The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has dismissed a petition filed by SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited seeking exemptions from banking, wheeling and transmission charges for power generated from its proposed captive solar photovoltaic (PV) project, along with unrestricted energy banking and relaxation of the permitted captive generating plant (CGP) capacity.
The Commission rejected the petition, holding that regulatory provisions cannot be differentiated to create a special regime for an individual entity.
Project background
SAEL Solar P6 was granted a Letter of Comfort (LoC) dated July 10, 2025, by the Government of Uttar Pradesh for establishing an integrated photovoltaic (PV) 5 GW cell fabrication and downstream 5 GW module manufacturing facility in the state. The project involves an investment of approximately Rs 8,000 crore.
The LoC permits the establishment of a captive generating plant (CGP) of up to 125% of the total power demand of the cell manufacturing facility.
SAEL Solar P6 submitted that electricity represents a significant and unavoidable component of operating expenditure in the highly cost-sensitive solar manufacturing industry. It argued that rationalising energy costs was fundamental to maintaining competitiveness against established global manufacturers.
Reliefs sought
The company sought permission to bank energy generated from its solar PV CGP throughout the project’s entire operating period and to draw the banked energy at any time without restrictions based on peak or non-peak periods or solar and non-solar periods.
It also sought a 100% exemption from banking charges, wheeling charges and transmission charges for the entire operating period of the project.
In addition, SAEL Solar P6 sought permission to establish a CGP with an energy storage system without capacity restrictions, including the ability to exceed the 125% ceiling specified in the LoC.
Regulatory objections
Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) argued that the requested reliefs represented a substantial departure from the provisions of the CRE Regulations, 2024, and the Open Access Regulations, 2019. It submitted that individual exemptions could not be granted from regulations that apply uniformly merely on the basis of commercial or business requirements.
UPPCL also pointed to the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy, 2022, which provides a 50% exemption in transmission and wheeling charges for eligible solar power projects, rather than the 100% exemption sought by the petitioner.
Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited (UPPTCL) argued that a complete exemption from transmission charges would create an unrecovered regulatory revenue gap, defer legitimate revenue recovery, or result in the redistribution of unrecovered charges among other users of the State Transmission Utility (STU) system.
It further submitted that allowing unrestricted withdrawal of energy injected during off-peak periods would effectively turn the STU system into a virtual energy storage facility. According to UPPTCL, this would allow the petitioner to obtain commercial benefits from time-shifting renewable energy while the responsibility for maintaining the transmission system remained with the STU.
Both respondents maintained that the power to relax is an exceptional discretionary power intended to address genuine hardship in exceptional circumstances. They argued that it could not be used to override substantive provisions of the applicable Regulations or establish a separate regulatory framework for an individual entity.
Commission’s view
UPERC observed that decisions to incentivize or subsidize a particular project, industry or sector fall within the domain of the Government. It said a regulatory regime cannot be framed at the behest of a particular consumer.
The Commission also clarified that its Regulations do not impose a ceiling on the capacity of a captive generating plant. However, the quantum of electricity injected into the grid at any given time cannot exceed the applicable open access quantum. Any over-injection is to be governed by the Open Access Regulations, 2019.
Petition dismissed
UPERC found no grounds to grant the reliefs sought by SAEL Solar P6 and dismissed the petition.
The Commission observed that Rules and Regulations may provide differentiated treatment where there is an intelligible basis for creating a distinct class. However, creating such differentiation for a single entity would amount to establishing a “parallel regime,” which the Commission said it could not countenance.
The featured photograph is for representation only.
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