Telangana Power Regulator Hears Objections to 7,800 MW Renewable Energy Procurement Plan
The Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) on Tuesday held a public hearing on proposals by two state-owned power utilities to procure 7,800 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy, a move that drew questions from opposition legislators over cost and the availability of power for agriculture.
According to officials of the Telangana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TG-Genco) and the Telangana Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd (TG-Redco), the plans include 2,000 MW of Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) on a round-the-clock basis. FDRE projects combine renewable generation with storage so that power can be supplied through the day and night rather than only during sunshine or windy hours.
The proposals also include 3,000 MW of solar power linked to battery storage, comprising 1,000 MW of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity and 6,000 MWh of storage capacity, along with 800 MW of wind energy, all to be taken up by TG-Redco. Separately, TG-Genco plans to procure 2,000 MW of BESS under the FDRE framework.
Public hearings are a step in the regulatory process, allowing stakeholders, consumer groups and political representatives to place their objections on record before the Commission decides whether to approve a procurement proposal and on what terms. The Commission has not announced a decision on the matter.
Speaking at the hearing, former Minister for Energy and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA G. Jagadish Reddy sought to know the rationale behind procuring 7,800 MW of renewable energy at a time when, he said, the utilities were struggling to supply even the energy already available to them.
He alleged that the government was planning to burden electricity consumers further by procuring additional energy, and that farm power supply was being restricted to daytime hours. He told the Commission that power was not being supplied to agricultural pump-sets between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in most parts of the State.
Mr Reddy also requested the regulatory body not to approve the procurement proposals, alleging that the Genco was not running its thermal generating stations close to their rated capacity and was instead purchasing power at higher rates from what he described as friendly companies.
The hearing places two competing concerns before the regulator. On one side are the utilities' stated plans to add round-the-clock renewable capacity with storage, which power planners generally view as a way to meet rising demand, reduce dependence on coal and insulate consumers from volatile fuel costs over the long term. On the other are questions raised at the hearing about the immediate availability of power, the timing of agricultural supply and whether existing thermal capacity is being used to its full extent.
How the Commission weighs these submissions will determine the scale and terms of the procurement, and, ultimately, the tariff implications for domestic, agricultural and industrial consumers in the State. Officials of the two utilities did not announce any revision to their proposals at the hearing.
