The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has issued draft regulations for forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind projects in the state.

In April 2018, the state commission had issued similar draft regulations; however, this year, the state has gone into the details of the mechanism.

The commission has invited comments from stakeholders by December 18, 2019.

The proposed draft states that the procedure will apply to:

• Uttar Pradesh State Load Despatch Center (SLDC), all solar (excluding rooftop solar) and wind generators in the state that are connected to the intra-state transmission system (ISTS) and having a minimum individual or combined installed capacity of at least 5 MW
• The solar or wind generators having a minimum capacity of 5 MW or more, using the power generated for self-consumption

According to the new draft regulations, the qualified coordinating agency (QCA) will be appointed with the approval of the generators that have at least 51% of the combined installed capacity at the pooling substation. Also, solar and wind generators connected by themselves to a pooling station, and having a capacity of 50 MW can act as a QCA.

However, the generators will have to make sure that the QCA is technically and financially competent to undertake the functions as defined under regulations. For instance, the QCA should have an experience of at least one year in wind or solar power forecasting and scheduling. Also, the net worth of the QCA from forecasting and scheduling services must amount to at least ₹20 million (~$278,711) in the last fiscal.

Apart from being treated as an intra-state entity in Uttar Pradesh, the QCA should also provide the schedules with periodic revisions in line with the regulations and provide the actual generation of energy for the previous day at least by 8 am of the current day, states the commission.

The new draft also proposes that the SLDC should undertake aggregate forecasting of solar or wind power expected to be injected into the state grid and must be responsible for the forecasting, scheduling, communication, and coordination with the QCA.

The commission has added that based on the real-time actual generation data of interface meters and the forecast provided by the QCA, the SLDC should prepare a deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) account. The automated meter reading system should be used for communicating the interface meter data with the SLDC, and the internal clock of the interface meter should be time synchronized with the global positioning system (GPS).

The UPERC also states that the solar and wind QCAs must submit ₹10,000 (~$139.36)/MW ₹20,000 (~$278.71)/ MW, respectively, as the payment security and it should be valid for at least three years (with the additional six months claim period).

Previously, Mercom published a report that shed light on how difficult forecasting and scheduling can be for renewable developers due to the intrinsic intermittency of these resources.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has established a fee for errors based on a 15-minute time block and charges for deviation payable or receivable to/from regional deviation settlement mechanism DSM pools by renewable generators. If the error is more than 15%, then additional charges for deviation will be levied along with the fixed rate.

So far, states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Meghalaya have issued regulations for the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement for solar and wind generation.

Image credit: Invenergy

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.