VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has directed that an expert committee be constituted to look into the petitions filed by two green energy companies alleging wilful curtailment of power and non-implementation of the mandatory must run status. The three-member committee’s scope will be to look into if the curtailment by the state load dispatch centre (SLDC) was wilful as alleged.
Former chairman of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Rakesh Nath, former director of APTRANSCO M Gopal Rao and former chief engineer of APTRANSCO M Sivarami Reddy will be the members of the committee. The two companies which filed the petitions are SBG Cleanatech Project and Azure Power India. The two renewable power companies alleged that despite the conferment of must run status, the ‘deliberate curtailment’ by the state has resulted in financial losses. They prayed that the must run status be implemented in letter and spirit, to refrain from curtailing solar power energy generated from them, and to compensate for ‘unlawful and arbitrary’ curtailment of generation by SLDC.
The SLDC contended that variable renewable energy (VRE) sources were backed down on some occasions to maintain grid safety and security during high frequency conditions. They also pointed out that backing down power was not uncommon even in neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. After listening to the arguments, the commission constituted an expert committee and asked it to submit its report within two months since its first meeting. The committee’s reference would be to study if the curtailment by SLDC was driven by system exigencies or was deliberate and to see if the companies complied with curtailment instructions.