The Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has passed an order regarding the determination of generic tariff for bagasse-based power plants in Telangana for the control period 2018-2020. The commission has determined the levelized fixed cost to be at ₹2.23 (~ $0.03) per unit.

The tariff proposed will be applicable to all bagasse-based co-generation plants commissioned during FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20. The order will also be applicable on projects whose commercial operation date happened to be after the year 2009 for which they have obtained sanctions and permissions from the competent nodal agencies in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh and later in the state of Telangana.

This regulation will also be pertinent to projects which have obtained sanctions and permissions from the competent nodal agencies in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh and later in the state of Telangana but have not yet commissioned the project and are likely to commission during the control period 2018-2020.

It should be noted that the process of tariff determination for notified tariff in the state was initiated by Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) in its first order on June 20, 2001, which was applicable up to March 31, 2004 for all types of renewables, except solar. APERC passed another order, determining tariff for renewable sources on March 31, 2009 for control period 2009-2014.

With India’s growth in production of food grains, bagasse cogeneration and biomass power has been garnering a lot of attention. Recently, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had invited an expression of interest to determine the same. In recent past, National policy on Biofuels -2018 got a nod from the central government too. In May 2018, a program to support promotion of biomass-based cogeneration in sugar mills and other industries was announced by MNRE.