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17 January 2022 | CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. v. UP Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. | High Court of Allahabad | 2022 SCC OnLine All 19
Under Section 86(1)(f) Electricity Act 2003, any dispute between the licensee and the generating company can be adjudicated by the State Commission or can be referred by the State Commission to arbitration? [per Gujarat Urja (2008) 4 SCC 755]
Is the construction of a power transmission station and supply of equipment for that construction a dispute under the provision above? The respondent argued yes while resisting the petitioner’s application for the appointment of an arbitrator. It suggested that the electricity supply system is an integrated whole, and the construction of a transmission station is as much a part of a distribution licensee work as any other. It wanted the court to examine whether “generation’ includes “transmission’ as all are interrelated and “power system” includes generation, transmission and distribution.
Rejecting the arguments, the court ruled that the matter was a commercial dispute and the applicant was neither a licensee nor a generating company. Therefore, it neither generated electricity nor supplied it. The court also rejected the argument that while Section 86(1)(f) does not mention the word “transmission”, casus omisuss must be supplied by the court.
Without going into the issue of discharge of contract by accord and satisfaction, the court appointed an arbitrator.
Read the decision here.
Categories: Appointment of Arbitrators | Electricity Act | Existence of Arbitration Agreement | Functions of State Commission | Independence and Impartiality of Arbitrator | Perkins | Section 11 (6A) ACA | Section 11 ACA | Section 86 (1) (f) Electricity Act | Section 86 Electricity Act | Statutory Arbitrations | TRF | Vidya Drolia