1. The Central Commission, in discharge of its responsibilities under the Electricity Act 2003, viz. “regulating inter-state transmission of electricity, specifying grid code, and specifying standards with respect to quality and reliability of service,” has notified the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Indian Electricity Grid Code) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2015, and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Deviation Settlement Mechanism and related matters) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2015 to provide for the Framework on Forecasting, Scheduling and Imbalance Handling for Variable Renewable Energy Sources (Wind and Solar).
2. The above Regulations provide for a framework to enable forecasting and scheduling of wind and solar generating stations that are regional entities. The framework is aligned with the existing settlement mechanism applicable to conventional generating stations under the control of RLDCs, to the extent that the wind and solar generators are paid by beneficiaries as per schedule, and deviation from schedule is settled with the Regional DSM pool. The graded deviation settlement band provides an incentive for improving accuracy of forecasting, and uses the PPA rate of generators in long-term PPAs as the ‘fixed rate’ for deviation settlement. The relevant provision of the DSM Regulations in this context (Regulation 5, clause 1, sub-clause v) is extracted below:
“… Where the Fixed Rate is the PPA rate as determined by the Commission under section 62 of the Act or adopted by the Commission under section 63 of the Act. In case of multiple PPAs, the weighted average of the PPA rates shall be taken as the Fixed Rate. …”
3. However, this fixed rate is not applicable to generators that are not in long-term PPAs, such as open access entities. In this context, it is stated:
“Fixed Rate for Open Access participants selling power which is not accounted for RPO compliance of the buyer, and the captive wind or solar plants shall be the Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) rate at the National level, as may be determined by the Commission from time to time through a separate order. A copy of the order shall be endorsed to all RPCs.”
4. This implies that for Open Access wind or solar sellers that are regional entities and selling power under REC framework, and for Captive plants where PPAs do not exist, settlement shall be done at APPC determined at the national level. In pursuance of this provision, the Commission is required to determine the national level APPC.
5. The Commission notified Order dated 25.1.2016 for ‘Determination of Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) at the national level’ (Petition No. 15/SM/2015) and prescribed the National APPC as Rs. 3.40/kWh.
6. The above APPC value were applicable during the remaining months of FY 2015-16, as well as for FY 2016-17, for the purpose of deviation settlement in respect of open access and captive wind and solar generators fulfilling the requirement of regional entities.
7. Subsequently, the Commission notified Order dated 31.8.2017 for ‘Determination of Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) at the national level’ (Petition No. 11/SM/2017) and prescribed the National APPC as Rs. 3.48/kWh.
8. The above APPC shall be applicable during FY 2017-18 and until further orders, for the purpose of deviation settlement in respect of the open access and captive wind and solar generators that are regional entities.
9. In this context, it would be pertinent to mention that Regulation 5(c) of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for recognition and issuance of Renewable Energy Certificate for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2010 defines Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) as follows:
“for the purpose of these regulations ‘Pooled Cost of Purchase’ means the weighted average pooled price at which the distribution licensee has purchased the electricity including cost of self generation, if any, in the previous year from all the energy suppliers long-term and short-term, but excluding those based on renewable energy sources, as the case may be.”
10. Accordingly, APPC at the national level for FY 2018-19 is proposed to be determined by computing the average of APPC of all States and Union Territories, weighted by volume of conventional power purchased by the respective State/UT.
11. Data for approved purchase cost and volume of power for FY 2017-18, from the respective FY 2017-18 Tariff Orders of the States have been considered. Data used for calculation of APPC in respect of all States and UTs, exceptions as well as the calculations are given in the Annexure to this Order.
12. The total cost of power purchase considered for computation of APPC excludes cost of generation or procurement from renewable energy sources and transmission charges. Exclusion of cost of generation or procurement from renewable sources is in alignment with the objective of determining APPC, which is to ascertain the average cost of power from conventional sources of electricity. Furthermore, with a view to consider energy costs only, transmission charges have been excluded from these calculations.
13. Based on the tariff orders issued by the SERCs/JERCs for FY 2017-18, the APPC at the National level has been worked out as Rs. 3.53/kWh. It is proposed that APPC shall be applicable during FY 2018-19 and until further orders for the purpose of deviation settlement in respect of the open access and captive wind and solar generators fulfilling the requirement of regional entities.
14. The Commission invites comments of stakeholders on the proposed determination of APPC as per the Annexure to the Order, by 02.05.2018.
