Discoms may move Supreme Court on Adani Power, Tata Power

State power distribution companies of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan are likely to move the Supreme Court (SC) soon to appeal against the interim order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) allowing power producers to recover increased imported fuel cost from March 2013.

Aptel has now allowed Tata Power and Adani Power to recover power dues from March 2013 on account of the increase in imported fuel cost. However, the tribunal said that the companies will not recover any pre-March 2013 arrears.

The ruling would provide a cushion to the companies against escalation in cost of imported coal for the plant.

According to an estimate, pre-March 2013 dues for Tata's 4,000 megawatt (MW) Mundra Plant in Gujarat stand at Rs 330 crore while for Adani's 1,980 MW Mundra project in Gujarat it is Rs 830 crore.

After March 2013, Tata Mundra UMPP (ultra-mega power projects) will be awarded compensatory tariff at 52 paise per unit, which will fetch the company Rs 25,000 crore over the remaining life of the plant. For the Mundra project, Adani Power will get compensatory tariff at 41 paise unit, a move that will give it Rs 18,500 crore over the remaining life of the project.

These firms had sought relief on account of adverse impact of the unforeseen, uncontrollable and unprecedented escalation in the imported coal price.

Last April, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had said in its orders that Adani Power should be granted compensation packages for its projects. In a separate order, it allowed Tata Power to increase tariff from its 4,000 MW UMPP in Mundra.

CERC had also asked states which buy power from the Mundra plant to form an expert panel to decide on compensating the firm for higher cost of coal imports from Indonesia.

On the other hand, Reliance Power has also filed petitions with CERC for compensatory tariff on various accounts for its three UMPPs-Sasan, Tilayia and Krishnapatnam.