The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) has passed an order on a petition filed by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) regarding the Renewable Power Purchase Obligations (RPPO) for the financial year 2024–25. HPSEBL, as a distribution licensee, had requested authentication of its renewable energy purchases under four categories: Wind RPO, Hydro Purchase Obligation (HPO), Other Renewable Purchase Obligation (Other RPO), and Energy Storage Obligation (ESO). As per regulations, HPSEBL was required to meet 2.46% from wind, 1.08% from hydro, 26.37% from other renewable sources, and 1.50% through storage-based renewable energy, all calculated as a percentage of total electricity consumption.
HPSEBL calculated its total electricity consumption at 13,528.743 million units (MUs) and derived its obligations accordingly. However, it reported a complete shortfall of 202.931 MUs in ESO due to a lack of storage infrastructure. This shortfall was required to be adjusted proportionally across other categories, raising the targets in Wind RPO, HPO, and Other RPO. This brought the total RPPO target to 4,249.378 MUs.
HPSEBL also had no wind energy procurement, resulting in a Wind RPO shortfall of 349.498 MUs. However, the board procured 657.057 MUs from hydro projects commissioned after March 8, 2019, which was above its adjusted HPO target. As per the applicable RPO regulations, any excess in one category can be used to offset a shortfall in another. Thus, the Commission allowed the adjustment of the wind shortfall using the surplus hydro energy. After this, HPSEBL had a remaining surplus of 154.121 MUs in the hydro category.
In the case of Other RPO, HPSEBL procured 9,447.332 MUs against a target of 3,746.443 MUs, even after adjusting for ESO. After subtracting energy sold through exchanges, the Commission recorded a net surplus of 5,695.427 MUs in the Other RPO category.
After detailed examination and corrections submitted by HPSEBL, the Commission validated the revised consumption and energy procurement data. The Commission confirmed that HPSEBL has fulfilled all its RPO obligations for FY 2024–25 after appropriate category-wise adjustments. Therefore, HPSEBL is now eligible to receive Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for the surplus 5,695.427 MUs under the Other RPO category. These certificates can be traded, and the income will be accounted for in the utility’s future tariff true-up process.
The Commission also directed HPSEBL to submit quarterly reports on RPPO compliance to the State Agency, the Directorate of Energy, to ensure ongoing monitoring and regulatory follow-up. With this, the petition was officially disposed of.
Discover more from SolarQuarter
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
