SAGAR POWER (NEEKUKATTE) PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE LOAD DESPATCH CENTRE, KARNATAKA AND PTC INDIA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, Sagar Power (Neekukatte) Private Limited has filed this petition seeking direction to the first respondent, SLDC, Karnataka to grant no objection/prior standing clearance under Regulation 8(2) of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Open Access in inter -State Transmission) Regulations, 2008 (Open Access Regulations) and to set aside the letter dated 30.3.2013 issued by SLDC, Karnataka denying Open Access to the petitioner. The facts of the case in brief are that the petitioner is a generating company and is operating a 15 MW mini hydro based power project across Nethravathi River, near Neerukatte village in Karnataka. The petitioner entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) dated 6.12.2006 with Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) for supply of power from its project for a period of 20 years from the date of commercial operation. The COD of the generating station was 17.9.2009 and accordingly, the PPA is valid till 16.9.2029.

(2.) THE petitioner filed OP No. 24/2009 before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) seeking a declaration that there is no valid or subsisting agreement between the petitioner and MESCOM and the PPA dated 6.12.2006 is null and void. The petitioner further sought a direction to SLDC Karnataka and MESCOM to grant Open Access or in the alternative to fix revise tariff @ Rs. 5/kWh. KERC in its letter dated 23.12.2010 upheld the validity of the PPA and rejected the prayer for re -fixation of tariff while granting liberty to the petitioner to submit its claim for revision of tariff to MESCOM along with supported documents for its consideration. The petitioner filed Review Petition No. 3 of 2011 seeking the review of KERC order dated 23.12.2010 which was rejected vide order dated 22.12.2011.

(3.) THE petitioner executed a Member Client Agreement with PTC India Ltd. for supply of power through Power Exchange. Based on the Member Client Agreement, PTC made an application dated 6.8.2012 to SLDC, Karnataka for no objection/standing clearance for grant of Short Term Open Access (STOA). In response to SLDC letter dated 8.8.2012, MESCOM vide its letter dated 10.8.2012 stated that the petitioner was having valid PPA with MESCOM for a period of 20 years from COD i.e. upto 16.9.2029. MESCOM further intimated that the petitioner was submitting monthly invoices for the delivered energy and the payments were being made by MESCOM with LC arrangement as per the PPA. SLDC, Karnataka in its letter dated 10.8.2012, intimated the petitioner that as per G O No. EN 540 NCE 2008 dated 1.9.2009 issued by Government of Karnataka, all private generators having valid PPAs with State utilities are bound to supply to respective power utilities in the State and accordingly, PTC was denied Open Access for off -taking power from the petitioner's plant for sale in the Power Exchange. The petitioner is stated to have made similar applications through PTC for no objection/standing clearance for the months of April, May and June, 2013 which were rejected by SLDC, Karnataka.