Sectors · Infrastructure and projects
Energy and natural resources
Power generation, renewable energy, mining and hydrocarbon operations run under some of the more complex regulatory frameworks in Indian law, spanning central and state licensing, sector regulators with their own adjudicatory powers, and environmental and forest law.
Reviewed
What this covers
- Power purchase agreement disputes before CERC and state commissions
- Mining lease disputes and regulatory compliance
- Environmental clearance litigation and National Green Tribunal proceedings
- Renewable energy project regulatory advisory
- Coal and mineral allocation disputes
- Oil and gas contract disputes and arbitration
- Forest and land diversion approvals
- Electricity theft and enforcement proceedings
The notes behind these capabilities
A generator that sells power under a power purchase agreement (PPA) and bears a higher cost after a change in law claims compensation under the agreement and, since 22 October 2021, under the Electricity (Timely Recovery of Costs due to Change in Law) Rules, 2021 (the Rules), which restore it to its earlier position. It gives three weeks' notice and files its documents with the Appropriate Commission, which has sixty days to verify and adjust the tariff. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) hears the claim of a generator owned by the Central Government, or with a composite scheme in more than one State, under section 79 of the Electricity Act, 2003, and a State Commission any other claim under section 86; appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) within forty-five days and then to the Supreme Court within sixty days.
A mining lease in India goes to a person selected under section 10(4) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act): by auction under section 10B for a notified mineral such as iron ore, or by the routes in sections 10BA, 11, 11A, 11B and 11D, a reservation under section 17A or the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. It runs for fifty years under section 8A and passes to a buyer under section 12A with the previous approval of the State Government, taken to have no objection if it conveys no decision in ninety days, and with no transfer charge since 28 March 2021. The payments continue: royalty or dead rent, whichever is greater, ten per cent of royalty to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for a lease granted on or after 12 January 2015, three per cent to the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust (NMEDT) since 1 September 2025, and the auction premium. The lease lapses under section 4A(4) after two years without production and dispatch, and a refusal goes in revision to the Central Government under section 30 of the Act and rules 35 and 36 of the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession Rules, 2016.
Reference
Regulators in this sector
Forums
Practice areas that apply
Advocates in this sector
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