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					</table><p>Textile manufacturing and export company <a href="https://www.bslltd.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BSL</a> has announced agreements with Bhadla Minigrid Solar 5 to source power from its  4.4 MW/4.92 MWh solar-plus-storage project in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.</p>
<p>Bhadla Minigrid Solar 5’s is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established to own and operate a captive power project.</p>
<p>BSL will acquire a 26% equity stake in the SPV by purchasing 2.35 million equity shares at ₹10 (~$0.1) each for a total investment of ₹23.5 million (~$235,000).</p>
<p>The acquisition is expected to close within four months.</p>
<p>BSL said the acquisition is intended to augment its captive renewable energy capacity for its plants at Mandpam, Bhilwara and will support long-term cost efficiency and sustainability.</p>
<p>According to its Annual Report 2025-2026, BSL has installed a 2.2 MW solar project at its manufacturing facility in Bhilwara, Rajasthan.</p>
<p>The company added about 2.07 MW of rooftop and ground-mounted solar capacity during the year, taking its total on-site solar installed capacity to approximately 9.1 MW.</p>
<p>BSL generated about 10.3 million kWh of solar power during the year, roughly 23% higher than the previous year. The company separately reported solar generation of 10.62 million kWh in financial year (FY) 2026, compared with 8.67 million kWh in FY 2025.</p>
<p>Combined generation from solar and its turbine-based system increased to 11.76 million kWh from 9.38 million kWh during the period. Green energy accounted for 18.36% of the company’s total electricity consumption, up from 14.55% in FY 2025.</p>
<p>The company also generated about 1.14 million kWh from a low-pressure turbine connected to its biomass-fired boiler. Its boilers and Thermopac systems run on biomass.  BSL is also evaluating alternative biomass fuel options such as groundnut husk and pellets.</p>
<p>Energy conservation measures across BSL’s spinning, weaving, and processing divisions resulted in savings of about 912,000 kWh during FY 2026.</p>
<p>BSL is also planning to install around 8 MW of solar capacity outside its premises.</p>
<p>The growing adoption of renewable energy by commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) consumers reflects a broader shift toward cleaner, more cost-effective power procurement. Mercom India’s C&amp;I Clean Energy Meets <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/c-and-i-clean-energy-meet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bring</a> together businesses, renewable energy developers, financiers, and technology providers to discuss procurement models, regulatory developments, financing options, and strategies to lower energy costs and emissions through rooftop solar, open access, and captive renewable energy projects.</p>
<p>The next event in the series will be <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/event/c-and-i-clean-energy-meet-2026-vizag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held</a> in Vizag on September 24, 2026.</p>


BSL to Source Power from Solar Plus 5’s 4.4 MW Solar-Plus-Storage Project


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					</table><p>The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (<a href="https://aptel.gov.in/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">APTEL</a>) has upheld Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam’s (<a href="https://energy.rajasthan.gov.in/avvnl/#/home/dptHome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AVVNL</a>) decision to levy wheeling charges based on the higher of contracted or utilized open access capacity of a captive wind project in Rajasthan.</p>
<p>The Tribunal dismissed the appellant,  BSL’s appeal challenging the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (RERC) 2019 order, which upheld the capacity-based wheeling charges levied by AVVNL.</p>
<p><strong>Background</strong></p>
<p>In March 2013, BSL entered into a wheeling and banking agreement with wind project developer Inox Renewables and AVVNL.</p>
<p>The agreement allowed BSL to wheel electricity generated from its captive wind project for its consumption. It provided for transmission and wheeling charges in accordance with the framework of the RERC (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2009.</p>
<p>BSL entered into another wheeling agreement with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RVPNL) and Inox Renewables during the same month.</p>
<p>In 2014, RERC replaced the 2009 Tariff Regulations with the RERC (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2014. The provisions governing wheeling charges for open access consumers remained broadly similar.</p>
<p>In 2016, the RERC notified the Open Access Regulations, 2016, which repealed the 2004 open access regulations. The new regulations provide that transmission and wheeling charges would be levied on the contracted or utilized open access capacity, whichever is higher, shifting the billing basis from energy to capacity.</p>
<p>In December 2016, RERC upheld the capacity-based methodology in disputes involving other open access consumers.</p>
<p>In financial year (FY) 2016-17, BSL said the revised methodology increased its wheeling charges from ₹282,245 (~$2,958) to ₹1.93 million (~$20,230), resulting in an additional liability of about ₹1.64 million (~$17,190).</p>
<p>In February and March 2018, BSL challenged the charges before AVVNL, arguing that billing should be based on actual energy wheeled. AVVNL rejected the contention on March 22, 2018, citing the 2016 open access regulations.</p>
<p>Later, RVPNL rejected BSL’s grievance in June 2018, and the State Power Committee subsequently upheld AVVNL’s position in September 2018.</p>
<p>In 2018, BSL challenged the wheeling charges before RERC. It argued that the 2014 tariff regulations and its wheeling agreements supported energy-based billing rather than capacity-based charges.</p>
<p>In April 2019, RERC dismissed BSL’s petition and upheld AVVNL’s methodology for levying charges based on the higher of contracted or utilized open access capacity.</p>
<p>BSL subsequently appealed the order before APTEL.</p>
<p>It submitted that its 2013 wheeling and banking agreement required wheeling charges to be governed by RERC’s tariff framework. It said the 2014 tariff regulations were never repealed by the 2016 open access regulations.</p>
<p>BSL also contended that calculating charges on contracted capacity, rather than actual energy wheeled, was arbitrary and substantially increased its costs.</p>
<p><strong>Tribunal’s Analysis</strong></p>
<p>The Tribunal held that the 2016 open access regulations govern wheeling charges for BSL and require billing to be based on the contracted or utilized open-access capacity, whichever is higher.</p>
<p>It found that statutory regulations override inconsistent contract terms and that BSL’s agreements allowed regulatory changes over time.</p>
<p>APTEL also ruled that the 2014 tariff regulations could no longer determine the charging basis after the 2004 open access regulations were repealed.</p>
<p>The Tribunal dismissed BSL’s appeal and upheld RERC’s 2019 order.</p>
<p>In July, APTEL set <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/aptel-quashes-tnerc-order-rejecting-extension-for-50-mw-solar-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aside</a> an order of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission that had refused to grant a project-specific extension of the commercial operation date to a 50 MW solar project.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>


APTEL Upholds Capacity-Based Wheeling Charges for Captive Wind Project

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