Karandikars & Associates

Under this RfS, the RE Power Developer (RPD) shall be required to set up ISTS-connected RE Power Project(s) with or without Energy Storage System (ESS), including the transmission network up to the Interconnection/ Delivery Point with the primary objective of selling electricity from such RE Project on Power Exchanges, at its own cost and as per the provisions of the RfS and CfDA

Identification of land, installation and ownership of the Project(s), along with obtaining connectivity and necessary approvals and interconnection with the ISTS network for supply of power through Power Exchanges, will be under the scope of the RPD

The Projects to be selected under this scheme provide for deployment of RE Power Projects, with or without Energy Storage System. However, the selection of Projects would be technology agnostic

In case ESS is installed by the RPD as part of the Project, such ESS may be owned by the RPD or may be tied-up separately with a third party by the RPD, for supply of power through Power Exchanges. Further, it is clarified that ESS charged using a source other than RE power would not qualify as RE power. ESS technology can be changed by the RPD at any time during the Term of the CfDA. Any change in the ESS component during the Term of the CfDA shall be at the risk and cost of RPD and under intimation to SECI

Selection of RE Power Projects for a total Contracted Capacity of 500 MW will be carried out through e-bidding followed by e-Reverse Auction (e-RA) process

For each Project, the Project configuration, i.e. the Installed Capacity proposed, will be submitted by the Bidder at the time of bid submission. The above configuration can be changed until the Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD) of the Project. It is hereby clarified that the Installed Capacity of RE Generating component can be less than, equal to, or greater than the Contracted Capacity

A Bidder, including its Parent, Affiliate or Ultimate Parent or any Group Company shall submit a single bid offering a minimum quantum of cumulative Contracted Capacity of 50 MW and a maximum quantum of 125 MW

The Projects can be located anywhere in India at the locations chosen by the Bidder/RPD at its own discretion of and cost, risk and responsibility. For a single Project, the RE Generating components, along with ESS (if any) must be co-located

The Project should be designed for interconnection with the ISTS in accordance with the prevailing CERC regulations in this regard. For interconnection with the grid and metering, the RPD shall abide by the applicable Grid Code, Grid Connectivity Standards, Regulations on Communication System for transmission of electricity and other regulations/procedures (as amended from time to time) issued by Appropriate Commissions and Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Minimum voltage level for interconnection at the ISTS shall be 220 kV

The Bidders are free to choose the ISTS substations for Interconnection of the Project to the Grid, with injection scheduling rights during non-solar hours, on a pan-India basis

The responsibility of getting the ISTS connectivity for non-solar hours shall entirely be of the RPD and shall be at the cost of the RPD, in line with applicable regulations. In case of the Project being set up in a RE Park, applicable connectivity regulations shall govern the scope of the RPD. With such availability of transmission system being dynamic in nature, the Bidder has to ensure actual availability of power injection/evacuation capacity at an ISTS substation

The RPD shall, on a day-ahead basis, choose any 3 hours for supply of energy from the Project through Power Exchanges from “Peak Hours”, which shall be between 18:00 Hrs. and 24:00 Hrs of a Day, provided that such selected hours fall within the non-solar hours as defined under the GNA Regulations. The 3 hours chosen by the RPD for a day shall be the Peak Hours for that day

The RPD is mandated to sell 3000 kWh of energy per MW Contracted Capacity of the Project during Peak Hours on/through Power Exchanges, on a daily basis

The RPD shall be required to sell energy generated from the Project on a daily basis through the Power Exchanges. The RPD shall schedule supply during Peak Hours through Power Exchanges at its discretion, with the objective of maximizing revenue by selecting any 3 hours within the Peak Hours during which the Market Clearing Price (MCP) is expected to be the highest

Notwithstanding the above, at any time during the Term of the CfDA, SECI shall have the right to designate the Peak Hours (including specific time-blocks) during which the RPD shall supply power from the Project through the Power Exchanges, if deemed necessary

It is hereby clarified that any associated charges, losses, and any fees (including transaction fees), as applicable, for selling the energy on/through Power Exchange shall be entirely borne by RPD. SECI shall only carry out the financial settlement

CfD settlement shall only be carried out for the energy sold by RPD in GDAM/ DAM/ RTM on/through Power Exchanges during the Peak Hours, subject to maximum hourly quantum of 1 MWh per MW Contracted Capacity. Such settlement shall be carried out based on the difference between MCP of the respective time-block and Strike Price (SP). Any gain/ loss in the above settlement shall be settled between RPD and CfD Pool, through SECI, as per the methodology specified in the Guidelines and which has been brought below
If the MCP exceeds the SP, the difference shall be passed on from RPD to SECI and the same shall be credited to the CfD Pool. Conversely, if the MCP is lower than the SP, the shortfall shall be paid to the RPD by SECI from the CfD Pool, to ensure payment at the SP

Profit/ Loss sharing mechanism: The profits earned, and the losses borne by the RPD shall be shared between the RPD and the CfD Pool in a 30:70 ratio daily, with reconciliation to be carried out monthly