Annexure
DETERMINATION OF APPC AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
15. Regulation 5(c) of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for recognition and issuance of Renewable Energy Certificate for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2010 defines Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) as follows:
“for the purpose of these regulations ‘Pooled Cost of Purchase’ means the weighted average pooled price at which the distribution licensee has purchased the electricity including cost of self generation, if any, in the previous year from all the energy suppliers long-term and short-term, but excluding those based on renewable energy sources, as the case may be.”
16. Thus, Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) at the national level has been obtained by computing the average of APPC of all States and Union Territories, weighted by volume of conventional power purchased by the respective State/UT.
17. Data for approved purchase cost and volume of power for FY 2017-18 was obtained from the respective FY 2017-18 Tariff Orders of the States/UTs. Links to these tariff orders can be found in Table-II below. In case there were separate tariff orders for different utilities, they have been listed separately.
18. Exceptions to this dataset are as follows:
a. For Tripura, 2014-15 Tariff Order has been considered, as the SERC has not issued tariff order for 2015-16 or 2016-17 or 2017-18.
b. For West Bengal, Tariff Order of 2016-17 has been considered, as the SERC has not issued tariff order for 2017-18.
19. In addition, for States viz. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir Lakshadweep, Maharashtra and Puducherry, quantum and cost of power purchase for FY 2017-18 has been taken from respective MYT Orders as applicable.
20. In case of multiple utilities operating in a State, average of power purchase cost weighted by power quantum of respective utilities was computed to derive APPC for entire state.
Illustration:
Xi, Xii, Xiii…….Xn denoting average per unit power purchase cost for respective utilities in a state (excluding cost of renewables).
Qi, Qii, Qiii….Qn denoting power quantum purchased (excluding renewable power).
21. The total cost of power purchase considered excludes cost of generation or procurement from renewable energy sources. In orders where renewable energy cost and quantum has been mentioned in total power purchase summary, it has been subtracted from the totals to obtain values corresponding to conventional sources.
22. Furthermore, with a view to consider energy costs only, transmission charges have been excluded from these calculations.
23. Thus, if APPC1, APPC2,….APPCN are state level APPCs, and Q1, Q2,…QN are volumes of non-RE power procured by the States respectively, then, APPC at the national level is computed as follows:
24. Data for each State is given in Table-I. Table - II gives links to the respective tariff orders from which data was extracted.
Table I: State-wise Power procurement Volume/Cost/Average Cost per Unit for FY 2017-18
S. No.
State
Volume of Power procured from Non-RE Sources (Estimated) “×” (MUs)
Cost of Power procured from Non-RE Sources excluding Transmission Charges “Y” (INR Crores)
Average Cost of Non RE Power “Y*10/X” (INR)
