020, NHPC issued a Letter of Award in the name of M/s Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL/parent company). M/s Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL/parent company) formed a project company, Avaada Sunrays Energy Private Limited (the Petitioner), within the provisions of RfS for the development of a Solar Power Project, generation and sale of solar power under the said RfS. The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was executed on 19.10.2020 for the purchase of 320 MW solar power capacity from the Project. As per the PPA, the scheduled commissioning date (SCoD) of the Project was 18.04.2022, which was subsequently revised to 10.12.2022. The Petitioner has commissioned 320 MW on 10.12.2022 and is seeking a declaration that (i) a change in Goods and Services Tax from 5% to 12% and 13.8%, respectively, w.e.f. 01.10.2021 by way of GST Amendment Notifications dated 30.09.2021 (2021 GST Notification), and (ii) requirement of installation of bird diverters on overhead transmission lines in terms of the order dated 19.04.2021 issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in W.P. (C) No. 838 of 2019 (2021 SC GIB Order) qualifies as ‘Change in Law’ events under Article 12 of the PPA and consequently compensation thereof.

2. The Respondent No. 1, NHPC Limited (NHPC), is a Government of India undertaking which has been designated as the intermediary procurer/renewable energy implementing agency b