WP/38702/2014 of Deccan Cements Limited, Vs State of Andhra Pradesh, on 31 December 2014

Order:

This Application is filed in W.P.No.38702 of 2014,which was disposed of by judgment, dated 31-12-2014,along with a batch of Writ Petitions.

The issue involved in the said batch of WritPetitions was whether, consequent on the division of theState of Andhra Pradesh and creation of the separateState of Telangana, the petitioners and other similarlysituated captive consumers, who generate the power in one State and transmit the same to the other State, areliable to obtain open access license for suchtransmission. By the detailed judgment referred toabove, this Court has negatived the plea of thepetitioners that in view of the existing wheelingagreements, they are not liable to take open accesslicenses. However, this Court, taking note of thepeculiar situation, issued the following direction inrespect of the banked energy:

“In this peculiar fact situation, I feel thatit is appropriate if the power which is fedby the petitioners into the Grid in the areaof operation of the respective DISCOMsshall be treated as having been bankedwhich may be wheeled and supplied bythem either for captive purposes or to thescheduled consumers of the petitioners asper the respective wheeling agreements, ifand when Open Access licences areobtained by them. The petitioners areallowed a period of three months from thedate of receipt of this judgment for thispurpose. If the petitioners fail to obtainOpen Access Licences within this period,the respective DISCOMs are entitled totreat the same as having beenappropriated and the costs of the poweras provided under the existingagreements shall be paid to thepetitioners.”

The petitioners in WP.No.38702 of 2014 filed this Application for multiple reliefs.

Mr.Ch.Pushyam Kiran, learned Counsel for thepetitioners, submitted that the relief claimed in prayer(a) is not being pressed. He has submitted that, havingregard to the legal hurdle created on account of thedivision of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, hisclients have thought it more feasible to supply powergenerated by them to the scheduled consumerssituated within the State of Andhra Pradesh itself byavoiding obtaining of open access and that they have,accordingly, identified the scheduled consumers andentered into the amended PPA with the Andhra PradeshState Power Distribution Corporation Limited on 20-03-2015 and that as this process has taken substantialtime, the period of three months, for which this Courthas directed the respondents to treat the power fed intothe grid by the petitioners as having been banked, maybe extended. He has further stated that the petitionerhas already started supply of energy to its scheduleconsumers.

Though time was taken by the learned StandingCounsel atleast on four occassions commencing from22-04-2015, no counter-affidavit has been filed.

In the light of the facts pleaded by the petitionersand having regard to the changed circumstancesexplained by the learned Counsel as noted herein before, the period of three months stipulated by thisCourt in the judgment dated 31.12.2014 is extended till31-08-2015 to enable the petitioners to supply poweralready fed into the grid to the schedule consumers.

The Application is, accordingly, allowed to theextent indicated above.

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(C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy, J)

Dt: 8[th] July, 2015

LUR