Final Order in 1569

BEFORE THE GUJARAT ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION GANDHINAGAR PetitionNo.1569 of 2016 In the matter of: Petition for determination of tariff under the provisions of Clause (a) of Sub- section (1) of Section 62 of the Electricity Act, 2003 with respect to renewable source of energy. Petitioner: Ajanta Energy Private Limited OREVA House, Third Floor, Thaltej Circle, Titanium Square, S.G. Highway, Ahmedabad. Represented by: Advocate Shri Ashish Jha with Shri O. T. Gulati V/s Respondent No. 1: Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited Sardar Patel Vidyut Bhavan, Race Course, Vadodara 390 007 Represented by : Shri V. T. Patel and Shri H. H. Patel Respondent No. 2 : Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited Sardar Patel Vidyut Bhavan, Race Course, Vadodara 390 007. Represented by: Nobody was present Respondent No. 3 : Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited Sardar Patel Vidyut Bhavan, Race Course, Vadodara 390 007. Represented by : Nobody was present Respondent No. 4 : Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited Urja Sadan, Nana Varachha Road, Kapodara, Surat 395 006 Represented by: Nobody was present Respondent No. 5 : Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited Visnagar Road, Mehsana-384 001 Represented by: Shri I. G. Katara Page | 1 Respondent No. 6 : Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited Off Nana Mava Main Road, Laxminagar, Rajkot 360 004. Represented by: Nobody was present Respondent No. 7 : Torrent Power Limited-Surat Torrent House, Station Road, Surat 395 003. Represented by : Ms. Luna Pal Respondent No. 8 : Torrent Power Limited Torrent House, Off. Ashram Road, Ahmedabad 380 009. Represented by : Ms. Luna Pal Respondent No. 9 : Torrent Power Limited-Dahej At & Po. Dahej, Ta: Vagra, Bharuch 392 130. Represented by : Ms. Luna Pal Respondent No. 10 : Energy & Petrochemical Department Block No. 5, 5th Floor, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar. Represented by : Nobody was present Respondent No. 11 : Irrigation Department, Govt. of Gujarat Block No. 9, Second Floor, New Sachivalaya, Sector 10, Gandhinagar. Represented by : Nobody was present Respondent No. 12 : Kandla Port Trust Limited Port & Customs Building, New Kandla, Kutch. Represented by : Nobody was present Respondent No. 13 : MPSEZ Utilities Private Limited Adani House, Nr. Mithakhali Circle Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380 009. Represented by : Shri Gourav Sharma Respondent No. 14 : Aspen Infrastructure Limited Piparia, Waghodia, Vadodara 391 760. Represented by : Nobody was present Page | 2 Respondent No. 15 : Jubilant Infrastructure Private Limited Plot No. 5, Vilayat GIDC, Vagra, Bharuch 390 012. Represented by : Nobody was present Respondent No. 16 : Utility Users’ Welfare Association Laxmi Ginning Compound, Naroda, Ahmedabad – 382330. Represented by: Nobody was present CORAM: Shri Anand Kumar, Chairman Shri K. M. Shringarpure, Member Shri P. J. Thakkar, Member Date: 24/12/2019 ORDER 1. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner seeking following reliefs: (a) To admit the present Tariff Petition, (b) Grant an opportunity of hearing, (c) To determine the levelised tariff of Rs. 6.10 per unit for 35 years for sale of energy generated from the Petitioner’s project to the Distribution Licensee of the Gujarat State, (d) To decide and declare that the Petitioner’s mini/micro hydro power project is governed by must run status and is exempted from merit order dispatch principle, (e) To decide and declare that no Cross Subsidy Surcharge is payable on sale of power from the Petitioner’s project, (f) To decide and declare that the Petitioner shall pay concessional transmission and wheeling charges and loss in case of utilization of energy generated from the project for self- consumption or sell to the third party, Page | 3 (g) To decide and declare that if surplus energy available after set-off at consumption place in case of self-consumption or third party sale, it is considered as deemed sale to the utility in whose area such consumption took place and utility shall pay the tariff determined by the Commission, (h) To decide and declare that the Petitioner’s project is entitled for 12 months’ banking for energy consumed by it under captive use, (i) To decide and declare that the transmission licensee or distribution licensee may construct the transmission/distribution network from the Petitioner’s project to evacuate the power from the project and cost be borne by such licensee, (j) To decide and declare that 100% carbon credit and all CDM benefit must be available to the power producer and not shared with the utilities, (k) To decide and declare that the utilities who are public entities may sign the Power Purchase Agreement with the Petitioner and purchase the energy at the tariff determined by the Commission, (l) To decide and declare that the project developer/utilities have an option in the PPA to allow the project developer/purchaser of such energy an option of purchase of power to sell the power or self-consumption by the project developer