In a bid to lower the cost of power purchase to consumers, the Power Ministry is planning to implement the phase-1 of Market-Based Economic Despatch (MBED) with effect from April 1, 2022, it said Friday. It further added that before this Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) align its regulations, mock drills will be carried out to ensure that the system runs smoothly.

MBED will ensure that the cheapest generating resources across the country are despatched to meet the overall system demand and will thus be a win-win for both the distribution companies and the generators and ultimately result in significant annual savings for the electricity consumers.

The release said, Ministry recognized the need for a consensual and phased approach in implementing MBED that will help participants, power exchanges and load despatch centres adapt gradually to the new regime.

As per the release, to this effect, a ‘Discussion Note’ was circulated on June 1, 2021 by the Power Ministry to all concerned stakeholders for obtaining their inputs and comments. A consultation workshop covering State Governments was convened by the Ministry on July 6, 2021.

“Several comments were obtained during the workshop which was subsequently deliberated by the Ministry. Pursuant to that, a second consultative workshop was held with Discoms, Electricity Regulatory Commissions, State Gencos, etc. on August 26, 2021,” it further added.

The Power Ministry noticed substantial alignment amongst all key stakeholders on a phased approach and the process to be followed for implementing Phase 1 of MBED, starting with the mandatory participation of the Inter-State Generating Stations. Generation plants of others can also participate in Phase 1 voluntarily.

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