The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) has allowed the India Power Corporation (IPCL) — one of the power distribution companies in the state – to buy 100 MW of round-the-clock (RTC) renewable power at a tariff of ₹2.90 (~$0.035)/kWh along with the trading margin of ₹0.07 (~$0.0009)/kWh from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

IPCL had filed a petition for the approval of a power sale agreement (PSA) with SECI with a 25-year tenure and at the rate determined through the competitive bidding process.

Background

SECI had invited bids to procure 400 MW of RTC power on a long-term basis on October 18, 2019.

ReNew Power had won the auction for the total tendered capacity at ₹2.90 (~$0.037)/kWh tariff.

Later IPCL signed a PSA with SECI to purchase 100 MW of RTC power for 25 years from the scheduled commissioning of the project.

The tariff was set as ₹2.90 (~$0.035)/kWh for the first year with a yearly escalation of 3% for 15 years and no escalation for the rest of the project lifetime. Additionally, a trading margin of ₹0.07 (~$0.0009)/kWh was payable to SECI for the entire term of the agreement.

IPCL, in its submission, stated that the landed cost of power, including transmission charges and losses, came to ₹3.31 (~$0.039)/kWh, which was much lower than the existing long-term power purchase agreement with the Damodar Valley Corporation and the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company for the procurement of RTC power.

IPCL added that the RTC power would offset the short-term power purchase agreements and help them meet the solar and non-solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO).

Commission’s analysis   

The Commission ordered IPCL on May 31, 2022, to submit a justification for purchasing 100 MW of RTC power through a load generation balance analysis.

Subsequently, IPCL submitted its average demand from 2018-19 to 2021-22 and projected it to be 256 MW during 2024-25.

The Commission observed that IPCL had proposed to purchase 701.3 MU of renewable power under the PSA. The proposed RTC renewable power would help IPCL to improve its renewable energy portfolio.

The Commission further noted that the price of RTC power was lower than that of renewable power of ₹5.29 (~$0.064)/kWh discovered in the Indian Energy Exchange during FY 2021-22.

WBERC said that no interstate charges would be levied on the transmission of electricity generated from solar and wind sources through ISTS for the sale of power by the projects commissioned within June 30, 2025, for 25 years from the date of the commissioning of the project.

WBERC noted that the price of ₹2.90 (~$0.035)/kWh discovered following the competitive bidding guidelines was economical and beneficial to the end consumers. It also approved the trading margin of ₹0.07 (~$0.0009)/kWh.

Earlier, WBERC had approved the PSA executed between IPCL and SECI to purchase 100 MW solar-wind hybrid power at a tariff of ₹2.69 (~$0.036)/kWh with a trading margin of ₹0.07 (~$0.0009)/kWh.

Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time Regulatory Updates to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.