The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in New Delhi has dismissed an instant appeal filed by SunE Solar B.V (a part of Sun Edison group) and upheld an earlier order by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) which allowed BSES and BPRL (Bharat Petroresources Limited) to carry out a reverse auction process for the procurement of renewable power.

BSES had issued a Request for Proposal (“RfP”) to procure long term power from renewable energy power projects using the bidding process. SunE Solar B. V was among the successful bidders and was issued an amended Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to procure power, given the tariff was approved by DERC.

However, BSES and BYPL requested DERC to withdraw the petition filed for tariff approval and initiate a fresh tender process procure power through a reverse bidding process. A new RfP was issued to procure power from RE power projects  on a long-term basis.

SunE Solar B.V argued against the withdrawal of the petition, but DERC allowed it. Therefore, BSES cancelled the LOI to SunE Solar B. V. SunE Solar B.V then argued at APTEL that the DERC had violated the principle of natural justice by passing the order without hearing the appellant and decided the matter in an arbitrary manner without adhering to the well-settled law. It also questioned the DERC’s discretion in allowing the withdrawal of a petition for approval of a tariff.

DERC argued that its order was in accordance with the law and there is no shortcoming in the order. It added that DERC cannot determine the tariff forcibly nor can it prevent the distribution licensee from withdrawing the tariff petition.

Recently, Mercom reported that APTEL dismissed petitions filed by stakeholders against the issue of new forbearance and floor prices for solar and non-solar renewable energy certificates (RECs) by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer