The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently issued notice announcing guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Round-The Clock Power from Grid Connected Renewable Energy Power Projects, complemented with Power from Coal Based Thermal Power Projects.
The successful bidder will sign Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 25 years with elaborate mechanism for risk apportionment and compensations, payment security, etc.
The main objective of guidelines are to provide Round-The-Clock (RTC) power to the DISCOMs from renewable energy sources complemented/balanced with coal based thermal power, To facilitate renewable capacity addition and fulfilment of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) requirement of DISCOMs, To provide a transparent, fair, standardized procurement framework based on open competitive bidding with appropriate risk-sharing between various stakeholders to enable procurement of power at competitive prices in consumer interest, improve bankability of projects and ensure reasonable returns to the investors; and to provide for a framework for an Intermediary Procurer as an Aggregator/Trader for the inter-state/ intra-state, long-term, sale-purchase of power.
It is highlighted that a thermal power generator cannot tie up with more than one bidder, for the same ‘spare capacity’.
The PPA period should not be less than 25 years from the date of the Scheduled Commencement-of-Supply Date (SCSD). The PPA may also be fixed for a higher period such as 35 years.
The minimum quantum of power that can be offered by the bidder must be 250 MW and the bidder can tie up with more than one thermal plant for his RE Project for which thermal capacities even much smaller than 250 MW can be utilized for the same.
To know more about the guideline refer to the document below:
