The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has delivered a significant ruling in a long-running tariff dispute between Amplus Sun Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) concerning a 50 MW solar power project in Bhiwani, Haryana. The judgment, pronounced on February 13, 2026, marks another key development in a case that has gone through multiple rounds of appeals and remand proceedings.
The dispute primarily revolves around the project-specific tariff and the capital cost considered for its calculation. Earlier, HERC had re-determined the tariff for the project at ₹2.58 per kWh. Amplus challenged this order, arguing that the commission had arbitrarily reduced the actual installed capacity and disallowed certain essential infrastructure costs while calculating the tariff.
According to the company, it had installed 75 MW of DC solar modules to ensure that the project could reliably deliver the contracted 50 MW output. However, HERC allowed capital cost consideration for only 70 MW of DC capacity. Amplus contended that this reduction directly impacted the approved tariff and did not reflect the technical requirements of the project. The developer also objected to the exclusion of ₹11.29 crore spent on transmission and evacuation infrastructure, stating that these were necessary costs for connecting the plant to the grid.
Amplus informed the tribunal that the lower tariff had caused serious financial stress. The company claimed it had suffered a revenue loss of over ₹14.10 crore. It further stated that an ₹81 crore loan facility was cancelled due to cash flow constraints arising from the reduced tariff. According to the developer, the project has been generating negative returns and is struggling to meet even basic operation and maintenance expenses.
On the other hand, the Haryana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC) defended HERC’s decision. HPPC argued that the commission was obligated to conduct a prudence check to ensure that consumer interests were protected. It maintained that benchmarking the project’s costs against other solar projects in the region was a reasonable method to prevent inefficient expenditure. HPPC also pointed out that under the Power Purchase Agreement, the responsibility for transmission-related expenses rested with the developer.
After hearing both sides, APTEL decided to remand the matter back to HERC for a fresh and detailed prudence check, particularly regarding the additional DC capacity and the transmission costs. In the meantime, to provide interim relief to the developer, the tribunal granted a provisional tariff of ₹2.68 per kWh. This pro-tem tariff will remain applicable until HERC completes the revised tariff determination, and any future adjustments will include carrying costs.
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