The National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) has written a letter to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) asking it to withhold from a public hearing until the proposed amendment to the state’s forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind generation is made.

The federation stated that several renewable energy companies across the country had taken issue with the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind generation regulations passed by their state’s electricity regulatory commissions. High courts have also passed interim orders not to take any coercive actions against these companies.

Similarly, companies in Andhra Pradesh have also filed petitions against the APERC contesting the regulation.

In one such case, the Supreme Court passed an order directing the Andhra Pradesh High Court that these issues should not be adjudicated by the state commissions, but rather by the state High Court.

The NSEFI explained that, accordingly, the validity of the regulations in question are under review by the High Court and that it has passed an interim order directing DISCOMs not to take any coercive action until the petitions are resolved.

In its letter to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission, the federation requested it to withhold any further proceedings regarding this issue and the proposed public hearing until the High Court announces its verdict on the legal and constitutional validity of the regulations.

The Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh recently issued a notice to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking amendments to the existing regulations for forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement for variable renewable energy projects. It said that the Andhra Pradesh State Load Despatch Center (APSLDC) made a detailed report highlighting the difficulties they face in everyday operations because of the existing regulations. The distribution company (DISCOM) said that offering generation forecasts a day ahead daily has become challenging because of several factors.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh State Load Dispatch Center (APSLDC) has filed a review petition before the state’s high court against Power System Operation Corporation Limited’s (POSOCO) appointment to look into the reasons behind the curtailment of renewable energy in the state, due to it being an independent central agency. The state high court in its order dated January 27, 2020, had asked the Power System Operation Limited to investigate the reasons behind the curtailment of renewable power in Andhra Pradesh, as reported earlier by Mercom.

According to Mercom India Solar Project Tracker, Andhra Pradesh accounts for 3.4 GW of large-scale solar projects in operations, and approximately 1.7 GW of projects are under the development pipeline. According to the MNRE, Andhra Pradesh has 4.1 GW of wind power capacity (as of October 2019).