Union Power Minister R K Singh has assured the renewable energy industry of help over the industry’s grievances over the new ‘deviation settlement mechanism’ (DSM) guidelines.
In a meeting with the industry representatives on December 1, Singh said he would form a sub-committee to look into the issue, industry sources who attended the meeting have told businessline.
The Wind Independent Power Producers’ Association (WIPPA), a body of wind energy companies, has taken the government and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to Delhi High Court over the DSM guidelines. The new guidelines drastically narrow the band within which energy companies will not be penalized for deviating from the power supply schedules they would have given to the grid operator on the previous day.
Singh assured the industry that the sub-committee would come up with an amicable solution before the first hearing of the case, sources said.
On the back of this assurance, the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), an association of solar energy companies, has decided not to implead itself in the case, the CEO of the Federation, Mr Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, told businessline.
DSM controversy
The DSM has been in force since 2014, but in January 2022, the Government brought in tighter regulations, leaving the renewable energy industry unhappy. Essentially, it is difficult for renewable energy companies to stick to schedules because nobody can predict wind flows accurately.
The older regulations allowed a wind developer to “over-inject up to 100 per cent”, namely double what it said it would inject into the grid every 15 minutes, and be paid for it. Beyond 100 per cent, there would be no payment. The new regulations, however, allow only up to 10 per cent over-injection.
Similarly, for under-supply of power, the leeway the energy companies enjoyed has been shrunk from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
The renewable energy industry disagrees with the Government that it is possible, with current technology, to accurately predict how much energy would be generated in each 15-minute time slot of the next day.