In what could impact the electricity procurement planning of the national transporter, the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity (APTEL) has ruled that the Indian Railways is ‘not a deemed distribution licensee.’
The Tribunal, in a 387-page judgement, said that as the Railways consumes all the electricity that it procures, it is not a licensee and hence is liable to pay additional surcharges and cross subsidy surcharges like any other open access electricity consumer.
The APTEL pronounced the judgement in a batch of cases filed by various state power distribution companies and the Indian Railways to examine whether Indian Railways falls within the term ‘Appropriate Government’ under Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
