In a recent judgment delivered on April 23, 2025, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity addressed an appeal filed by Greenyana Solar Private Limited against an order of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC). The company had challenged the tariff determination for power supplied under a Power Purchase Agreement signed in February 2023. The main concern raised was that HERC, while determining the levelized tariff, had wrongly limited the DC (direct current) installed capacity to the AC (alternating current) capacity using a 1:1 ratio. This led to the approval of a lower capital cost and a reduced tariff of ₹2.35/kWh, despite the project’s actual DC capacity being higher.

Greenyana Solar argued that with a 1:1 AC:DC ratio, their project could only achieve a Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) of 17.01%, making it impossible to reach the 21% CUF mandated under HERC’s 2021 regulations. The company cited earlier judgments that supported higher DC installations as a standard practice to meet expected CUF and stressed that no specific AC:DC ratio restriction was mentioned in the regulations. They requested the Tribunal to remand the matter back to HERC for proper assessment of the DC capacity needed to meet the 21% CUF and sought a provisional tariff of ₹2.75/kWh.

On the other hand, Haryana Power Purchase Centre opposed the claim, arguing that the regulation clearly requires achieving a 21% CUF regardless of additional DC capacity, and that no extra tariff should be allowed for DC installed beyond the contracted AC capacity. They also pointed to the central commission’s remarks that current technology allows projects to meet 21% CUF with standard configurations, and emphasized that allowing higher costs without regulatory backing could burden consumers.

After examining the submissions, the Tribunal concluded that the tariff should reflect the real costs of setting up the project, provided these are justifiable and meet prudence checks. It noted that the AC:DC ratio and CUF are closely linked, and the HERC should have assessed what DC setup is actually needed to reach the required 21% CUF. Since this was not done, the Tribunal decided to send the matter back to HERC for a detailed review of the necessary AC:DC ratio and corresponding capital costs, along with computational corrections related to tariff calculation.

While the final tariff is yet to be decided by HERC, the Tribunal allowed Greenyana Solar to receive an interim tariff of ₹2.50/kWh, aligning with the conditions of their PPA, until a fresh determination is made. The Tribunal emphasized that this interim rate should not influence HERC’s final decision upon reevaluation. With this, the appeal and related interim applications were resolved.