The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has dismissed a petition filed by the U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) seeking approval for additional capital investment to install solar power plants within its existing generating station premises.
The petition, filed against U.P. Power Corporation Ltd. (UPPCL) under Petition No. 2394 of 2026, sought regulatory relaxation and modifications to the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions of Generation Tariff) Regulations, 2024.
UPRVUNL proposed installing solar power systems within its thermal power station facilities to meet the auxiliary energy consumption (AEC) requirements of the generating units. The initiative was aimed at replacing electricity drawn from the grid for internal plant operations with solar-generated power.
According to UPRVUNL, reducing auxiliary power consumption through solar generation could help improve the ex-bus declared capacity (DC) available to the grid. The utility therefore sought permission to treat expenditure on solar installations as additional capitalisation (AdCap), even when the projects were completed after the commercial operation date and were outside the original scope of work.
The matter was heard by UPERC on August 11, 2026, before a bench comprising Chairman Arvind Kumar, Member Sanjay Kumar Singh, and Member (Law) Griesh Kumar Vaish. During the hearing, UPRVUNL’s advocate, Divyanshu Bhatt, argued that using solar power for internal consumption would reduce auxiliary consumption and increase the declared capacity available for supply to the grid.
Representatives of UPPCL and U.P. Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (UPPTCL) were also present during the proceedings.
In its order dated August 14, 2026, issued from Lucknow, UPERC observed that the existing Generation Tariff Regulations, 2024 do not provide any mechanism for allowing additional capital expenditure for installing solar plants specifically to optimise auxiliary energy consumption.
The Commission stated that it could consider developing an enabling regulatory framework in the future after consultation with relevant stakeholders, if such a framework is considered appropriate. However, it clarified that introducing or amending regulations cannot be undertaken through judicial proceedings initiated by a petition.
Based on this position, UPERC dismissed the petition in limine. The order effectively means that UPRVUNL cannot secure the requested regulatory relaxation through the present judicial route and that any such provision would first require an appropriate legislative rulemaking process.
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