CCI dismisses complaint against Adani Group entities in solar power tender case

The antitrust regulator on Thursday rejected a complaint against Adani group entities and others, finding no prima-facie evidence of anti-competitive practices in the award of a tender by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Ravi Sharma, the complainant, had accused Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy Four, Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, Azure Power India, SECI and several state power utilities of contravening competition rules.

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In an order on Thursday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) observed that Adani Group does not appear to have dominance over the country's power generation market, which comprises many public and private enterprises, dismissing allegations of abuse of market dominance.

“The informant has also not placed on record any evidence which may suggest as to why solar power, or public and private power generation companies, ought to be treated as distinct markets,” the regulator said.

The SECI’s 2019 tender for 7 GW solar power projects, Sharma had alleged, was designed to favour big players, such as Adani and Azure Power. Certain tender conditions, including the green shoe option and tariff revisions, effectively excluded smaller firms and restricted competition, he claimed.

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The request for selection document was prepared in contravention of the power ministry guidelines, which don’t allow the clubbing of solar power units with solar manufacturing plants, he alleged.

However, the regulator held that the "complainant has not provided any cogent evidence of the request for selection documents being designed in a manner that encourages participation of only big players in the market."

“Further, the informant has not been able to furnish any evidence in support of his allegation that OP-5 (Azure Power) was only a cover bidder for OP-2 (Adani Green Energy Four),” the CCI said.

The complainant had also alleged that the Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission in the US had filed detailed chargesheet/indictment in 2024 showing how Adani Group entities, in connivance with Azure, “abused their market dominance and while indulging in anti-competitive practices, acquired many renewable energy generation plants”.

However, the CCI observed that the alleged conduct--offering of bribes to Indian government officials to enable SECI to enter into power sale agreements with buying utilities, in turn allowing Adani Green Energy to get into purchase pacts with the SECI, also “does not seem to qualify as an abusive conduct (exclusionary or exploitative), within the meaning of Section 4 of the Competition Act.” Section 4 deals with provisions of the abuse of market dominance.

Factoring in the various allegations and responses by the parties concerned, the Commission held that “there is no prima facie case of contravention of provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the Act warranting an investigation into the matter”, and closed the case.