In its latest order, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has asked the National Load Despatch Center (NLDC) to accept the request put forth by Balrampur Chini Mills for the grant of renewable energy certificates (RECs) for February 2018.

The commission has asked the NLDC to process the application within one month from the date of the issuance of the order.

The petition was filed by Balrampur Chini Mills, located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, on April 11, 2019.

The petitioner should have applied for the issuance of RECs within six months from the date of renewable energy generation and injection into the grid from the project. The commission observed that the petitioner accepted that the delay of four days in applying for the issuance of RECs for February 2018 was due to oversight.

Background

Balrampur Chini Mills Limited and its unit Mankapur Chini Mills have one project each based on biofuel cogeneration technology, and both the projects are registered under the REC mechanism.

Balrampur Chini Mills is in the business of manufacturing sugar and has a renewable energy generating station of 5 MW.  Mankapur Chini Mills also owns a renewable energy generation station with an accredited capacity of 5 MW.

The company in its petition had also stated that the two projects injected a total of 2,470.75 MWh of renewable energy into the grid during February 2018. The petitioner also added that without the issuance of RECs, its consequential financial loss was to the tune of ₹2.72 million (~$37,889) at the rate of ₹1,100 (~$15.32)/REC.

After its review, the commission observed that the delay of four days in applying was technical and caused no harm to any of the stakeholders, including the respondent in the case.

Stating this, the commission directed the NLDC to process the application and grant the requested RECs to the petitioner within a month after due verification.

Earlier this year, the CERC had directed NLDC and the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) to issue RECs to Rana Sugars for a period from March 2016 to April 2017. The commission had observed that the RECs were denied on account of procedural and technical issues on which the respondent has no power or authority.

Recently, Uttar Pradesh issued draft regulations for captive and renewable energy generating projects in the state. The main objective of these regulations is to promote the generation of electricity from renewable sources, facilitate connectivity of renewable power projects with the grid, and ensure the sale of electricity to any person.