Over 5,400 power sector cases pending across courts, APTEL and CERC
Nearly 5,407 cases involving India’s power sector are pending across judicial forums, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), while the government has said it has not quantified the overall financial and operational impact of the unresolved litigation.
The Ministry of Power disclosed the figures in the Lok Sabha on July 23, 2026, in response to an unstarred question from MP Roopkumari Choudhary. Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik said about 1,303 court cases involving the Ministry are pending before various judicial forums.
Separately, 2,911 matters were pending before APTEL as of June 30, 2026, while 1,193 petitions were pending before CERC as of the same date. Together, the three categories account for 5,407 pending cases and petitions.
Key disputes
The pending matters cover several areas of the electricity sector, including General Network Access (GNA) and connectivity, compensation related to Right of Way (RoW) for transmission lines, and compliance with the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC).
Other disputes involve enforcement of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Change in Law claims, tariff determination and true-up proceedings, Force Majeure claims, and matters related to the Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM).
Despite the volume of litigation, the Ministry has not provided an aggregate estimate of the financial exposure associated with these cases or their overall operational impact.
Responding to questions on whether such an assessment had been undertaken and the value of claims involved, the Ministry said each matter depends on its individual facts and circumstances. The eventual financial implications depend on decisions by the courts, APTEL or the regulatory commissions, making an overall quantification of the exposure unfeasible.
Dispute framework
The government pointed to the existing framework under the Electricity Act, 2003 for resolving disputes in the sector rather than announcing additional measures.
Sections 79 and 86 of the Act empower CERC and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) to adjudicate disputes falling within their respective jurisdictions or refer them for arbitration.
APTEL, established under Section 110 of the Electricity Act, hears appeals against orders of the regulatory commissions. Section 125 provides for a further appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Ministry also cited mechanisms intended to facilitate dispute resolution and reduce litigation. These include the Conciliation Committee of Independent Experts for contractual disputes involving Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), Independent Engineers for hydro projects and periodic guidelines governing RoW compensation.
Digital mechanisms include CERC’s “SAUDAMINI” e-court system and APTEL’s virtual hearing facility.
The 5,407 pending cases and petitions indicate the scale of unresolved legal and regulatory matters across the power sector, spanning transmission access, project contracts, tariffs, grid operations and commercial claims. However, without an assessment of the value of claims or their operational implications, the aggregate financial exposure associated with the pending litigation remains undetermined.
The featured photograph is for representation only.