1
Andaman & Nicobar Islands*
307.13
340.38
11.08
2
Andhra Pradesh
46,267.06
16,585.27
3.58
3
Arunachal Pradesh
718.57
154.12
2.14
4
Assam
9,502.14
3,117.01
3.28
5
Bihar
25,709.23
9,014.47
3.51
6
Chandigarh
2,023.26
579.88
2.87
7
Chhattisgarh
25,594.84
7,896.41
3.09
8
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
4,641.00
1,863.08
4.01
9
Daman & Diu
2,036.60
654.01
3.21
10
Delhi
30,279.44
12,201.40
4.03
11
Goa **
3,913.06
993.70
2.54
12
Gujarat
88,447.21
30,834.30
3.49
13
Haryana
54,060.56
19,545.23
3.62
14
Himachal Pradesh
9,108.00
2,138.51
2.35
15
Jammu & Kashmir ***
12,490.00
3,655.16
2.93
16
Jharkhand
17,741.21
6,319.22
3.56
17
Karnataka
58,410.63
19,795.35
3.39
18
Kerala
25,150.45
7,407.25
2.95
19
Lakshadweep****
61.56
74.76
12.14
20
Madhya Pradesh
57,353.57
20,883.78
3.64
21
Maharashtra
1,24,065.97
45,003.42
3.63
22
Manipur
1,067.95
305.25
2.86
23
Meghalaya
1,840.06
570.07
3.10
24
Mizoram
597.24
210.65
3.53
25
Nagaland
760.92
265.74
3.49
26
Orissa
25,140.00
6,969.15
2.77
27
Puducherry
3,340.61
1,082.72
3.24
28
Punjab
52,441.82
16,330.76
3.11
29
Rajasthan
58,812.00
20,798.00
3.54
30
Sikkim
857.91
182.10
2.12
31
Tamil Nadu
88,254.75
32,949.64
3.73
32
Telangana
48,043.17
19,237.58
4.00
33
Tripura#
1,933.87
541.68
2.80
34
Uttar Pradesh
1,17,791.38
45,033.90
3.82
35
Uttarakhand
13,549.44
3,952.97
2.92
36
West Bengal $
45,425.89
16,326.50
3.59
ALL INDIA
10,57,738.50
3,73,813.42
3.53
S. No.
State
Discoms
Tariff Order
1
Andaman & Nicobar Islands *
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/mytani6416_1466.pdf
2
Andhra Pradesh
APEPDCL
http://www.aperc.gov.in/aperc1/assets/uploads/files/8389c-to_2017-18.pdf
APSPDCL
http://www.aperc.gov.in/aperc1/assets/uploads/files/8389c-to_2017-18.pdf
3
Arunachal Pradesh
http://www.apserc.nic.in/pdf/tariff_order_for_licencees/final_DOP.pdf
4
Assam
http://www.aerc.nic.in/APDCL%20Tariff%20Order%20dated%2031.03.2017.pdf
5
Bihar
SBPDCL
https://berc.co.in/orders/tariff/distribution/sbpdcl/1142-tariff-order-of-sbpdclfor-fy-2017-18
NBPDCL
https://berc.co.in/orders/tariff/distribution/nbpdcl/1143-tariff-order-of-nbpdclfor-fy-2017-18
6
Chandigarh
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/FINALCED_1183.pdf
7
Chhattisgarh
CSPDCL
http://www.cserc.gov.in/admin/upload_terrif_order/081117_102235.pdf
BSP (TEED)
http://www.cserc.gov.in/admin/upload_terrif_order/122817_090332.pdf
8
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/DNHPDCLFY18_1907.pdf
9
Daman & Diu
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/finaldd_1093.pdf
10
Delhi
TDDPL
http://www.derc.gov.in/ordersPetitions/orders/Tariff/Tariff%20Order/Tariff%20Order%20for%20FY%202017-18/TPDDL%20Tariff%20Order%20FY%202017-18.pdf
BYPL
http://www.derc.gov.in/ordersPetitions/orders/Tariff/Tariff%20Order/Tariff%20Order%20for%20FY%202017-18/BYPL%20Tariff%20Order%20FY%202017-18.pdf
BRPL
http://www.derc.gov.in/ordersPetitions/orders/Tariff/Tariff%20Order/Tariff%20Order%20for%20FY%202017-18/BRPL%20Tariff%20Order%20FY%202017-18.pdf
NDMC
http://www.derc.gov.in/ordersPetitions/orders/Tariff/Tariff%20Order/Tariff%20Order%20for%20FY%202017-18/NDMC%20Tariff%20Order%20FY%202017-18.pdf
11
Goa **
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/mytgoa18416_1675.pdf
12
Gujarat
4 State Discoms
http://www.gercin.org/uploaded/document/9b132794-f02c-4bb3-a880-3f7e8f4efaaf.pdf
Torrent Dahej
http://www.gercin.org/uploaded/document/69b37fe0-7d94-4405-80ac-3523b00c299d.pdf
Torrent Ahmedabad and Surat
http://www.gercin.org/uploaded/document/5919b8e4-22a6-4e6c-aa1b-574566c10655.pdf
13
Haryana
https://herc.gov.in/writereaddata/orders/o20170711.pdf
14
Himachal Pradesh
http://hperc.org/File/Tariff%20and%20trueup17.pdf
15
Jammu & Kashmir ***
http://www.jkserc.nic.in/FINAL%20JKPDDD%20Order%202nd%20MYT_07%20Oct%202016_v4.pdf
16
Jharkhand
TSL
http://jserc.org/pdf/tariff_order/tsl2017.pdf
JUSCO
http://jserc.org/pdf/tariff_order/jusco2017.pdf
JBVNL
