The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has said that the permissible deviation for all wind and solar generators will be in the band of 10% of the scheduled energy injection into the grid. The regulator cut the earlier permissible band of 15% for these projects.

The regulations have been revised to integrate large capacities of solar and wind while maintaining grid stability.

Wind-solar hybrid projects have not been included in the ambit of the ‘Forecasting, Scheduling, Deviation Settlement and Related Matters for Wind and Solar Generation Sources Regulations, 2022.’

The Commission had issued the draft for the DSM regulations 2022 in August last year.

The regulator’s order said that regulations will apply to all wind generators having an installed capacity of 10 MW and above and solar generators with an installed capacity of 5 MW or above whether they are supplying power to the electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) or third-party consumers through open access or for captive consumption through open access within the state.

The Commission had received representations from Qualified Coordinating Agencies (QCAs), generators, and the State Load Despatch Center (SLDC) highlighting various issues faced by them during the implementation of the earlier regulations.

According to the amendments, the wind and solar power generators should furnish week-ahead, day-ahead, and intraday generation schedules for each pooling station or generation station. The day-ahead forecast should include wind and solar energy generation forecasts at regular intervals of 15-minute time blocks.

As per the amendments, wind and solar generators having power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the ESCOMs or directly supplying power to consumers under the open access route would be liable to pay ₹0.25 (~$0.003)/kWh for deviation beyond the band of 10% and up to the band 20%.

Also, they will have to pay an additional charge of ₹0.50 (~$0.006)/kWh for the deviation between the 20%-30% band.

Further, for deviation beyond the 30% band, the wind, and solar generators will have to pay ₹0.75 (~$0.009)/kWh on top of the existing charges for deviation beyond.

According to the amendments, no deviation charges will be payable for any deviation in case of curtailment imposed on the injection of energy for secure grid operation in emergency situations.

Also, the QCA should get registered for each pooling station and the application for registration should be accompanied by a processing fee of ₹5,000 (~$61.2).

The QCA should submit a bank guarantee of ₹20,000 (~$244.89)/MW and ₹40,000 (~$489.79)/MW for each pooling station for solar and wind generation respectively to the SLDC toward payment security.

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