THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has fixed Rs 3.90 per unit as the interim tariff for electricity supplied from the 50 MW Kasargod Solar Park.It is at this rate the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will make payments for power purchased from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA), which is implementing the project. Of the 50 MW Phase I of the solar park project, 36 MW was commissioned on March 31, 2017, and the remaining in September 2017.
Although about 40 million units (MU) of energy have been pumped into the KSEB’s grid so far, the Board has not made any payments so far, according to IREDA. IREDA had approached the commission in June last year seeking an interim tariff and for getting the power sale agreement with KSEB approved.
The commission fixed the interim rate by taking into account the average cost for general power purchases of the KSEB for 2017-18 which was decided at Rs 3.90 per unit.
The 200-MW solar park at Ambalathara in Kasargod is a joint venture of KSEB and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The project is being implemented on 300 acres by IREDA. The tripartite agreement among the three entities was signed in March 2015.
According to the power sale agreement between IREDA and KSEB signed on March 31, 2017, “the tariff will be at a levelised tariff of Rs 4.95 per unit or the rate as approved by KSERC, whichever is lower.” Meanwhile, the commission has also asked IREDA to provide more information within 15 days for determining a project-specific tariff for power from the Solar Park project.
The KSEB has devised a number of schemes for increasing solar power generation in the state, Electricity Minister M M Mani said in a Facebook post. The construction of projects worth 6.75 MW is progressing in various parts of the state, he said. This includes a 2 MW project on the campus of the Pothencode substation, 1 MW in Etumanoor, 1.25 MW scheme in Pezhakkapally, Muvattupuzha, and 1.5 MW in Nenmara, Palakkad, he said.