The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) has ruled in favour of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. (Tangedco), setting aside an order issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) that declined to consider the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission corridor as an asset of strategic and national importance.
The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited is implementing this transmission corridor at a cost of about ₹20,000 crore to facilitate the transfer of surplus power from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh to the southern region. It is also a part of the green energy corridor for the transfer of renewable energy from southern States to the rest of India.
Tangedco had sought 100% yearly transmission charges to be considered under the national component. In March 2022, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to issue an instruction to declare the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur line an asset of strategic and national importance.
Financial burden
If the transmission system was treated as a regional asset, there would be an additional financial burden of ₹720 crore per annum in transmission charges on Tamil Nadu. Instead, it would only be ₹216 crore if it was declared a national asset, the memorandum said.
In May 2022, the Union Ministry of Power had written to the CERC, recommending that the transmission charges of the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur line be considered under the national component. However, in September 2022, the CERC ruled that it was not an appropriate forum to declare any transmission asset to be of national and strategic importance. Tangedco moved the Aptel against this ruling.
In its petition, Tangedco had said the CERC, in its earlier decisions, had declared Biswanath Chariali/Alipurdwar (Northeastern Region) and Agra (Northern Region) HVDC, and iMundra (Western Region)—Mohindergarh (Northern Region) HVDC transmission systems as having strategic and national importance. The transmission tariff of these assets were recovered on an all-India basis, though the southern region did not benefit. Taking note of the petition, the Aptel said it found merit in Tangedco’s argument and directed the CERC to pass a fresh order after consulting the statutory authorities — Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Central Transmission Utility, Grid Controller of India — and considering the letter of the Union Ministry of Power on the issue, dated May 30, 2022.
