Hyderabad: Telangana discoms, TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL, have received interim relief in a dispute over the recovery of Rs 24.1 crore through the Centre’s power payment monitoring system.
On Wednesday, October 14, Telangana High Court Justice EV Venugopal provided the interim relief while hearing a lunch-motion petition filed by the two discoms.
Telangana discoms challenge Rs 24.1 crore power dues
According to the petition, the dispute originated from a 1997 power purchase agreement between the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Electricity Board and Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited.
The discoms claimed that the power plant began operations nearly 27 months later than scheduled. For several years, the disagreements over certain cost components for 2000-01 have remained under litigation.
In June 2026, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) ruled in favour of the power generator on certain claims related to financing and procurement costs along with interest.
Decision challenged
The Telangana discoms challenged the decision before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). The appeal is scheduled for hearing on October 28.
However, the discoms approached the High Court after Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited uploaded four invoices on the PRAAPTI portal.
As per the counsel for the discoms, the invoices are related to historical claims and not the bills for the electricity that is being supplied currently. They contended that the invoices therefore do not come under the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022.
The companies also challenged a procedure introduced by the Centre in 2023.
The discoms sought the removal of the four invoices from the PRAAPTI portal and protection against coercive action by the Centre, portal authorities and grid operators while the case is pending.
Informing the court that Telangana’s peak electricity demand had reached 19,892 MW, the discoms said that external purchases account for around 25-30 per cent of the state’s electricity requirements.
According to them, restrictions on power purchases or a reduction in contracted supply could affect farmers, households and industries.
After listening to the petition, the High Court granted interim relief to TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL.
