Responding to a petition filed by the state’s power distribution companies (DISCOMs), Southern and Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited, the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has curtailed the enforcement period of wind tariff order of 2015.

Per the APERC order, “Regulation 1 of APERC (Terms and Conditions for Tariff Determination for Wind Power Projects) Regulations, 2015, will be deemed to have remained in force up to March 31, 2017, and deemed to have ceased to be in force with effect from April 1, 2017.”

In its order, the APERC also stated, “The state DISCOMs can procure power through a transparent process of bidding in accordance with the guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of power from grid connected wind power projects formulated and issued by the Ministry of Power, Government of India dated 08-12-2017 under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003.”

Previously, a generation-based incentive (GBI) was offered to wind energy generators at ₹0.50 (~$0.0072)/kWh of electricity fed into the grid for a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 10 years with a cap of ₹10million (~$145,603)/MW. Through the order, APERC has removed that GBI.

In December 2017, APERC had approved Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for 41 wind projects aggregating 841.32 MW.

Previously, APERC had set the benchmark tariff for wind power in Andhra Pradesh at ₹4.35 (~$0.067)/kWh with accelerated depreciation and ₹4.76 (~$0.073)/kWh without accelerated depreciation for FY 2017-18.