The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) approved ₹70.6 million (~$849,791) compensation to Solitaire Powertech over the reported generation loss of 15,949 MWh for its 30 MW solar project, following the final estimations submitted by the Grid Controller of India (GCIL).

Solitaire Powertech filed a petition seeking compensation for a generation loss of 28,242 MWh for their 30 MW solar project from August 2020 to September 2021.

The respondents in the case were Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation (KPTCL) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Background

Solitaire Powertech first filed the petition for compensation with KERC in 2021. The Commission, in an order dated September 14, 2021, outlined that the petitioner is entitled to ₹4.43 (~$0.053)/kWh compensation for generation loss due to transmission congestion starting August 1, 2020. Monthly compensation calculations were to be submitted to the Commission and KPTCL within eight weeks.

The Commission said it would verify and determine a lump sum compensation payable by KPTCL within eight weeks, with a 6% per annum interest on default.

Following this order, KPTCL challenged it through a writ petition, and the petitioner contested the decision before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), disputing the disallowed claim from the commercial operation date of April 7, 2018.

After the petition’s dismissal, KPTCL filed an appeal against the final order’s legality and was directed to approach its state commission and seek a third-party assessment.

After reviewing submissions, the Commission decided to refer the assessment of generation loss to an independent expert and chose the Grid Controller of India (GCIL).

The Executive Director of Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre (SRLDC) at GCIL submitted a detailed curtailment report on June 15, 2023, quantifying a net generation loss of 15,949 MWh for the relevant period of the petitioner’s 30 MW solar project due to power evacuation curtailment.

Following the report submission, both the petitioner and KPTCL filed objections.

The petitioner challenged Grid India’s Curtailment Report, asserting errors in quantifying generation losses due to technology and location differences. It also argued against the comparison with Azure’s project, emphasizing the necessity of shutting down extra inverters for grid security.

The petitioner argued that the amount of energy produced by the petitioner’s project’s generating units has significantly decreased in the Curtailment Report, indicating an error of around 30%.

The report from Grid India explicitly stated that the petitioner had suffered a generation loss of at least 15,949 MWh, contrasting with the 28,242 MWh loss calculated in the TUV Rheinland Report.

The petitioner urged the rejection of Grid India’s Curtailment Report and acceptance of the 28,242 MWh generation loss computed in the TUV Rheinland Report.

KPTCL argued that no liability for damages exists due to the absence of a valid agreement pre-determining damages. Without a binding agreement on damages, KPTCL claimed that it could not be held responsible for hypothetically quantified losses.

It also added that the petition did not allege loss/damages based on tortious liability, so no relief could be granted on that ground. Therefore, it requested the dismissal of GCIL’s estimated loss and rejection of the petitioner’s claim for the above reasons.

Commission Analysis

The Commission analyzed the opposing arguments for the energy loss from August 2020 to September 2021.

It noted that the petitioner submitted an Energy Yield Estimation Analysis Report by TUV Rheinland, estimating a loss of 28,242 MWh. However, it raised concerns regarding the reliability of the TUV Rheinland software.

The Commission found the evidence insufficient to support the claimed energy loss.

In case the loss of generation at 15,949 MWh, as assessed by GRID India, is accepted or adjusted, the Commission said GRID India’s report estimated a generation loss of 15,949 MWh.

The Commission considered the methodology used and the objections raised by both parties. After assessing dissimilarities between projects and expert opinion from GCIL, the Commission affirmed the 15,949 MWh generation loss as calculated by GRID India.

The Commission rejected the petitioner’s request to true up the generation loss, considering the reasonableness of the estimate provided by GCIL.

Given the validated generation loss of 15,949 MWh, at a rate of ₹4.43(~$0.053)/kWh, the total compensation/damages payable to the petitioner is ₹70.6 million (~$849,791), i.e., 15,949 x 1,000 x 4.43(~$0.053) = ₹70,654,070 (~$849,791).

Recently, KERC condoned the delay in the commissioning of solar power projects by a developer and allowed the extension of the scheduled commercial operation date.

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