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MNRE Notification Extends Deadline for PM KUSUM Component A Completion
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he Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has published a notification extending the deadline for projects allotted under Component A of PM KUSUM scheme to March 31, 2022. Component A refers to ground mounted projects on barren/waste land owned by farmers or in rural areas, with an overall target of 10,000 MW of such projects eventually. Solar Power plants of capacity 500 kW to 2 MW can be set up by individual farmers, groups of farmers, and panchayats. The current extension supersedes the extension already granted for Covid-19 linked delays. The MNRE, had granted a 75-day extension for projects with commissioning dates between April 1 and June 15, 2021 in June this year. While developers who have been provided letter of awards will welcome the decision, we understand that offtake will be slow in 2021-22 in any case, so overall impact is unlikely to be really big. Component B of PM KUSUM, which provides for off grid solar pumps has been the most popular option availed till now, with Component C, that seeks grid connected solar pumps, faring poorly too. This year, there has been a distinct uptick in tenders under component A, with many states coming out with large tenders of upto 500 MW. In just this quarter, we have tracked close to 1500 MW of tenders under component A of PM KUSUM. The outcomes of most of these are not public yet, although the response to some of the recent ones has apparently been good, when we tried to speak to discom officials. These projects, especially where farmers or farmer organisations are involved, usually take longer to get going owing to the unfamiliarity of the promoters with the process and technicalities, and the risk of falling for scamsters. The MNRE has repeatedly warned people to beware of fraudsters posing as firms and agents that can get financing or approvals in place for PM KUSUM projects.
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Bengal Tender for Empanelment Of Rooftop Agencies for 50 MW Solar On Residential Buildings The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is seeking bids for the empanelment of agencies for the installation of 50 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects on residential buildings in West Bengal. The tender comes after a significant gap, with Bengal already one of the laggards on solar adoption. In fact, the state happens to have one of the dirtiest (involving use of unwashed coal) thermal energy, according to research from CSE. The state’s reluctance has been blamed on the abundant coal mined in the state, besides the power plants being run by the discoms in the state, especially CESC, which supplies to Kolkata. The deadline to submit the bids online for this rooftop tender is September 27, 2021, and bids will be opened on September 29. The pre-bid meeting is scheduled to be held on September 8. The MNRE has also recently notified benchmark rates for rooftop solar, so expect bids to come in well below that. Bidders are required to pay earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs. 2,00,000. Micro, small, and medium enterprises
MoP Launches Regulatory Compliance Division to Monitor Discoms
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he Ministry of Power (MoP) has set up a regulatory compliance division to monitor the various regulatory parameters and their compliances by the DISCOMS (distribution companies) as well as state commissions. The information was revealed in a recent interaction between Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R.K Singh and electricity regulators. The forum of regulators resolved to prepare norms on various regulatory parameters and issues, which would be adopted by the state commissions. This would help the state commissions in adopting the best practices for faster implementation of reform and regulatory policies, said an official statement. Regulatory issues like financial viability of
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(MSMEs) have been exempted from paying the EMD. The tender document states that bidders will be empaneled under two categories of bidders (Category-A and Category-B). Under Category-A, the bidder must have installed a minimum of 200 kW capacity of grid-connected rooftop solar projects in the residential sector before the bid submission date. Or, the bidder must have installed and commissioned a 1 MW capacity of any grid-connected systems in any sector, including residential, industrial, government, or other such programs. New entrepreneurs who are not covered under Category A will be accounted for under Category B. Additionally, Category-A bidders must have an average turnover of Rs. 15 million per year during the last three financial years. Category-B bidders must have an average turnover of Rs. 1.5 million per year during the last three financial years. Bidders must have a positive net worth in the last three financial years. Out of the total approved capacity of 50 MW, 35 MW has been reserved for Category A and 15 MW for Category B.
the distribution companies, payment of dues, reduction in AT&C losses, roll out of smart metering in prepayment mode, timely issuance of tariff orders, timely disposal of the petitions, promotional tariff for the EV charging stations etc. were discussed. The forum of regulators had recently undertaken a study to analyse the impact of various factors on the retail tariff of electricity and to develop measures to address them. The Ministry of Power has already acted on most of the recommendations pertaining to the central government and has requested that the state commission should quickly act upon the recommendation so that the retail tariff for the consumers can be reduced, said the statement.
