VIJAYAWADA: To streamline short-term power procurement, the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission notified the APERC (Terms and conditions for short term procurement/sale of power) Regulation, 2022 in the Andhra Pradesh extraordinary Gazette on February 10, 2022 after public consultations. This regulation is the first-of-its -kind in the country.
The increased share of renewable energy capacity (about 50 per cent of the total installed capacity), which is intermittent and unpredictable in nature, has been forcing the Discoms to procure energy from the market on a short-term basis to meet shortages when there is a fall in generation from renewable sources, particularly from wind and solar plants.
With the addition of renewable capacity every year, the share of short-term power purchases has been on the rise. Further, most of the future capacity additions to the State grid are likely to come from renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar plants, due to their falling prices and the Centre’s commitment to reduce the emission level as per the Paris Agreement. As a result, the share of short-term purchases is likely to increase in the future.
The regulation mandates publication of the monthly/weekly/day-ahead power requirement communicated by the SLDC to the Discoms and details of the power procurement on the websites of the Discoms and SLDC within 48 hours, with ease of access to the current as well as archived data.The above information should also be submitted to the Commission periodically.
The regulation is part of a series of transparent steps taken by the commission to reduce the overall power purchase costs of the Discoms and to improve their efficiency in the larger interests of the consumers. It can be accessed on the website of the Commission.
24X7 cell a must
A common round-the-clock dedicated cell should be constituted by the Discoms with powers to monitor prices in the power exchanges and purchase/sell energy at the right time to save overall costs.
Short-term purchases
The regulation for power purchases is the first-of-its-kind in the country
Report on purchases
Monthly/weekly/day-ahead power requirement communicated by State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) to the Discoms and details of the power procurement should be published on the websites of the Discoms and SLDC within 48 hours. The information should be submitted to the APERC periodically
Power plants
Ensure full despatch of cheaper power from the approved thermal power plants, which reduces power purchase costs
APERC stipulates procedures for reserve shutdowns, demand estimation based on the latest artificial intelligence tools, and when to resort to purchase/sale from the market by the Discoms