The Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) has proposed a resource adequacy framework for the state’s power sector to ensure the availability of sufficient capacity to meet electricity demand reliably.

The framework will apply to generating companies, distribution licensees (DISCOM), state load dispatch center (SLDC), state transmission utility (STU), transmission companies, and other grid-connected entities and stakeholders in Uttarakhand.

It covers demand assessment and forecasting, generation resource planning, procurement planning, monitoring, and compliance.

The resource adequacy exercise will be prepared for a 10-year planning period on an annual rolling basis.

Distribution licensees must prepare hourly or sub-hourly demand forecasts for the short-, medium-, and long-term. The short-term forecast will cover one year, the medium-term forecast five years, and the long-term forecast 10 years.

The licensee must submit short-, medium-, and long-term demand forecasts to SLDC by April 30 each year.

After aggregating the demand forecast submitted by DISCOM, the SLDC must prepare monthly short-term, medium-term, and long-term forecasts for the state.

The SLDC must submit the state-level aggregate demand forecasts to the Central Electricity Authority, the National Load Despatch Center, the Northern Regional Load Despatch Center (NRLDC), and the STU by May 31 each year for the following year.

Generation Resource Planning

The DISCOM must assess the generation resources required to meet forecast demand. This assessment must account for existing resources, upcoming projects, capacity credit, and incremental capacity requirements.

Generation resource planning will involve capacity crediting of generation resources, assessment of planning reserve margins, and determination of resource adequacy requirements (RAR) and their allocation to the licensee.

It will involve mapping all existing, upcoming, and retiring resources to prepare an existing resource map in MW for long- and medium-term power procurement planning. This must include the planning reserve margin, actual hourly demand met by the state or distribution licensee in the previous year, and estimated load growth during the planning period.

The distribution licensee must calculate the reliable capacity each contracted power source can provide during periods of demand, known as the capacity credit factor. The capacity must be calculated using a net load-based method that accounts for the demand remaining after renewable generation is accounted for. For future planning, the licensee must use the average Capacity Credit factor for each resource type over the previous five years on a rolling basis.

The distribution licensee must maintain a planning reserve margin to ensure sufficient backup capacity to meet demand reliably. This margin will be based on reliability indices such as loss-of-load probability and normalized energy not served, either specified by the authority or calculated at the state level by the distribution licensee and the STU/SLDC, with the Commission’s approval. The licensee must factor this margin into resource adequacy and generation capacity planning and may use a higher reserve margin only with prior approval from the Commission.

The DISCOM must determine the capacity required to meet demand and the Planning Reserve Margin after considering available capacity adjusted for capacity crediting of existing and planned contracted generation resources.

The available capacity must be mapped to time blocks of at least 15 minutes and no more than 1 hour to prepare the resource map. The licensee must identify the resource gap by subtracting the resource map from the demand forecast.

The DISCOM must conduct sensitivity and probability analysis to determine the most likely resource gap and prepare resource adequacy plans. The long-term, medium-term, and short-term resource adequacy plans must be submitted to the Commission by August 31 every year. These plans must also be submitted to the STU and SLDC for further examination.

Resource Adequacy Planning

Based on the state’s share in meeting the national peak demand under the long-, short-, and medium-term national resource adequacy plans, the DISCOM must determine its share of the national peak within 15 days of the plan’s publication.

The licensee must demonstrate to the Commission that it has tied up 100% of the state’s power requirement to meet DISCOM’s contribution toward national peak demand for the first year and at least 90% for the second year. For the subsequent three years, it must furnish a plan to meet its estimated contribution to national peak demand and seek the Commission’s approval.

It must keep long-term contracts at 80% to 85% of the RAR and medium-term contracts at 10% to 15% of the RAR. The remaining requirement must be met through short-term contracts.

The DISCOMs must also prepare medium-term and short-term Distribution Resource Adequacy Plans. The Commission must approve the resource adequacy plans within 60 days of the licensee’s submission.

Procurement Planning

DISCOMs must prepare a plan to secure power through an optimal mix of generation sources that meet reliability standards and renewable purchase obligation targets.

The distribution licensee must use least-cost modeling and optimization methods while planning power procurement. This means it must choose the most economical mix of power sources to reliably meet demand. The licensee must present this analysis in its annual power procurement plan and submit it to the Commission for approval by April 30 every financial year.

Power procurement through power exchanges will not be considered toward meeting the RAR.

The distribution licensee must prepare an annual rolling plan to ensure sufficient additional power capacity is tied up through long-, medium-, or short-term arrangements. This plan must consider both existing and planned power procurement contracts. The licensee must submit the state-level aggregated annual rolling plan to the NRLDC by January 20 every year for the upcoming years.

The DISCOMs must consider capacity sharing through long-, medium-, or short-term arrangements while preparing its resource adequacy plan. They should use interstate capacity-sharing or trading platforms established by the Central Commission or the Central Government to reduce capacity costs as much as possible. The licensee must submit details of its contracted capacity to the SLDC and STU for compliance verification.

The distribution licensee may buy additional power during the year, beyond its approved resource adequacy plan, but only with prior approval from the Commission. This may be done if demand rises unexpectedly, supply from an approved source falls short or fails, or power from existing tied-up sources becomes costlier than other available alternatives.

The distribution licensee may enter into short-term power procurement arrangements without prior Commission approval during emergencies, when grid stability is at risk, upon directions from the SLDC/RLDC to prevent grid failure, or for short-term banking with other states. However, it must submit the details of such procurement to the Commission within 45 days, along with proper justification.

Based on the medium-term and short-term resource adequacy plans, the STU and SLDC must communicate the state-level aggregated capacity shortfall to the Commission within 15 days of receiving the approved plans.

At the end of every financial year, the SLDC must submit a report to the Commission comparing the RAR plan with the actual demand recorded during the year. It must also publish these details on its website.

The distribution licensee must establish a dedicated Resource Adequacy planning cell within three months of these regulations coming into force.

Recently, UERC raised tariffs for some industrial-category power consumers and retained tariffs for commercial-category power consumers for the financial year (FY) 2027.

Last year, the Commission set an additional surcharge of ₹1.09 (~$0.0123)/kWh for open access consumers for the period from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.