The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has invited suggestions on the proposed Forecasting, Scheduling, and Deviation Settlement of Wind and Solar Generating Stations at the State Level Regulations, 2021.

The last date for submission of suggestions or objections is September 2, 2021.

The state load dispatch center (SLDC) would consider wind and solar generation forecasts for week-ahead, day-ahead, intra-day operations, scheduling, and long-term forecasts for its planning to maintain system security, stability, and reliability.

The proposed regulations apply to all wind and solar generators – including rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar and net-metered solar projects connected through separate feeders at 33 kV and above – connected to the state grid. It also includes those connected via pooling stations and the power generated for self-consumption or sale within or outside Odisha.

The combined installed capacity of solar or wind generators connected to a particular pooling station or an individual generator connected to some other sub-station must not be less than 5 MW.

Forecasting and Scheduling Code

Wind and solar power generators at each pooling station must appoint a ‘Qualified Coordinating Agency’ (QCA),’ who would be treated as a state entity. The QCA will function as the nodal agency between the SLDC and its generators.

Wind and solar generators must obtain the consensus of SLDC, and SLDC’s decision in this regard would be binding on the generators.

If the renewable energy generators fail to appoint QCA within the stipulated time frame, SLDC will nominate the professional agency from the empanelled list of QCAs. These QCAs would be binding on the renewable energy generators at the pooling sub-station until they appoint their own QCA. The renewable energy generators will bear the cost associated with the QCA in such cases.

The wind and solar power generators or represented by QCA must comply with the forecasting and scheduling code requirements stipulated under these Regulations.

The onus of complying with the relevant provisions of these regulations falls on the concerned generators. The commercial and other arrangements between the generators and their QCA would be governed by their agreements or terms of engagement.

Following are the QCA’s roles as per the regulations:

• Meter reading and data collection, communication, and coordination with the distribution licensees (DISCOMs), the SLDC, and other agencies;
• De-pooling of deviation charges within the constituent generators of the pooling station and settlement of payments or receivables;
• Settlement of the deviation charges specified in the regulations with the SLDC on behalf of the generators;
• Providing real-time data to the SLDC relating to the power generation parameters and weather-related data;
• Furnish aggregated forecasts relating to its wind and solar energy generators connected to the intra-state transmission or distribution network, along with details of their availability to the SLDC;
• Provide the SLDC a day-ahead and a week-ahead schedule for each pooling station.

The SLDC would undertake to forecast wind and solar energy generation expected to be injected into the intra-state transmission network at each location by engaging forecasting agencies if required for better planning to balance the resources required for secure grid operation.

The QCA may adopt the SLDC’s forecast for preparing its schedule or provide SLDC with a schedule based on its forecast, which would be the reference schedule for deviation determination and settlement.

Wind or solar energy generation must not be despatched by the SLDC without scheduling by the QCA on behalf of the generators.

The SLDC must recover charges approved by the Commission for providing its forecasting services to the QCA. The amount recovered must be treated as ‘other income’ in the ‘aggregate revenue requirement’ (ARR) of the SLDC to determine its charges.

The generators will bear the commercial impact of deviations from schedules based on the forecasts through their QCAs.

Any intentional misdeclaration of available capacity by the QCA to the SLDC for its undue commercial gain or that of a generator would be considered gaming and constitutes a breach of the Regulations. The QCA will be liable to pay three times the penalty over the deviation charges that would have been applicable had the available capacity been correctly declared.

 Deviation Settlement for Intra-State and Inter-State Transactions

Deviations in respect of inter-state and intra-state transactions must be accounted for separately at each pooling sub-station.

Based on their actual generation, buyers would settle the sale of power by wind and solar energy generators connected to the intra-state transmission network. The deviation settlement would be undertaken as specified in these regulations.

In terms of sale or self-consumption of power within Odisha, if the actual injected generation of wind or solar power at a pooling station differs from the scheduled generation, then the deviation charge for the excess or shortfall will be payable by the QCA to the Pool Account, through the SLDC.

The sale of power outside the state of Odisha by renewable energy generators connected to an intra-state transmission system must be settled by the buyers based on their scheduled generation.

The generator must pay the deviation charges applicable within Odisha in case of deviations in the state’s deviations settlement mechanism (DSM) pool account. The consequences of such deviation at the inter-state level would be governed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) regulations on DSM.

The accounting of deviation charges for under-injection or over-injection by generators connected to the intra-state transmission network and selling power outside Odisha must be done by the SLDC.

The deviation charges payable or receivable for the state at the state periphery must be computed by the SLDC. The charges collected in the pool account must be utilized to offset the shortfall in the state DSM pool account.

Deviation charges must be paid within ten days from the date of issue of statement of accounts and billing by the SLDC. If any delay in payment of the deviation charges beyond ten days, then a simple interest of 0.04% for each day of delay would be levied.

The wind or solar energy generator or the QCA must maintain a corpus of ₹25,000 (~$336)/MW with SLDC to ensure the payment security mechanism. The wind or solar generation of the respective generator will not be scheduled in case of failure to make up the corpus amount within the prescribed time limit.

Intimation of Curtailment

Any curtailment imposed on energy injection for reliable and secure grid operation in emergencies must be communicated by the SLDC to the QCA. No deviation charges would be payable for any consequent deviations if the SLDC fails to discharge its duties in this regard.

If any curtailment is planned and communicated by the SLDC due to line maintenance or other reasons in specific time blocks of a day, the QCA would be responsible for curtailing the generation at the site and amending the schedule accordingly, failing which the SLDC has to revise the schedule as required.

Energy Accounting

Meters must be installed for energy accounting as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Regulations governing metering, telemetry, or communication and data acquisition systems to transfer information to the SLDC by the QCA.

All accounts relating to deviations within the pooling station must be prepared by the QCA every week based on inputs from the SLDC. The SLDC must correct any discrepancy communicated by the QCA within 15 days after verification.

The DISCOM’s billing center would be responsible for energy accounting, raising bills, bills settlement with the buyers. The SLDC or DISCOM must prepare the energy accounting statement in each time block for the wind and solar energy generators and the buyers every month for billing.

In May last year, the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) noted Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited’s (UPPCL) request to modify the CERC DSM regulations to take care of the state-specific needs.

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Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.