Months after bribery allegations were made against former Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy over solar power agreements involving the Adani Group, the state electricity regulator has approved power purchases under the same agreement for the coming financial year. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has claimed that this exonerates Jagan and invalidates the corruption allegations levelled by the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and others, based on a court filing by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has approved the purchase of 4,000 megawatts (MW) of power from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) during the financial year 2025-26, in an order issued on February 20.
“As the matter is sub judice and the electricity distribution companies propose to procure it as per the approval given by APERC, the Commission found no reason not to include 4,000 MW out of 7,000 MW from SECI in the power procurement plan for FY2025-26. Regulated contracts like subject PSAs cannot be cancelled suo moto as requested by the stakeholders,” the APERC said.
The 7,000 MW power sale agreement (PSA) from 2021 between the discoms of Andhra Pradesh and SECI erupted into a major controversy in December 2024, when the US Department of Justice charged Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani for allegedly offering bribes for getting solar contracts through SECI.
Jagan, who was labelled Foreign Official #1 in the indictment order, was allegedly offered a bribe of Rs 1,750 crore (Rs 25 lakh per MW of solar power) in exchange for solar power contracts of 7,000 MW in 2021, when the YSRCP was in power, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Jagan’s YSRCP has denied these allegations.
The 7,000 MW of solar power was to be supplied by SECI to the Andhra Pradesh discoms in three tranches—3,000 MW from October 2024, 3,000 MW from October 2025, and 1,000 MW from October 2026.
“However, due to a delay in the completion of transmission elements by CTUIL [Central Transmission Utility of India Limited], SECI has informed that 1,000 MW will be supplied from January 15, 2025, onwards, 3,000 MW in 2025-26, and a balance of 3,000 MW in 2026-27,” the APERC order said.
Acknowledging the bribery allegations, the APERC said, “Several objections regarding 7,000 power procurement exist on various grounds and voiced cancellation of approval by APERC, given the media reports regarding the bribes in the SECI power procurement. The Commission consented to the PSA with detailed reasoning subject to the outcome in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in the pending PILs.”
The state government has established a separate entity called AP Rural Agriculture Power Limited (APRAPL) to channel solar power from SECI towards free supply for agriculture consumers. APRAPL is in the process of obtaining a license, and once it is fully operationalised, the SECI power sale agreement will be transferred from the discoms to APRAPL, the regulatory authority said.
Reacting to the APERC’s decision on February 22, former YSRCP minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy claimed that it disproved the “baseless allegations” of bribes, transmission losses, and other issues levelled by the TDP and media outlets that were favourable to the party in power.
“There were numerous attempts to discredit YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to cover up the misdeeds of Chandrababu Naidu. and the APERC statement has set the record straight,” he said. He claimed that the SECI agreement was made “keeping in view the farmers’ requirement.”
Earlier in January, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said that his government cannot cancel the power purchase agreements with SECI without obtaining concrete proof to back the bribery allegations against Jagan.
