Jaipur Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited and Ors. vs Rajasthan Textile Mills Association & Anr. Etc.

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

29 April 2025

Case No.

Civil Appeal No(s). 8862-8868 of 2022

Result

Allowed

Bench

Abhay S. Oka, Augustine George Masih

Citation

[2025] 4 S.C.R. 2028 : 2025 INSC 592

Acts & Sections

Electricity Act, 2003 Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission… National Tariff Policy, 2016

Issue for consideration

Issue relates to the determination of the Cross-Subsidy Surcharges by the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (State Commission).

Headnote

Electricity Act, 2003 – s.42(2) – Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2014 – Regulations 90, 2(a)(60) – Cross-Subsidy Surcharge (CSS) – Determination of:

Held: The CSS has to be determined based on the prevailing tariff rates – Neither the 2003 Act nor the 2014 Regulations makes the determination of the CSS simultaneously with the determination of the tariff mandatory – The determination of CSS is not necessarily a part of the tariff determination process – The CSS can be determined along with the tariff – But, it can be determined separately in accordance with Regulation 90 based on the prevailing rate of tariff – In fact, as per Regulation 90, the tariff payable by the relevant category of consumers is the basis for the CSS – Thus, APTEL erred in holding that the determination of the tariff and the determination of the CSS should always coincide – While determining rates of the CSS w.e.f 01.12.2016, the commission relied upon the tariff fixed in terms of the order dated 22.09.2016, which was the prevailing tariff as of 01.12.2016 – The CSS is in the nature of compensation qua the tariff which the distribution licensees would have received from the open access consumers but for their availing power from other sources – Hence, the CSS must be based on the applicable retail tariff recoverable during the relevant period – When the CSS was determined based on the prevailing rates of tariff, APTEL ought not to have found fault with the State Commission’s determination of rates of the CSS – Impugned judgment of the APTEL set aside – Order of the State Commission restored. [Paras 15, 19-21]

Judgment Abhay S. Oka, J. FACTUAL ASPECT 1. These are the statutory appeals under Section 125 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (for short, ‘the 2003 Act’) against a common judgment delivered by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (for short, ‘the APTEL’) in a group of appeals. The issue involved in these appeals relates to the determination of the Cross-Subsidy Surcharges (for short, ‘the CSS’) by the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (for short, ‘the State Commission’). The determination was made under Section 42 (2) of the 2003 Act. The present appellants were the respondents bef

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