The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) has admitted a petition seeking approval for a 25-year power procurement arrangement for 200 MW of Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE), while allowing two weeks to address legal and contractual deficiencies identified in the submitted documents.
The petition has been filed by Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) on behalf of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL). The proposed renewable power will be procured from Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)-connected renewable energy projects integrated with Energy Storage Systems through SJVN Ltd. The petition also seeks approval of the draft Power Sale Agreement (PSA).
The Commission considered the matter during a hearing on September 22, 2026. The bench comprised Chairman Amir Subhani, Member (Legal) P.S. Yadav, and Member (Tech.) Manoj Kumar. Representatives of BSPHCL and SJVN Ltd. presented their submissions during the proceedings.
During its preliminary examination, BERC identified three key deficiencies in the petition and draft contractual documents. BSPHCL had mentioned an indicative tariff reduction of ₹0.11 per kWh resulting from reductions in Goods and Services Tax (GST). However, the draft Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) did not contain corresponding provisions to give effect to the GST-related impact.
The Commission also observed that the Change in Law provision in the draft PPA was not consistent with the amended Clause 7.7 of the Guidelines for Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding Process, dated February 12, 2025. The guidelines require Change in Law provisions to be aligned with the Electricity (Timely Recovery of Costs due to Change in Law) Rules, 2021. The relevant provision also specifies the timeline for determining a Change in Law event in relation to seven days before the final bid submission date.
In addition, BERC found that the Event of Default provisions contained in both the draft PPA and draft PSA were not aligned with Clause 7.6(a) of the competitive bidding guidelines.
BSPHCL sought additional time to revise the documents and provide clarifications on the issues raised by the Commission. BERC subsequently admitted the petition and directed BSPHCL to submit a detailed response addressing all three deficiencies within two weeks.
The matter has been registered as Case No. 39/2026. The next hearing has been scheduled for October 12, 2026, at 11:30 A.M.
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