Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Online)(CERC) 252

CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Ramesh Babu V., Member, Harish Dudani, Member, Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Member
Hexa Climate Solutions Private Limited – Appellant
Versus
Central Transmission Utility of India Limited – Respondent
IA. No. 17/2026 in Petition No. 75/MP/2026

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Aniket Parsoon, Aman Sheikh, Sunanda Chowdhary, Sarthak Sareen, Anshika Bhatnagar
For the Respondents: Anisha Upadhyay

Under the GNA Regulations, the conversion of a connectivity route from the Land/Bank Guarantee route to the LoA/PPA route requires that the connectivity grantee and the entity executing the PPA be the same legal entity. Regulatory provisions for inter-se utilization of connectivity do not permit cross-utilization of eligibility documents.

Headnote:(A) Electricity Act, 2003 - Section 178 - General Network Access (GNA) Regulations - Regulation 5.8(xi)(a), (b), (c), 11A(1), 11A(4), 11A(5), 15.1, 41 and 42 - Grant of Connectivity - Application for conversion from Land/Bank Guarantee route to Letter of Award/Power Purchase Agreement route - Petitioner sought to utilize PPA executed by a subsidiary company to fulfill eligibility conditions for conversion of connectivity granted to another subsidiary company - Whether inter-se utilization of connectivity under Regulation 15.1 includes utilization of eligibility documents for route conversion - Held, no. (Paras 20, 21, 28)

(B) Regulatory Compliance - Eligibility for conversion - Conversion of connectivity route requires the same legal entity to hold the connectivity grant and the PPA/Letter of Award - Regulations do not permit reliance on documents of sister subsidiaries to satisfy conversion criteria or fulfill mandatory conditions subsequent under the GNA regime. (Paras 24, 25, 26)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a wholly owned subsidiary, was granted connectivity under the Land/Bank Guarantee route for a hybrid renewable energy project. The parent company's other subsidiary executed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a procuring entity. The petitioner attempted to convert its connectivity from the Land/Bank Guarantee route to the PPA route, seeking to rely upon the PPA executed by its sister subsidiary. The nodal agency rejected this request, leading to an application for interim directions to stay potential coercive action, including revocation of connectivity, pending the disposal of the main petition.

Findings of Court:
The Commission observed that the "utilization of connectivity" under the regulations pertains to the physical injection or drawal of power. It does not extend to the cross-utilization of statutory compliance documents (like PPAs or land documents) to meet eligibility thresholds for route conversion, which must be fulfilled by the specific legal entity holding the connectivity grant.

Issues: Whether the PPA executed by a sister subsidiary can be used for the conversion of connectivity granted to another subsidiary within the same corporate group under the existing regulatory framework.

Ratio Decidendi: The court clarified that under the applicable regulations, the connectivity grantee must be the same entity that executes the PPA to qualify for route conversion. The provisions for inter-se utilization are restricted to the operational aspects of power injection and do not create a group-level compliance regime for eligibility milestones.

Result: Interim relief declined; application dismissed.

Table of Content
1. petitioner's background and request for regulatory clarification on connectivity route conversion. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11)
2. respondent's contention that connectivity and compliance must be entity-specific under gna regulations. (Para 6 , 14 , 15 , 16)
3. interpretation of 'utilisation of connectivity' as strictly for power injection rather than documentation. (Para 12 , 13 , 20 , 21)
4. conditions subsequent (cs) and conversion eligibility under gna regulations must be met by a single entity. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28)
5. denial of interim relief and referral of substantive relaxation prayers to the main petition. (Para 29 , 30)

ORDER

Petitioner’s has filed the instant Interlocutory Application seeking issuance of ex-parte ad interm directions.

2. The Petitioner has made following prayers in the instant IA:

(a) List the present Petition in the first week of February, 2026 or at the earliest convenient date as per the convenience of this Hon’ble Commission;

(b) Direct the Respondent i.e., Central Transmission Utility of India Limited to not take any coercive action against the Applicant including revocation/ cancellation of the Connectivity dated 13.03.2025 of 200 MW (comprising 101 MW Solar and 99 MW Wind) granted to the Applicant at the 220 kV level Mandsaur Pooling Substation, till the disposal of the present Petition; and/or

(c) Pass any other or further order(s) as this Hon’ble Commission may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case and in interest of justice

Prayers in the Main Petition

(a) Admit the present Petition

(b) Issue clarification that Regulation 11A(5) read with Regulation 15 of the GNA Regulations (as amended) allows submission of land document under Regulation 11A(1) of the GNA Regulations (as amended) by the subsidiary company of the Connectivity Grantee/ Connectivity Applicant (being the parent company) acquiring the land, and further accept the financial closure document under Regulation 11A(2) of the GNA Regulations (as amended) in the name of the subsidiary company implementing the Project; or

(c) In alternative to prayer (b) above, exercise power under Regulation 41 and/ or 42 of the GNA Regulations (as amended) to issue appropriate directions to CTUIL to accept the land documents to be furnished under Regulation 11A(1) of the GNA Regulations (as amended) by the subsidiary company of the Connectivity Grantee/ Connectivity Applicant (being the parent company) acquiring land, and further accept the financial closure document under Regulation 11A(2) of the GNA Regulations (as amended) in the name of the subsidiary company implementing the Project;

(d) Exercise power under Regulation 41 and/ or 42 of the GNA Regulations (as amended) to issue appropriate directions to CTUIL to accept the Power Purchase Agreement executed by the subsidiary company of the same parent company which has been granted the Connectivity under Land BG/ Land route under the provisions of the GNA Regulations (as amended) while allowing conversion of Connectivity under Regulation 11A(4) of the GNA Regulations (as amended) from Land BG/Land Route to the LoA/ PPA route;

(e) Exercise power under Regulation 41 and/ or 42 of the GNA Regulations (as amended) to issue appropriate directions to CTUIL to accept the Land documents in the name of the subsidiary company of the same parent company which is applying for the Connectivity through Land Route under the provisions of the GNA Regulations (as amended); and/or

(f) Direct the Respondent (CTUIL) to amend its 'Detailed Procedure for Grant of Connectivity' and the 'NSWS Portal Workflow' to explicitly enable: (i) Uploading of land documents in the name of a subsidiary company at the application stage; and (ii) Uploading of PPAs in the name of a subsidiary company for conversion applications, provided a Board Resolution/Undertaking from the parent company confirming the relationship is submitted; and/or

(g)

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2026 Supreme(Online)(CERC) 252

CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSIONRamesh Babu V., Member, Harish Dudani, Member, Ravinder Singh Dhillon, MemberHexa Climate Solutions Private Limited – AppellantVersusCentral Transmission Utility of India Limited – RespondentIA. No. 17/2026 in Petition No. 75/MP/2026

CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Ramesh Babu V., Member, Harish Dudani, Member, Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Member
Hexa Climate Solutions Private Limited – Appellant
Versus
Central Transmission Utility of India Limited – Respondent
IA. No. 17/2026 in Petition No. 75/MP/2026