The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has adopted the tariff of ₹2.51 (~$0.030)/kWh for Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) to procure 500 MW of solar power with a greenshoe option of an additional 360 MW.

The Commission directed GUVNL to sign power purchase agreements with the successful bidders for the allocated capacities.

It directed GUVNL to publish the names of the successful bidders and the tariff quoted on its website for 30 days for the benefit of the stakeholders.

Background

On behalf of its four subsidiary distribution companies (DISCOMs), GUVNL invited bids to purchase power from 500 MW of grid-connected solar power projects (Phase XVIII) with a greenshoe option of an additional 500 MW.

Sprng Energy, ib vogt, Hinduja Renewables, and Solarcraft Power India 9 (Blupine Energy) won the auction. Sprng Energy won 200 MW by quoting ₹2.51 (~$0.030)/kWh. ib vogt, Hinduja, and Blupine won 130 MW, 120 MW, and 50 MW, respectively, at ₹2.52 (~$0.031)/kWh.

Initially, Sprng and ib vogt did not accept the additional capacity.

Meanwhile, Hinduja expressed their willingness for 120 MW, and Blupine showed interest in 50 MW with a potential for an additional 20 MW if not taken by other bidders.

Since Sprng and ib vogt did not avail of any additional capacity, the unallocated 330 MW was offered to Blupine based on its previous interest. However, Blupine agreed only to 70 MW and not the remaining 310 MW.

Sprng later expressed their willingness for 100 MW. As a result, 210 MW capacity remained unallocated.

GUVNL then requested all bidders confirm their interest in the remaining 210 MW capacity. In response, ib vogt agreed to avail of 70 MW, leaving 140 MW unallocated.

Ultimately, GUVNL issued letters of intent for 860 MW (of the 1 GW initially tendered) to the bidders. The bidders were assigned specific capacities, and the weighted average tariffs were determined accordingly.

Commission’s analysis

The Commission noted that GUVNL was purchasing power in bulk for and on behalf of four DISCOMs. It was also procuring renewable power by entering into agreements with the developers for its four DISCOMs to fulfill their RPO.

The regulator said that it was satisfied with the tendering process, including the e-reverse bidding conducted by the petitioner.

After reviewing all the facts, the Commission adopted the discovered tariff of ₹2.51(~$0.030)/kWh for an aggregate capacity of 860 MW.

Last April, GUVNL issued a request for selection from developers to purchase power from 500 MW of solar projects under Phase-XIV with a greenshoe option of an additional capacity of up to 500 MW.

Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time Regulatory Updates to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.