The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s (GUVNL) petition seeking tariff approval for 500 MW/1,000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) discovered through its Phase IV auction.

The tariff ranged from ₹225,985 (~$2,680.57)/MW/month to ₹226,000 (~$2,680.74)/MW/month.

The Commission noted that the discovered tariffs are 39% lower than those in previous BESS tenders, reflecting competitive pricing. The Commission directed GUVNL to execute battery energy storage purchase agreements (BESPA) with the successful bidders and submit copies to the Commission for verification.

Background

GUVNL invited tenders for 500 MW/1000 MWh BESS capacity with viability gap funding support. Fifteen bidders participated, and after technical and financial evaluations, four were selected through an e-reverse auction. H.G Infra Engineering secured 250 MW with a quoted tariff of ₹225,985 (~$2,680.57)/MW/month.

Kintech Synergy and Bhilwara Energy secured 100 MW each at a tariff of ₹225,985 (~$2,680.57)/ MW/month and ₹225,993 (~$2,680.66)/MW/month respectively. Advait Infratech secured 50 MW at a tariff of ₹226,000 (~$2,680.74)/MW/month.

The respondents, including Kintech Synergy, H.G. Infra, Bhilwara Energy, and Advait Infratech, accepted the discovered tariffs and did not raise objections.

However, GUVNL faced scrutiny from the Commission on selecting substation locations and compliance with safety and technical standards. The Commission sought detailed justifications, which GUVNL failed to provide within the stipulated timeframe, drawing criticism for non-compliance.

Commission’s Analysis 

The Commission noted the tender was widely publicized, and the e-reverse auction ensured fair price discovery. The discovered tariffs were significantly lower than previous bids, indicating robust competition.

While GUVNL claimed substations were chosen based on technical feasibility, the Commission expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in submitting detailed load flow studies and safety compliance reports. Despite this, the tariff adoption was approved, given the urgency of meeting energy storage obligation targets.

The Commission directed GUVNL to incorporate provisions of the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Rules, 2022, in the BESPAs and publicly disclose tariff details for transparency.

It emphasized that while adopting tariffs was necessary to expedite project implementation, GUVNL’s failure to provide complete documentation was a serious lapse. It warned of escalating the matter to higher authorities if such non-compliance persists.

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