India’s top court ruled in favor of billionaire Gautam Adani’s power unit, saying state-run distribution companies in Rajasthan state have to pay Adani Power Ltd. 30.48 billion rupees ($405 million) and additional interest to compensate for higher fuel costs.
Adani is fighting multiple court battles against states including Rajasthan, and Haryana, seeking compensatory tariffs that reflect the cost of the pricier imported coal it uses to fire its plants. On Friday, India’s Supreme Court ruled that four power retailers have to pay Adani Power the money within four weeks, to clear a backlog in payments due since 2013.
State-run power retailers, which lose money on nearly a fifth of the power they supply because of power thefts and leakages through old cable networks, owe billions of dollars in payments to power generators.
The latest ruling will help Adani Power repay loans or meet capital requirements for projects. Adani Power shares in Mumbai rose as much as 15%, the highest gain in more than a week, after the ruling. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was trading 2.8% higher at 11:50 a.m. local time.