APTEL Orders CESCOM To Pay Azure Sunrise In Tariff Dispute

APTEL Partly Allows Solar Firm’s Plea In Safeguard Duty Dispute

The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has ordered Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESCOM) to comply with a 2020 ruling and pay Azure Sunrise Private Limited at the originally agreed tariff rate, following a prolonged legal battle over a solar power contract.

In its order dated May 30, 2025, APTEL allowed Execution Petition No. 16 of 2021, filed by Azure Sunrise, a special purpose vehicle of Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd., seeking enforcement of the tribunal’s judgment in Appeal No. 340 of 2016.

The dispute traces back to a 2015 power purchase agreement (PPA) between Azure and CESCOM for a 50 MW solar project awarded under Karnataka’s 500 MW solar tender. The agreement, signed on January 2, 2015, faced delays in regulatory approval, which the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) attributed to CESCOM’s failure to submit necessary documents.

137-day delay 

Following a 137-day delay, CESCOM granted an extension formalized through a supplemental agreement. However, CESCOM later revised the agreement under KERC’s directions, reducing the tariff from ₹6.89 to ₹6.51 per unit and seeking to impose penalties. Azure re-executed the agreement under protest and challenged the revisions before KERC, which, in a December 2016 order, cut the extension to just 25 days and upheld the reduced tariff.

APTEL, in its February 28, 2020, judgment, set aside KERC’s order, ruling that the reduction in tariff and time extension, along with the imposition of liquidated damages, were legally unsustainable. Despite the ruling, CESCOM continued to pay Azure at an interim rate of ₹4.36 per unit.

Azure filed the current execution petition seeking enforcement of the 2020 judgment and recovery of unpaid dues.

APTEL FInal Order

In its latest order, APTEL emphasized that execution proceedings cannot revisit the merits of a case and must adhere strictly to the terms of the original judgment. The tribunal rejected CESCOM’s arguments, calling them legally untenable, and criticized the utility for “wilful disobedience” and “misrepresentations.”

APTEL directed CESCOM to pay Azure the differential amount between ₹6.89 and ₹4.36 per unit for all power supplied from the commercial operation date, along with interest as per the PPA. It also ordered a refund of all liquidated damages with interest and carrying costs.

The tribunal gave CESCOM six weeks to comply, warning that failure to do so would result in attachment of its bank accounts to recover the dues.