The Hon’ble Sri Justice C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy
Review WPMP.No.7767 of 2015 in Writ Petition No.38702 of 2014 Dated 08.07.2015 Between:
Deccan Cements Limited and another and … Petitioners 1.The State of A.P., rep. by the Secretary, Hyderabad and 5 others.
…Respondents Counsel for the petitioners: Mr.Ch.Pushyam Kiran Counsel for the respondents: None appeared The Court made the following:
Order:
This Application is filed in W.P.No.38702 of 2014, which was disposed of by judgment, dated 31-12-2014, along with a batch of Writ Petitions.
The issue involved in the said batch of Writ Petitions was whether, consequent on the division of the State of Andhra Pradesh and creation of the separate State of Telangana, the petitioners and other similarly situated captive consumers, who generate the power in one State and transmit the same to the other State, are liable to obtain open access license for such transmission. By the detailed judgment referred to above, this Court has negatived the plea of the petitioners that in view of the existing wheeling agreements, they are not liable to take open access licenses. However, this Court, taking note of the peculiar situation, issued the following direction in respect of the banked energy:
“In this peculiar fact situation, I feel that it is appropriate if the power which is fed by the petitioners into the Grid in the area of operation of the respective DISCOMs shall be treated as having been banked which may be wheeled and supplied by them either for captive purposes or to the scheduled consumers of the petitioners as per the respective wheeling agreements, if and when Open Access licences are obtained by them. The petitioners are allowed a period of three months from the date of receipt of this judgment for this purpose. If the petitioners fail to obtain Open Access Licences within this period, the respective DISCOMs are entitled to treat the same as having been appropriated and the costs of the power
The petitioners in WP.No.38702 of 2014 filed this Application for multiple reliefs.
Mr.Ch.Pushyam Kiran, learned Counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the relief claimed in prayer (a) is not being pressed. He has submitted that, having regard to the legal hurdle created on account of the division of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, his clients have thought it more feasible to supply power generated by them to the scheduled consumers situated within the State of Andhra Pradesh itself by avoiding obtaining of open access and that they have, accordingly, identified the scheduled consumers and entered into the amended PPA with the Andhra Pradesh State Power Distribution Corporation Limited on 20-03- 2015 and that as this process has taken substantial time, the period of three months, for which this Court has directed the respondents to treat the power fed into the grid by the petitioners as having been banked, may be extended. He has further stated that the petitioner has already started supply of energy to its schedule consumers.
Though time was taken by the learned Standing Counsel atleast on four occassions commencing from 22-04-2015, no counter-affidavit has been filed.
In the light of the facts pleaded by the petitioners and having regard to the changed circumstances explained by the learned Counsel as noted herein before, the period of three months stipulated by this Court in the judgment dated 31.12.2014 is extended till 31-08-2015 to enable the petitioners to supply power already fed into the grid to the schedule consumers.
The Application is, accordingly, allowed to the extent indicated above.
(C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy, J)
Dt: 8th July, 2015
LUR