New Delhi: The Union government waived transmission charges for states that would have bought power from Adani Green and Azure Power in 2021, a report by the Indian Express has found.
The report says that 24 hours after this order from the Union power ministry, the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government signed a contract with the Solar Energy Corporation of India a public sector company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. SECI, in turn, gave Adani Green and Azure Power a combined 12 gigawatts of power projects.
The SECI is at the heart of the criminal proceedings initiated by the US Department of Justice and the civil case filed by its Securities Exchange Commission, accusing the Adani Group, its chairman Gautam Adani and top officials of involvement in a massive bribery deal of $265 million. The Adani Group has denied the charges.
Analysts have pointed to how SECI has chosen to remain silent – neither initiating an investigation, nor filing a complaint, nor providing any explanation.
‘Rs 1,360 crore a year’
The Adani Group is alleged to have bribed top Indian officials to sign power purchase agreements or PPAs with the SECI despite the obvious expenses associated with such a deal. Andhra Pradesh, one of the states named in the bribery allegations, is now considering cancelling its power contract with Adani.
The Express report notes how a day after the power ministry’s order on November 30, 2021, the Andhra Pradesh government signed a Power Sale Agreement (PSA) with SECI, on December 1, 2021.
The report adds that the Union government’s waiver of the inter state transmission system or ISTS charges is estimated to have resulted in savings of 80 paise per unit, and thus Rs 1,360 crore a year, and Rs 34,000 crore for the period of 25 years for which the contract was signed.
An ISTS is any system used to carry electricity by means of a main transmission line from the territory of one state to another.
Rules ‘relaxed’ in a week
The power ministry order, curiously, also eased two rules that had been put in place in an order issued just a week earlier, on November 23, 2021, according to Indian Express:
“(i) that the project be commissioned before June 30, 2025, and
(ii) that the power from the project be within the renewable power obligation (RPO) of the state. RPO requires states to buy a certain percentage of its total power from renewable sources.”
The report notes that the first 1,000 MW of Adani Green power is expected to be commissioned only in April 2025, quoting an Andhra government source.
When contacted, an Adani Green spokesperson sought to remind Indian Express that it is the DISCOM that “benefits from the ISTS waiver, not the project developer, who only receives a fixed tariff.”
Notably, as The Wire analysed here, Azure Power India’s power purchase agreement was later cancelled and transferred (see para 72, page 73) to Adani Renewable Energy Holding Four Ltd.
The transfer occurred due to prolonged litigation by the Telugu Desam Party (now in government) and the Communist Party of India in the Andhra Pradesh high court, despite SECI’s opposition. SECI had condemned Azure’s exit as against public interest.
