The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) is a statutory institution established by the Central Government of India under Section 110 of the Electricity Act, 2003. It was constituted in 2005 to hear appeals against the orders of the adjudicating officer or the Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (CERC and SERCs). The Tribunal was created to solve the problem of a lack of a dedicated, multi-disciplinary expert appellate body for the newly liberalized electricity sector, a need highlighted by the Supreme Court in the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission v. CESC Ltd. (2002) judgment.
APTEL works as the primary appellate forum for the electricity sector, with Section 111 of the Electricity Act, 2003, allowing any "person aggrieved" by an order of the Appropriate Commission to prefer an appeal. The Tribunal's benches are composed of a mix of judicial and technical members, ensuring a combination of legal and industry expertise. Beyond its appellate function, APTEL has a superintending role under Section 121 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which allows it to issue orders, instructions, or directions to any Regulatory Commission for the performance of its statutory functions. This power enables APTEL to initiate suo motu proceedings on systemic issues, such as a national crisis arising from distribution utilities not filing tariff petitions.
APTEL connects directly to the Electricity Act, 2003, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), and the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), whose orders it reviews. The Tribunal's jurisdiction was expanded in 2007 when it was also designated as the Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals against the orders of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006. Any order passed by APTEL can be appealed before the Supreme Court of India, but only on a substantial question of law, as specified in Section 125 of the Electricity Act, 2003. APTEL has recently been involved in significant matters, such as setting aside the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission's (DERC) proposal to conduct an audit of power discoms through the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in April 2026, citing a violation of Section 20(3) of the CAG Act, 1971.