on mutual terms agreed between the parties, (m) To decide and declare that an option is available to the Petitioner to sign the PPA with distribution licensee for the time period desired by it and agreed by the utilities for the period less than 35 years, Page | 4 (n) To decide and declare that the energy if any available after set-off and after banking period at consumption place of the Petitioner or consumer purchasing power under third party sale is eligible for tariff determined by the Commission in this petition, (o) To decide and declare that no electricity duty and sales tax be imposed on the electricity generated and consumption of electricity generated from the Petitioner’s hydropower plant, (p) To grant any other relief as deemed fit in the interest of justice. 2. The facts narrated in the petition are as follows: 2.1. The Petitioner, incorporated on 21.02.2005, is a hydroelectric power generating company in Gujarat. The Petitioner has commissioned 4 MW hydro projects - 3 MW at Karjan Dam, Rajpipla and 1 MW at Wanakbori, Balasinor. 2.2. The Petitioner had submitted a Detailed Project Report for setting up 12 MW (3 × 4 MW) hydro project at Dolatpura, downstream of Kadana Dam across River Mahi, Taluka- Kadana, Dist. Mahisagar, Gujarat under Swiss Challenge Route under Section 10A of the Gujarat Industrial Development Board Act, 1999. The Petitioner was selected as the successful bidder in the competitive bidding carried out by the Irrigation Department, Government of Gujarat and has been allocated the above project. The Petitioner has signed Concession Agreement with Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar Department on 16.03.2015 and as per the said Agreement, the Petitioner is required to pay premium royalty of Rs. 0.91 per unit to the Department for a period of 35 years. 2.3. As per the Clause 4.2.1 of the Concession Agreement, the Concessioner has right/obligation to design, engineer, finance, procure, install, commission, operate and maintain the hydro power Page | 5 plant either on its own or by such person as may be selected by it. The overall responsibilities of the project during the entire concession period is of the Concessioner. 2.4. The project proposed by the Petitioner is a Renewable Energy project. The project is having capacity of 12 MW (3 × 4 MW) hydro power generation. The technology proposed by the Petitioner for the present project is different from the regular renewable energy technology for which the Commission has determined the tariff. Moreover, technical parameters pertaining to the above projects are different and distinct from the technical parameters of the other renewable projects like wind, solar, biomass and bagasse based projects. 2.5. Section 86(1)(e) of the Electricity Act, 2003 empowers the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to promote cogeneration and generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy by providing suitable measures for connectivity with the grid and sale of electricity to any person and also to specify, for purchase of electricity from such sources, a percentage of the total consumption of electricity in the area of a distribution licensee. 2.6. Section 6.4 of the Tariff Policy also allows procurement of energy from non-conventional sources at a preferential tariff to be determined by the appropriate Commission. 2.7. The Commission recognizes these projects as Renewable Energy Sources at Clause 2.1 (p) of the GERC (Procurement of Energy from Renewable Sources) Regulations, 2010. 2.8. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission also recognizes these projects as Renewable Energy Sources at Clause 2 (v) of the CERC (Terms and Condition for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2012. As per Clause 7 of the said Regulations, Page | 6 the Commission is to determine the project specific tariff on a case to case basis for the hydro power project. 2.9. Section 62(1)(a) of the Electricity Act, 2003 states that the Appropriate Commission shall determine the tariff for supply of electricity by a generating company (including renewable energy) to a distribution licensee, transmission of electricity, wheeling of electricity and retail sale of electricity in accordance with the provisions of the Act. While determining the tariff, the Commission is supposed to be guided by the terms and conditions for tariff determination framed under Section 61(h), which provides for the promotion of co-generation and generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy. 2.10. The Commission vide Order dated 14.06.2007 in Petition No. 853 of 2005 determined the generic tariff for small/mini hydro power projects supplying electricity to the distribution licensees in the State. The said tariff Order, however, does not state about the technology to be deployed by the project developer. As the cost structure of power projects differs from project to project considering the civil works involved in the project as well as geological data of the project site, the said generic tariff Order is not applicable in the case of the Petitioner.

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