http://jserc.org/pdf/tariff_order/jbvnl2017.pdf
17
Karnataka
CESC
http://www.karnataka.gov.in/kerc/Court%20Orders/Tariff%202017/CESC/12-CESC%20-POWER%20PURCAHSE%20%20%20Annexure%20II.pdf
GESCOM
http://www.karnataka.gov.in/kerc/Court%20Orders/Tariff%202017/GESCOM/12-%20GESCOM%20-%20ANNEXURE%20-%20II.pdf
HESCOM
http://www.karnataka.gov.in/kerc/Court%20Orders/Tariff%202017/HESCOM/12-HESCOM%20%20%20%20Annexure%20II.pdf
BESCOM
http://www.karnataka.gov.in/kerc/Court%20Orders/Tariff%202017/BESCOM/12-BESCOM%20-%20Power%20Purchase%20Annexure%20II.pdf
MESCOM
http://www.karnataka.gov.in/kerc/Court%20Orders/Tariff%202017/MESCOM/12-MESCOM%20-%20POWER%20PURCAHSE%20%20ANNEXURE%20-%20II.pdf
18
Kerala
http://www.erckerala.org/userFiles/636281120645520000_Chapter%201%20to%2016_18_4_2017-final%20CM-Final%20to%20web.pdf
19
Lakshadweep****
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/mytlkd31316_1488.pdf
20
Madhya Pradesh
All DISCOMs
http://www.mperc.nic.in/01042017-Final-Tariff-%20Order.pdf
https://www.merc.gov.in/mercweb/faces/merc/common/outputClient.xhtml
21
Maharashtraˆ
MSEDCL
Order-48 of 2016
BEST
Order 33 of 2016
R Infra
Order-34 of 2016
TPC Distribution
Order-47 of 2016
22
Manipur
https://jerc.mizoram.gov.in/downloads/file/297
23
Meghalaya
http://mserc.gov.in/orders/TariffOrders31032017/Tariff_Order_MePDCL_31032017.pdf
24
Mizoram
https://jerc.mizoram.gov.in/downloads/file/299
25
Nagaland
http://www.nerc.org.in/images/TARIFF_for_FY_2017_to_18__.docx
26
Orissa
All DISCOMs
http://www.orierc.org/DISCOMs_Tariff_Order_for_FY_2017-18__FINAL__28.03.2017.pdf
27
Puducherryˆˆ
http://jercuts.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/uploadingedp_1556.pdf
28
Punjab
http://pserc.nic.in/pages/PSPCL-Tariff-Order-Vol-1-2017-18.pdf
29
Rajasthan
http://rerc.rajasthan.gov.in/TariffOrders/Order273.pdf
30
Sikkim
http://www.sserc.in/sites/default/files/TARIFF%20ORDER%20-%202017-18%20%28Final%29%20PDF%20%28corrected%29_3.pdf
31
Tamil Nadu
http://www.tnerc.gov.in/orders/Tariff%20Order%202009/2017/TariffOrder/TANGEDCO-11-08-2017.pdf
32
Telangana
http://www.tserc.gov.in/file_upload/uploads/Tariff%20Orders/Current%20Year%20Orders/RST%20for%20FY%202017-18.pdf
33
Tripura #
http://terc.nic.in/pdf/Tariff_Order_2014-15_in_PDF_form.pdf
34
Uttar Pradesh
State Discoms
http://www.uperc.org/App_File/UPStateDiscomsMYTTariffOrderpdf1130201745119PM.pdf
NPCL
http://www.uperc.org/App_File/NPCLMYTTariffOrder-pdf1130201743653PM.pdf
35
Uttarakhand
http://www.uerc.gov.in/ordersPetitions/orders/Tariff/Tariff%20Order/2017-18/Tariff%20Orders%20for%20FY%202017-18/Tariff%20Order%20of%20UPCL%20for%20FY%202017-18.pdf
36
West Bengal $
WBSEDCL
http://www.wberc.net/wberc/tariff/wbsedcl/Tariff/ordnpet2001/WBSEDCL_PDF.pdf
CESC
http://www.wberc.net/wberc/tariff/Cesc/Tariff/ordnpet2001/CESC_PDF.pdf
DVC
http://www.wberc.net/wberc/tariff/dvc/Tariff/ordnpet2001/Tariff%20Order_DVC_2014-2017_pdf.pdf
DPL
http://wberc.net/wberc/tariff/dpl/Tariff/ordnpet2001/DPL_MYT_14-15%20TO%2016-17%20WITH%20CORRIGENDUM%20NEW.pdf
* Andaman & Nicobar Islands- Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for FY 2016-17 to FY 2018-19 dated 6 Apr 2016 considered
** Goa- Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for FY 2016-17 to FY 2018-19 dated 18 April 2016 considered
***Jammu & Kashmir - Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21 dated Oct 2016 considered
**** Lakshadweep - Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for FY 2016-17 to FY 2018-19 dated 31 March 2016 considered
ˆ Maharashtra - Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for Control Period FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-20 considered
ˆˆ Puducherry - Approved Power Purchase and Cost for 2017-18 from MYT Order for FY 2016-17 to FY 2018-19 dated 24 May 2016 considered
# Tripura - Tariff Order issued in 2014-15 considered
$ West Bengal - Tariff Order issued in 2016-17 considered