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The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) received a petition from the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003. This petition requested the adoption of tariffs discovered through competitive bidding for 100 MW of wind power projects (Tranche XVII), connected to the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS). The bidding was conducted following the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power on 26 July 2023.
SECI issued the Request for Selection (RfS) on 29 May 2024 for a 500 MW capacity. Only two bids were received, offering a total of 120 MW. After evaluation, both bidders were found eligible. On 13 September 2024, an e-reverse auction was held, and the final tariffs were discovered. Powerica Limited quoted ₹3.81/kWh and was awarded 50 MW. Adyant Enersol Private Limited quoted ₹3.82/kWh, slightly higher by one paisa, and was initially eligible for only 46 MW. However, due to a minimum project capacity requirement of 50 MW for ISTS connectivity, SECI increased the awarded capacity to Adyant Enersol to 50 MW to prevent loss of capacity at a competitive rate.
Following consent from Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL), which agreed to procure the total 100 MW, SECI issued Letters of Award to both companies in October and November 2024. The Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Power Sale Agreements (PSAs) were signed by February 2025. SECI requested CERC to adopt the tariffs and approve a trading margin of ₹0.07/kWh as specified in the guidelines.
CERC reviewed the entire bidding process to ensure it followed the required guidelines. While it found that the award of 50 MW to Powerica Limited was in full compliance, it concluded that the award to Adyant Enersol did not align with the provisions of the RfS. The RfS specified that a project cannot be awarded less than 50 MW, and SECI had no provision to alter this or the Selection Equilibrium (SE), which was calculated as 96 MW. Since Adyant Enersol had qualified only for 46 MW, the commission held that the additional 4 MW was awarded without clear regulatory backing. As a result, the commission did not adopt the tariff for Adyant Enersol’s 50 MW capacity.
The commission clarified that this does not prevent the parties from pursuing alternative legal methods to proceed with the project. However, based on Section 63 of the Electricity Act, only the 50 MW awarded to Powerica Limited at ₹3.81/kWh was formally adopted.
Regarding the trading margin, the commission agreed to the ₹0.07/kWh margin, provided SECI offers either an escrow arrangement or a revolving letter of credit. If not, the trading margin will be capped at ₹0.02/kWh, in line with regulations. With these decisions, Petition No. 62/AT/2025 was disposed of by the commission.
