GUVNL Seeks RPO Relaxation For FY 2022-23 Citing Project Delays And Generation Shortfalls

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), along with its four subsidiary distribution companies — Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL), Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL), Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL), and Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) — has submitted a petition to the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) seeking relaxation in meeting the Renewable Power Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets for the financial year 2022-23. This request has been made under the GERC (Procurement of Energy from Renewable Sources) Regulations, 2010.

The RPO framework, as per the Electricity Act 2003, National Electricity Policy 2005, and Tariff Policy 2016, requires each distribution licensee to procure a minimum percentage of their total electricity consumption from renewable energy sources. For the financial year 2022-23, the cumulative RPO target was 17.00%, which included 8.25% from Wind, 8.00% from Solar, and 0.75% from other sources like biomass or waste-to-energy.

GUVNL and its DISCOMs have reported an overall RPO compliance of 17.29% for FY 2022-23, thus marginally exceeding the overall target. The Solar RPO target was significantly over-achieved, with 11640 million units (MUs) of solar power purchased against a requirement of 9472 MUs, translating to a compliance of 9.83% versus the 8.00% target. However, there was a shortfall in meeting the Wind and Other RPO category targets. The Non-Solar RPO was met with 8834 MUs (7.46%) against the required 10656 MUs (9.00%).

Despite the overall excess compliance of 0.29%, the petition highlights that the deficit in non-solar categories was due to several constraints beyond the DISCOMs’ control. One of the main reasons cited was the delay in finalizing tenders, often caused by extensions in bid submission deadlines and poor participation, which in some cases led to re-tendering. Additionally, anticipated generation from certain renewable energy projects did not materialize due to issues solely attributable to the project developers. For example, a 30 MW Wind Project had to be terminated due to the developer’s default, and a 40 MW Wind Project faced unexpected delays in commissioning.

Waste-to-Energy projects, which fall under the “Others” category, also experienced development setbacks, resulting in lower-than-expected renewable energy generation. Furthermore, three Biomass Projects with a total capacity of 30 MW stopped producing power from August 2020 due to disputes concerning compliance with the Grid Code, resulting in zero generation against a normative plant load factor (PLF) of 80%.

Wind energy generation during the year also fell short of normative expectations, contributing to the non-solar RPO shortfall. GUVNL made efforts to source renewable energy from the Green Day Ahead Market (G-DAM) as an alternative. However, availability was limited, and market prices remained high, making it difficult to procure sufficient energy to meet the shortfall.

In the petition, GUVNL has requested GERC to take a considerate view and approve the revision or relaxation in the RPO targets for the year, given the uncontrollable challenges. They emphasized their continued commitment to renewable energy growth and the efforts made to tie up future renewable capacity.