Policy Briefs States

The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission amended its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) policy to include wind energy in the RPO and move solar energy into the ‘other RPO’ category. The changes are in line with the regulation issued by the Ministry of Power. Since the RPO targets for FY 2023 are based on the current trajectory specified in the renewable regulations 2021, the new RPO trajectory will be effective from FY24.

Center

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission passed a suo motu order retaining the ₹12 (~$0.14)/kWh price cap on power exchanges till further notice to ensure that prices didn’t rise disproportionately as a result of the increasing lighting and heating needs along with industrial activity in the north and northwestern India due to intense cold weather.

A parliamentary committee asked the Ministry of Power to ensure that all states set up standalone State Designated Agencies to facilitate and enforce the efficient use of energy as mandated by the Energy Conservation Act.

The Delhi Government released the draft solar policy that targets 6,000 MW of installed solar capacity in the next three years and envisages a three-fold jump in solar energy share in annual electricity demand to 25% by 2025 from 9% currently. The operative period of the policy will be three years. The new policy is expected to help address the issue of pollution and generate over 12,000 new green jobs.

The Odisha Government released its renewable energy policy, which aims to provide the necessary impetus to the solar sector and accelerate its adoption in the state. The policy intends to promote solar parks having a minimum capacity of 25 MW to reduce the cost of generation and the associated infrastructure. It will remain in force until March 31, 2030, or until the state government announces a new policy.

The Ministry of Power issued an order waiving the interstate transmission system (ISTS) charges on evacuating electricity from new hydropower projects in the country. To bring parity among solar, wind, and hydropower generation, the ministry provided the same concession to the latter as is already available to the other two renewable sources.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission reverted to a frequencylinked deviation settlement mechanism as an interim measure to protect grid stability which has been under pressure over the last three weeks owing to a change in regulations. The grid frequency deviated dangerously away from the acceptable range of 49.90 -50.05 Hz. It oscillated from 50.5 Hz and 49.41 Hz on December 20.

The Ministry of Power is considering cutting the tenure of prospective long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to 12-15 years from the extant 25 years to provide more flexibility to DISCOMs and promote the power trading markets further. The ministry told the parliamentary standing committee on energy that it was considering amendments to the model PPA.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy granted a timeline extension until September 30, 2024, for solar power projects (Tranche I and Tranche II) under Phase II of the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) program implemented by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The extension would be granted to projects whose scheduled commissioning date is before September 30, 2024. The MNRE also granted a timeline extension until September 30, 2024, to solar power projects (Tranche III) under Phase II of the CPSU program implemented by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency on the same grounds.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission announced massive surges in the applicable charges for various services involved in Renewable Energy Certificate trading. While the Commission allowed the fee revision to help the implementing agency fund the upgradation of the infrastructure, industry experts said the decision was a dampener for both buyers and sellers in the market, especially the small entities with cash-flow issues.