In Brief
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company appealed against an Appellate Tribunal decision holding that captive consumers—those who generate their own electricity—are exempt from paying additional surcharge under the Electricity Act, 2003. The Supreme Court upheld this exemption, holding that captive consumers have a statutory right to generate electricity for their own use without requiring State Commission permission, unlike ordinary consumers who source electricity from distribution licensees. The Court found that captive consumers form a distinct class because they incur substantial capital expenditure on generating plants, whereas ordinary consumers do not. Charging them additional surcharge would discriminatorily treat unequals equally. The appeals were dismissed, and previously recovered surcharges were to be adjusted against future billing.
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