The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering setting up a web portal to publicly disclose payment delays to renewable energy players from power distribution companies (Discoms). The move is expected to usher in more transparency in pending payments.

A person aware of the recently held ‘ Chintan Baithak’ (brainstorming meet) conducted by MNRE said, “The issue of payment delays was raised at the Chintan Baithak . It was pointed out that payment in Telangana has been pending for over 9 months. The industry demanded that a portal similar to Payment Ratification and Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency (PRAAPTI) portal be created for the RE sector to make payment process transparent. Delegates suggested that State-wise, developer-wise debt should be in public domain.”

“The proposal is under consideration and several options are being deliberated upon including the option of hosting a RE section at PRAAPTI portal itself,” officials told BusinessLine .

Players in the country’s renewable energy sector had collectively red-flagged delays in land acquisition, ramping down of power and transmission constraints, among other issues, at the meet.

“The outcome of this meeting will form the bedrock for policy changes that will be highlighted before the coming government to help boost the renewable energy sector,” an MNRE official conducting the stakeholder discussion said.

Stakeholders present in the meeting reiterated the age-old issues plaguing the clean energy sector.

“The issue of delayed payments by Discoms was red-flagged at the meeting. There is a need for a more robust payment assurance method as the delays are seriously impacting the project viability,” an official at a private solar project developer said.

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