In a move that could enhance the financial viability of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has accepted the request for modifications in TANGEDCO’s RfS and PPA documents, by adding clauses related to payment security, change in law, and relaxation from compliance of FDI laws by foreign bidders.

The request was granted in view of TANGEDCO’s 25 year-PPA that it will be entering into with solar and wind power generators for the tenders of 1,500 MW each of wind and solar.

TNERC was responding to a petition filed by TANGEDCO for granting approval to certain deviations in guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power (MoP) and the Government of India (GoI).

In its petition, TANGEDCO argued that the competitive bidding guidelines of the government specify that in case there is any deviation from these guidelines, it would need approval by the appropriate commission. The commission can either approve or require modification to the bid documents within 90 days.

TANGEDCO also asked the commission for approval to fix the maximum capacity limitation of 50 MW for any solar project at a single location given the limited evacuation availability. If approved, the projects could be commissioned within 13 months which in turn could help the state to meet its RPO requirement for the year 2019-20.

The commission agreed to the request made by TANGEDCO considering the requirement to meet the solar purchase obligation (SPO) target.

Earlier, TNERC approved the two petitions filed by TANGEDCO seeking permission to go ahead with tenders of 1,500 MW of grid-connected solar and wind projects each. It had sought TNERC’s approval to go ahead with tender of 1,500 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects with an upper tariff ceiling of ₹3 (~$0.044)/kWh. The TNERC has provided its approval but has directed the TANGEDCO to issue three separate tenders of 500 MW in phases one after the other and has fixed an upper tariff ceiling of ₹3 (~$0.044)/kWh.

TANGEDCO had also sought TNERC’s approval to go ahead with the tendering of 1,500 MW of wind projects with an upper tariff ceiling of ₹2.65 (~$0.0396)/kWh. TNERC has provided its approval in this case too, directing TANGEDCO to issue three separate tenders of 500 MW in phases one after the other and has fixed upper tariff ceiling of ₹2.65 (~$0.0396)/kWh.

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Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer