Andhra Pradesh DISCOMs, the Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APSPDCL) and Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APEPDCL),have jointly filed a petition with the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) seeking relief in the  terms and conditions for tariff determination for wind power projects in the state between FY 2015-16 and FY 2019-20.

The petition also seeks revision in the power purchase agreement (PPA) for wind power projects and the tariff fixed by APERC in its orders dated December 13, 2019.

The petitioners claim that due to higher values of norms stated in the regulations, the commission should amend the tariff order for the changes in parameters such as – capital cost, depreciation, return on equity, operations and maintenance expense, subsidy or incentive by the government, capacity utilization factor, and rebate.

In their petition, the two DISCOMs have argued that the technical changes in wind turbines and its associated equipment have resulted in huge capacity addition during FY2016-17. The petition says:

“With changing trends in the wind turbine technology, large numbers of turbine models with hub height higher than 80m and with larger rotor diameter are available in the market. The general trend is towards steadily growing hub heights, with major wind turbine manufacturers now offering turbines with hub heights around 100 meters. CERC observed that an increase of 6 – 8% in terms of CUF from 80m hub height to 100m hub height.”

Stakeholders can submit their suggestions regarding the petition by March 1, 2019. The petition will be taken up for public hearing by the commission on March 2, 2019.

APERC had approved PPAs for 41 wind projects aggregating 841.32 MW in December 2017. The PPAs for the entire 841.32 MW was signed at a tariff of ₹4.8 (~$0.075)/kWh.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer