IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No. 25527 OF 2025

03.03.2026 Between:

M/s Rain Cements Limited, (erstwhile Priyadarshini Cements Limited)

Rep. by its Authorised Signatory Mr. K. Srinivas .. Petitioner And State of Telangana Rep. by its Principal Secretary, Energy Department & others ..Respondents

O R D E R:

Petitioner is aggrieved by the Demand Notice dated

06.02.2025 issued by the 3^rd Respondent – Superintendent Engineer demanding payment of Rs.11,81,93,501/- towards Cross Subsidy Surcharge ("CSS") for the Financial Years 2005- 06 to 2014-15, in pursuance of re-determination of CSS by Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) in its common order dated 30.08.2024 and the speaking order dated

23.08.2025 of the 3rd Respondent rejecting Petitioner's objections dated 12.06.2025 and holding that the Electricity (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Power, Government of India, is not applicable to Petitioner.

1.1. Petitioner seeks a declaration that the said proceedings are illegal, arbitrary, violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and contrary to the judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No.14918 of 2006 and batch, dated 19.12.2023 and exemption contained in the Electricity (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2005, read with Regulation No.2 of

2005.

1.2. Petitioner further seeks a declaration that the Electricity (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2005 is applicable to it and that Respondents are not entitled to raise demand towards CSS for the period 2005-06 to 2014-15, and a consequential direction restraining Respondents 2 and 3 from taking coercive steps including disconnection of power supply to H.T. Service Connection No.SPT 105.

2. Petitioner is a company originally incorporated as Priyadarshini Cements Limited (subsequently, renamed as Rain Cements Limited) under the provisions of the Companies Act. Its manufacturing unit is located at Ramapuram Village, Mallacheruvu Mandal, Suryapet (erstwhile Nalgonda) District, Telangana. Petitioner has a High Tension power supply agreement with the 2^nd Respondent (TGSPDCL) under HT Service Connection No.SPT 105 (earlier NLG 105) with a Contracted Maximum Demand (CMD) of 12,500 KVA/HP. Due to uncertainties in power availability in the State and to ensure uninterrupted supply, Petitioner has been purchasing power from its group generator, M/s Rain CII Carbon (Vizag) Limited (erstwhile Rain Calcining Limited).

2.1. Petitioner's generator M/s Rain CII Carbon (Vizag) Limited, was granted consent by the then Government of Andhra Pradesh under Section 43A(1)(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, to sell electricity to specified consumers. The generator entered into a Modified Power Wheeling and Purchase Agreement (MPWPA) dated 04.11.1994 with the then Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (APSEB), with a tenure of thirty years from the scheduled date of completion, i.e., from 29.06.1998 to 28.06.2028. The MPWPA was later vested with APEPDCL by proceedings dated 22.06.2012 and was amended on 27.10.2015 without altering the rights and obligations flowing under the original MPWPA. Petitioner is one of the scheduled consumers under the MPWPA, and separate consumer agreements and wheeling schedules, including for January 2000 and April 2003, as well as an electricity bill for March 2000, have been placed on record to illustrate the actual flow of power from the generator to Petitioner since 1999.

2.2. The Electricity Act, 2003, which came into force on 10.06.2003, introduced the concept of Open Access under Section 2(47) and, under Section 42(2), envisaged levy of surcharge in addition to wheeling charges, to be determined by the State Commission. Prior thereto, Section 43A(1)(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (for short, ‘the 1948 Act’) and Section 27 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 regulated sale and supply of electricity by generating comp