"HP High Court Rejects Consumers' Claim of Vested Right Over Subsidy on Electricity Bills"


The High Court of HP in Kundlas Loh udyog  and others versus Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board Limited and another CWP No 12178 of 2024 a/w connected matters rejected the pleas of the  petitioners mainly industries were that when the government of HP had agreed  to provide subsidy to the consumer under section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003 before the HP Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) while issuing the  tariff order for Financial Year 2024-25, the government cannot take u turn and withdraw the subsidy  in the mid of the year. notably, the  GoHP has withdrawn the subsidy which was agreed  to be paid in the tariff i.e. ARR of the HP DISCOM, keeping in view the financial health of the state of economy of the HP, resultantly the tariff  of the  industrial consumers was increased by  Rs 1/per Unit of energy. 

initially the court gave interim reliefs to the petitioners and stayed the operation of the order of the withdrawal of the subsidy but later after extensive hearing of the parties, the court came to the conclusion that the consumer cannot claim the subsidy being granted by the Government under section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003 as  their vested right. 

    further  the plea of the consumers wrt  to the revision of the tariff order in the mid of the financial year was also rejected by the court by observing that the  withdrawal of the subsidy quantum by the Government of HP  does not fall under the  scope of the revision of the tariff. Hence the  Single Judge of the High Court of HP, Sandeep Sharma J, has dismissed the bunch of the writ petitions (more than 200) by pronouncing common order and judgment. https://highcourt.hp.gov.in/viewojpdf/viewfaster.php?qry=MjAyNC8yMDAxMDAxMjE4MDIwMjRfMy5wZGY=

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