CfD Pool/ CfD Stabilization Fund: A stabilization fund of INR 76 Cr. has been created as CfD Pool. This corpus will serve as a revolving buffer to manage pay-ins and pay-outs under the CfD settlement framework under this RfS and CfDA

The sequence of bidding by the RPD on the Power Exchanges shall be:

1. Green Day Ahead Market (GDAM)
2. Order Carry Forward (OCF) to Day Ahead Market (DAM)
3. Any uncleared/ curtailed volume must be bid in Real Time Market (RTM)

Sale of RECs in the market: For the quantum of energy sold in the DAM and RTM markets, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) will be issued to the RPD as per applicable regulations. The RPD shall sell such RECs in the REC market on/through Power Exchanges or any other permitted mechanism, in accordance with applicable extant regulations, with the objective of maximizing revenue
The revenue generated from the sale of these RECs shall be deposited into the CfD Pool to be established under this RfS and the Guidelines. In case of sale of RECs at a rate, which is lesser than the highest of rates in REC market among all the Power Exchanges, RPD shall be liable for penalty for the difference in price of highest of the applicable rate in REC market for the corresponding period among all the Power Exchanges and the rate at which REC is sold by the RPD. This penalty will be credited to the CfD Pool

The RPD shall supply power such that 100% of the annual energy offered corresponds to RE power. The RPD can, however, source up to 25% RE power (in energy terms), on annual basis, from the green market sources/bilateral agreements towards meeting the supply conditions stipulated in the RfS/CfDA, as per extant regulations. It is hereby clarified that sourcing of 25% energy from green market sources/bilateral agreements, as indicated in the Clause, refers to 25% of the total annual energy required to be supplied. This energy may be supplied directly to meet the supply requirements during Peak Hours and/or utilized for charging the ESS for subsequent supply from the ESS during Peak Hours (as applicable). Further, in the case of supply of energy from the ESS towards meeting this 25% requirement (in part or full), only the energy discharged from the ESS shall be considered for calculating the 25% requirement, and not the corresponding charging energy required
It is hereby clarified that in case of excess supply by the RPD over the 25% limit as stipulated in these provisions, RPD shall not be entitled for CfD settlement against such excess energy supplied and the same shall not be considered while calculating the RPD’s performance with respect to this Clause and Article 4.4.3 of the CfDA. Any liability arising out of such excess energy supply shall be to the sole account of RPD

In case where ESS component is installed by the RPD, in order to allow optimization of operation of ESS, the RPD is allowed to use the ESS component for any other application (including market operations such as third-party sale or sale in power exchange) within the availability of connectivity, without requiring No Objection Certificate (NOC) from SECI, after fulfilling the Peak supply requirements for that Day (which is supply of 3 MWh per MW Contracted Capacity on daily basis during Peak Hours) as per the RfS and CfDA
Any instance of third-party sale of power from the Project by the RPD, while the supply commitments under the CfDA remains unfulfilled for that day, shall constitute a breach of RPD’s obligations under the CfDA and render the RPD liable for penalty @1.5 times of the difference between Reference Rate (Reference Rate being the highest of the MCP on that day in the DAM/GDAM/RTM of all the Power Exchanges operating in India) and Strike Price (SP), corresponding to the volume of such sale

Shortfall in Energy Supply during Peak Hours

1. In case of any weekly shortfall in supply of Power through Power Exchanges during the Peak Hours as chosen by the RPDs, from the mandated supply of energy (i.e. up to 21 MWh for each 1 MW Contracted Capacity), the RPD shall pay a penalty calculated @ 1.5 times of the difference between (i) the highest of the MCP in DAM/GDAM/RTM of all the Power Exchanges during the non-solar hours, as specified by GRID-INDIA, falling between 18:00 hours and 24:00 hours, across all Days of the Week, and (ii) Strike Price (SP), corresponding to the shortfall in energy. The proceeds of this penalty shall be credited to the CfD Pool. In case the rate as determined at (i) above comes out to be less than the Strike Price, no penalty shall be levied on the RPD. It is hereby clarified that the RPD shall not be eligible for CfD settlement corresponding to the energy shortfall
2. The above shortfall shall be calculated such that penalty will be levied on the weekly shortfall beyond 10%, computed against the energy required to be supplied by the RPD during the Peak Hours (i.e. 21 MWh for each 1 MW capacity). A “week” shall consist of a period of 7 consecutive days, starting from the next day of COD of the Project. The shortfall shall be calculated on a weekly basis, and the accrued penalties shall be recovered on a monthly basis

If the energy in any time-block during Peak Hours selected by the RPD is curtailed on account of constraints/ congestion in the transmission corridor in accordance with the Open Access Regulations and the Grid Code, the quantum of such curtailed energy shall be reduced from the energy required to be supplied by the RPD for that Week and the penalty will be levied on the shortfall calculated with reference to the revised energy required to be supplied by the RPD for that Week