The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark ruling, stated that consumers should not be required to pay for electricity services that they have not received. This decision came as the court set aside a February 2025 order from the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (TEL) that allowed the recovery of the entire capital cost of the Rithala Combined Cycle Power Plant in Delhi over a period of 15 years. The bench, comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, emphasized that tariff determination is a regulatory balancing act, which must prioritize consumer interests alongside the recovery of utility costs. The court highlighted that electricity supply from the plant had ceased in March 2018, and thus, charging consumers for a service that was no longer provided was unjust. The ruling restores the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission's (DERC) November 2019 order, which had limited the depreciation recovery to ₹83.34 crore (approximately $10 million USD) for the period up to March 2018, rejecting the TEL's directive for extended recovery based on a 15-year useful life. This case underscores the importance of consumer welfare in tariff regulation under the Electricity Act of 2003.