Reliance Energy Ltd., India’s third- biggest utility, filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging an order to refund additional tariffs of more than 2.5 billion rupees ($48.5 million) collected from shopping malls in Mumbai.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan refused to stay the order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) and deferred the hearing to March 27.
Reliance, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, filed two appeals challenging the tribunal’s Jan. 19 order that set aside a judgment by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission to charge multiplex cinemas and shopping malls a higher tariff than that paid by the domestic consumers.
APTEL had asked Reliance Energy and rival Tata Power Co. to refund the additional amount from multiplexes and malls.
Mukul Rohtagi, Reliance’s attorney, appealed for a stay on the recovery of dues from the company.
“If the order is not quashed, the company would recover it from consumers,’’ he said.
Malls and shopping complexes that use more than 150 kilowatt have been classified as high-tension commercial consumers and pay a higher tariff. Smaller shops within the malls are charged under the low-tension category.
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking, which provides public transport and electricity to Mumbai city, India’s commercial capital, has raised tariffs by almost 47 percent for larger commercial consumers while charges for low-tension users have gone up by an average 3 to 22 percent.
Reliance Energy Ltd. was renamed Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. last year to reflect its business of building roads, bridges and rapid transit systems.
Source: bloomberg
