The Ministry of Power (MoP) recently issued draft amendments to the following guidelines on 25th October, 2024 with the request to provide comments on the same within 15 days:

1. Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV Power Projects (hereinafter referred to as the “Solar TBCB Guidelines”);
2. Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement Power from Grid Connected Wind Power Projects (hereinafter referred to as the “Wind TBCB Guidelines”);
3. Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Wind Solar Hybrid Projects (hereinafter referred to as the “Hybrid TBCB Guidelines”); and
4. Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Renewable Energy Power Projects with Energy Storage Systems (hereinafter referred to as the “FDRE TBCB Guidelines”).

The proposed amendments are largely enabling in nature and aim to contribute to the efficient implementation of power projects. Some of the things envisaged by these draft amendments are - location specific connectivity, reduction in the minimum PPA period, optional termination of PPA in the event of default by the generator in maintaining energy supply, installation of GPS-enabled Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), compliance with cyber security regulations etc. Apart from some specific comments on these issues, we suggest that MoP consolidate the various RE TBCB guidelines into a single set to avoid multiplicity and minimize repetition.