Delhi High Court stays Seci order barring Reliance Power from renewable energy bids

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted a stay on Solar Energy Corporation of India's (Seci’s) notice of debarment against Reliance Power and its subsidiaries except for Reliance NU BESS, formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.

On 6 November, Seci had barred Reliance Power and its subsidiary Reliance NU BESS from participating in tenders floated by the state-run entity for three years. The ban was in response to the submission of allegedly fake documents by the Anil Ambani companies in a tender released by Seci in June, which sought bids for a 1,000 MW/2000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) project. Following this, the tender process was cancelled. Reliance Power said in a regulatory filing that it had challenged Seci’s notice of debarment in the Delhi High Court.

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After reviewing the documents submitted by Maharashtra Energy Generation Ltd, it was discovered that the endorsement of the bank guarantee against the earnest money deposit issued by a foreign bank was fake, Seci had said. “Since the discrepancy was discovered subsequent to the e-reverse auction, Seci was constrained to annul the tendering process,” it added. It said Reliance NU BESS and Reliance Power, including its subsidiaries, were barred from participating in all the future tenders issued by Seci until three years from the date of the debarment notice.

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In September, Reliance Power successfully secured a tender from Seci for the BESS project through an e-reverse auction, marking its entry into the renewable energy and storage sector. An e-reverse auction is an online auction in which suppliers compete to win a buyer's business by submitting bids that gradually decrease in price.

Adani indictment puts spotlight on Seci tenders

Seci plays a key role in India's renewable energy push by acting as a central intermediary between private power producers and state power distribution companies (discoms). On 23 November Mint reported that Seci’s mention in the US indictment of Gautam Adani has put the spotlight on its tendering process.

The indictment said Adani executives paid bribes to secure agreements with discoms to buy solar power from Seci, in a bid that Adani Green had won in a 2019 tender. Seci's inability to find buyers for the power generated by these projects, which US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges was priced "above market rate", was a key factor in the alleged bribery scheme. Adani Group has denied the allegations.

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"Seci will not be reviewing the order (the US indictment) or initiating a probe now on the issue, as there is no basis for that. There is no document with us other than the order, on the basis of which we could comment on the issue. I have heard of it only from the media. Further, I am not sure whether any norms have been violated and if anybody has been named in the order," Seci chairman and managing director R.P. Gupta told Mint.