The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has rejected the petition filed by Kochi Municipal Corporation (KMC) for the approval of a draft power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEBL) and G.J Eco Power Private Limited for supplying the electricity generated from 10 MW waste to energy project at Brahmapuram, Kochi.

KMC in its petition stated that the commission in its March 3, 2018 order had approved the tariff of ₹6.17 (~$0.089)/ kWh for 20 years from the commercial operation date (COD) for the electricity generated from the 10 MW waste to energy project.

It further argued that KMC issued a Letter of Award (LoA) in January 2016 to G.J Eco Power Private Limited, and executed a concession agreement for the development, operation, and maintenance (O&M) of the proposed project at Brahmapuram.

Later, as per the concession agreement, the PPA with KSEBL for the sale of electricity the project had to be signed by the. G.J Eco Power Private Limited. The municipal corporation also issued a no objection certificate to the G.J Eco Power Private Limited for executing the PPA with KSEBL.

After examining the petition, Commission quoted – “As per concession agreement, G.J Eco Power Private Limited is eligible to get only the difference between the energy charges as per the power tariff rate as per bid and the sale rate as per PPA with KSEBL, from KMC. As per the provisions of the concession agreement, electricity generation and supply were the responsibility of the G.J Eco Power Pvt Ltd. during the period of concession.”

The municipal council has authorized G J Eco Power Private Ltd to sign the PPA with the state electricity board for supplying electricity generated from the 10 MW waste to energy project. Therefore, the Kochi Municipal Corporation is not a party to the PPA.

The commission argued that the petition for the approval of PPA should be filed either by the distribution licensee KSEBL or the developer G.J Eco Power Private Limited. Therefore, the petition filed by the KMC is not maintainable.

The commission noted that G.J Eco Power Private Limited has filed the petition for the approval of PPA to be signed with KSEBL on December 20, 2018, and remitted the required fee of ₹50,000 (~$724.60) before the commission.

Accordingly, the KSERC ordered to refund the petition fee of ₹50,000 (~$724.60) remitted to the KMC.

Recently, the  KSERC approved modifications in the standard bid document relating to the capacity utilization factor, metering point, and project location for 200 MW of solar photovoltaic projects.