While allegations continue that the former chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy-received a bribe of Rs. 1750 crore from Adani Power, the supplier, for the agreement signed by SECI with the state government to supply 12,000 MW of solar power to AP for six years, a key development has taken place on the other hand.
The deal made by another company, Azure Power, to transfer 2300 MW of power to SECI, which had a contract to supply power to AP, is becoming controversial. The argument made by the central government company Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) before the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) that the deal made by Azure Power to supply 2300 MW of solar power to Adani Green Energy was in the public interest has now said to be challenged by the AP state government.
It seems that this argument has been rejected by the current coalition government in AP. AP said to be questioned that what is the public interest in this? According to reports in some national news papers, the state government sources said that although the agreement signed by the then YSRCP government with SECI in 2019 did not contain any provisions to prevent or allow the transfer of power capacity, the question was what was the “public interest” in transferring it to Adani?
Since SECI is already in agreement with the AP government, it seems that questions have been raised about the supplier Adani entering into such agreements in the meantime. The CERC had sought SECI’s opinion on October 28 regarding the transfer of power capacity from Azure Power to Adani Green Energy as per the agreement signed in 2019.
SECI said that it could move forward on this issue in the public interest instead. It is on this that the AP government has now expressed objections. Especially in the context of the fact that the Adani agreement is being investigated in a US court and the allegations of the US Stock Exchange Commission that Azure transferred this power in exchange for a bribe paid by Adani Energy gained prominence. The Adani Group, however, is denying the allegations made by American companies.
While there is now global spotlight on the solar Power Sale Agreement (PSA) of the Adani-Azure group, Payyaula Keshav of Telugu Desam Party – now Finance Minister in the Chandrababu Naidu government – had earlier raised a written objection to modification of tender conditions in the Andhra Pradesh deal before the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
He had also followed it up with a PIL that is pending with AP High Court, a fact cited by the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission in a separate order relating to relief sought by distribution companies in an April 2024 order.