OERC asks Gridco to submit plan for state’s power needs

Gridco, being the single entity to buy power in bulk, has a major role to play in optimising power purchase cost which constitutes around 70 per cent of the average cost of supply, the order said.

Image used for representational purpose (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has directed the Grid Corporation of Odisha Limited (Gridco) to submit a long-term plan projecting power requirements and sources of availability within three months.

The commission issued the direction to the state bulk power trading utility while passing an order on Gridco’s applications for approval of aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) and bulk supply price for 2023-24. Gridco, being the single entity to buy power in bulk, has a major role to play in optimising power purchase cost which constitutes around 70 per cent of the average cost of supply, the order said.

“Gridco is directed to submit a long-term projection of power requirement and availability of power from various sources for a period of 10-15 year time frame, considering the existing power purchase agreement (PPA) and likely to be executed PPAs for power projects to be commissioned,” the OERC said.

The commission further directed the state PSU to submit a resource adequacy plan as prescribed by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to meet the projected demand and load growth (peak demand and energy requirement) and further to meet the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target of the state in line with the notification of Ministry of Power.