SC Rejects Karnataka Discoms' Plea Against ₹1,005 Cr Adani Power Invoices

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by a batch of Karnataka electricity distribution companies seeking a stay on what they termed "wrongful" invoices worth ₹1,005 crore uploaded by Adani Power on a government portal tracking power purchase transactions and payment arrears.

A bench led by Justice PS Narasimha refused to interfere with the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity's (Aptel) order, which had also declined to stay the invoices.

The top court upheld the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's (CERC) direction requiring the Karnataka discoms to pay the entire amount claimed by Adani Power within 45 days.

The Supreme Court also asked Aptel to pronounce its final order in the matter within three months.

Karnataka Discoms Dispute Adani Power Dues

The dispute relates to carrying costs on differential amounts and late payment surcharge (LPS) claimed by Adani Power.

In 2023, CERC held the Karnataka discoms liable to pay the carrying cost on the differential amounts. The carrying cost refers to the financing cost on amounts due from the discoms. The commission also directed payment of LPS.

The payment was to be made in six instalments, failing which Adani Power would be entitled to LPS.

Adani Power subsequently approached the commission, alleging noncompliance by the Karnataka discoms.

In their appeal, the Karnataka discoms, led by Power Company of Karnataka, argued that there were no outstanding dues to be paid. They also claimed that Aptel had erroneously refused to stay CERC's order without considering the merits of the case.

Discoms Warn Of Impact On Consumers

The Karnataka discoms argued that any curtailment or regulation of power supply, including from third parties, over nonpayment of what they described as untenable dues could cause "grave prejudice, irreparable harm and serious hardship" to the discoms and their consumers.

The discoms said they had been left with no choice but to pay the entire amount under protest to avoid any adverse impact from an interruption in power supply to consumers.

They further argued that the expense would leave them struggling to meet other legitimate expenses unless the payment was reversed.

The Supreme Court's order leaves the CERC direction to pay the ₹1,005 crore amount in place while the underlying dispute continues before Aptel.