The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved tariffs ranging from ₹3.11 (~$0.037)/kWh to ₹3.17 (~$0.038)/kWh for 240 MW of wind power projects. The tariffs were discovered through competitive bidding conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam  (GUVNL).

Background

GUVNL filed a petition under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003, for adopting tariffs discovered through competitive bidding for 500 MW of grid-connected wind power projects (Phase V), with an additional allocation of up to 500 MW under a greenshoe option.

The successful bidders and their awarded capacities are:

• Juniper Green Energy: 70 MW at ₹3.11 (~$0.037)/kWh
• Evergreen Renewables: 30 MW at ₹3.17 (~$0.038)/kWh
• SJVN Green Energy (SJVN): 100 MW at ₹3.17 (~$0.038)/kWh
• Solarcraft Power India 14 (Solarcraft): 40 MW at ₹3.17 (~$0.038)/kWh

GUVNL sought approval to sign Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with these successful bidders for a total capacity of 240 MW.

Commission’s Analysis

The Commission noted that the competitive bidding process was conducted per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power.

Concerns were raised regarding the responsiveness of the bid submitted by Evergreen Renewables. However, after examination, the Commission was satisfied that Evergreen Renewables was competent to undertake the project.

The Commission observed that the discovered tariffs are competitive compared to recent wind power tenders in the country. The wind power procurement will help GUVNL meet its Renewable Purchase Obligations and contribute to grid balancing.

Adopting the tariffs discovered through the competitive bidding process, the regulator approved GUVNL’s plea to enter into PPAs with the four successful bidders.

Earlier, GERC allowed net metering for rooftop solar systems with a capacity of 1 kW and up to 1 MW. Gross metering was permitted for rooftop solar systems with 10 kW and up to 1 MW capacity.

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