HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has granted interim relief to the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) and Telangana Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGNPDCL), staying coercive action based on invoices worth Rs 24.15 crore uploaded by Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited on the PRAAPTI portal.
Justice EV Venugopal passed the interim order while hearing a lunch-motion writ petition filed by the two state-owned power distribution companies, and extended the protection until October 28, 2026.
The petitioners sought suspension of the operation of invoices aggregating to Rs 24,15,84,988 and a direction to the Union of India, Power Finance Corporation Limited, PFC Consulting Limited and Grid Controller of India Limited (National Load Despatch Centre) not to initiate or give effect to coercive measures under Rules 6 and 7 of the Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) Rules, 2022, or the procedure for regulation of access dated August 3, 2022, on the basis of the disputed invoices.
Appearing for the petitioners, standing counsel A Sridhar Reddy submitted that the distribution companies supply electricity to approximately 1.90 crore service connections across Telangana.
He submitted that Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited, which established a 368.144 MW combined-cycle power project in Andhra Pradesh, was admitted into liquidation by the NCLT, Hyderabad Bench, on February 16, 2021. During the liquidation proceedings, it was represented before the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission in July 2023 that the company’s business had been sold as a going concern to Radha Vasavi Assets LLP.
After hearing the petitioners’ counsel, the court granted interim protection until October 28, 2026.