The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) is a statutory and autonomous institution established in 2005 under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003. It was created to solve the problem of a lack of a specialized, multi-disciplinary expert appellate body to hear appeals against the orders of the various electricity regulatory commissions. The need for such a body was highlighted by the Supreme Court in the 2002 judgment of West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission v. CESC Ltd..
APTEL functions as the principal appellate authority for the energy sector, hearing appeals under Section 111 of the Electricity Act, 2003, against orders issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), Joint Commissions, and Adjudicating Officers. Its jurisdiction was expanded in 2007 to also hear appeals against the orders of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006. The Tribunal is mandated to dispose of appeals within 180 days for electricity matters and 90 days for petroleum and natural gas matters.
The Tribunal's mechanism involves a bench that combines legal and technical expertise, comprising a Chairperson (a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court), a Judicial Member, and Technical Members who are experts in the electricity and petroleum sectors. Beyond its appellate role, APTEL has a superintending function under Section 121 of the Electricity Act, 2003, allowing it to issue orders or directions to any State or Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to ensure they perform their statutory functions. An appeal from an APTEL order lies directly to the Supreme Court of India, but only on a substantial question of law. APTEL's recent judgments, such as the one in ACME Dayakara Solar Power Private Limited on April 13, 2026, often clarify complex regulatory concepts like "Change in Law" in Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).