The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has conducted a hearing on a petition filed by M/s SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited seeking regulatory relief for its upcoming large-scale renewable energy manufacturing project in Uttar Pradesh. The hearing for Petition No. 2353 of 2026 was held on July 21, 2026, before a bench comprising UPERC Chairman Arvind Kumar, Member Sanjay Kumar Singh, and Member (Law) Griesh Kumar Vaish.
SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited is developing an integrated solar manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh, which includes a 5 GW photovoltaic (PV) cell fabrication unit and a 5 GW solar module manufacturing plant. The project is being established under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Policy 2020 and the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy, 2022.
To meet the power requirements of the manufacturing facility, the company plans to establish a Captive Generation Project. The project had earlier received a Letter of Comfort from the state government on July 10, 2025, which outlined various incentives and support measures.
Through its petition before UPERC, SAEL has requested several regulatory exemptions to improve the economic viability of the project. The company has sought a complete waiver of transmission charges, wheeling charges, and banking charges. It has also requested relaxation from Time-of-Day (ToD) restrictions for the use of banked electricity. SAEL has requested these exemptions by referring to the Commission’s powers to relax regulations in cases where special circumstances require intervention.
However, the Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (UPPTCL) has opposed the requests. In its written submission filed on July 8, 2026, UPPTCL argued that granting project-specific exemptions could affect the principle of equal treatment among all users of the state transmission network.
UPPTCL stated that transmission charges are necessary for maintaining, operating, and expanding the electricity transmission infrastructure. According to the utility, waiving these charges for one project could create a revenue shortfall, impact its financial position, or result in additional costs being passed on to other consumers.
The transmission utility also raised concerns regarding SAEL’s proposal to establish a captive power plant integrated with an energy storage system without any capacity limitation. UPPTCL stated that allowing power withdrawal beyond the standard 125% contract demand limit without detailed technical assessment would not be practical.
Additionally, UPPTCL objected to the company’s request for flexible use of banked electricity during off-peak periods. It argued that such a provision could effectively allow the company to use the state transmission system as a virtual energy storage facility without appropriate charges.
UPPTCL further stated that relaxation provisions in electricity regulations are intended to address genuine difficulties and should not be used to create separate regulatory arrangements for individual entities.
During the hearing, SAEL’s legal representative informed the Commission that a rejoinder responding to UPPTCL’s objections would be submitted later the same day. The respondents requested additional time to examine the rejoinder, which was granted by the Commission.
UPERC has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for July 30, 2026, where further arguments and submissions from the concerned parties are expected.
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