APL No. 337 OF 2023 Page 1 of 92

IN THE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL FOR ELECTRICITY

AT NEW DELHI

APPELLATE JURISDICTION

APL No. 337 OF 2023 & IA No. 531 OF 2023

Dated: 20^th February, 2024

Present: Hon`ble Mr. Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, Chairperson

Hon`ble Mr. Sandesh Kumar Sharma, Technical Member

In the matter of:

M/S Tata Steel Ltd

Registered office at:

Bombay House, 24, Homi Mody

Street, Fort,

Mumbai - 400 001

And having Industrial Unit at:

Narendrapur, P.O. Kusunpanga,

Meramandali, District-Dhenkanal,

Odisha–759121

Through its Authorized Representative

Mr. Manish Bhatnaager,

Chief Legal Counsel

…

Appellant(s)

Versus

1.

2.

Odisha

Electricity

Regulatory

Commission (OERC)

Through its Secretary

Bidyut Niyamak Bhawan, Plot No.4,

Chunokoli, Shailashree Vihar,

Chandrasekharpur,

Bhubaneswar-751021

Odisha Renewable Energy

Development Agency (OREDA)

Through its Private Secretary,

Government of Odisha

S-59, Sector A, Mancheswar

Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar,

…

Respondent No.1

APL No. 337 OF 2023 Page 2 of 92

Odisha 751001

… Respondent No.2

Counsel on record for the Appellant(s) :

Ms. Mandakini Ghosh

Ms. Anusha Nagarajan

Ms. Kirti Dhoke

Ms. Aakanskha Bhola

Mr. Rahul Ranjan

Counsel on record for the Respondent(s): Mr. Rutwik Panda for R-1

JUDGMENT

PER HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN, CHAIRPERSON

I.INTRODUCTION:

Greenhouse gas emissions, caused by the burning of fossil fuels,

are largely responsible for rising temperatures as they produce nitrogen

oxide, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide, all of which contribute to air

and water pollution, causing irreparable damage to the environment.

Renewable energy, commonly referred to asgreen energy, is generated

through processes that cause far less pollution to the environment. The

contribution of electricity, generated from renewable sources of energy,

to climate change is minimal as such generation involves a far lower risk

of fossil fuel andgreenhouse gasemissions.

The Appellant owns and operates a 323 MW captive generating

plant, of which 258 MW is captive co-generation (based on waste heat

recovery, blast furnace gas, TRI & DRT), and the remaining 65 MW is a

coal-based captive generating plant. They invoked the jurisdiction of the

Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (“OERC” for short), under

Regulations 16, 17 and 20 of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory

Commission (Procurement of Energy from Renewable Sources and its

Compliance) Regulations, 2021, seeking a declaration and exemption

APL No. 337 OF 2023 Page 3 of 92

that they were not an ‘obligated entity’, and were thereby not required

to fulfil the RPO targets in relation to their Meramundali Unit for the

period FY 2021 onwards, and for future periods, as long as generation

from their Captive Co-Generation Plant/Unit at Meramundali was in

excess of their presumptive RPO requirements for the same period; to

hold and declare that their Meramandli unit of 258 MW, being a captive

co-generator of electricity, is exempt from fulfilling its Renewable

Purchase Obligations (“RPOs”) from 2021 onwards under the Odisha

Electricity Regulatory Commission (Procurement of Energy from

Renewable Sources and its Compliance) Regulations, 2021 (“2021 RPO

Regulations”); and to declare that they were entitled to set-off their

presumptive RPO targets qua the consumption from the 65 MW fossil-

due based captive generating plant, against the electricity generated

and consumed from their captive co-generation plants irrespective of the

fuel utilized in such plants.

By the Impugned Order dated 01.02.2023, in Case No. 71 of 2022,

(the contents of which shall be detailed later in this Order),