Indian power minister touts penalising states for not honouring PPAs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Indian power minister R.K. Singh. Credit: twitter

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is finalising laws that will include penalties for state governments and distribution companies (Discoms) that do not honour power purchase agreements (PPAs), according to power minister R.K. Singh.

Singh's comments at the Global Investors’ India Forum lacked detail and it is unclear just how new such a policy would be, given that a signed PPA should in theory be protected by law already. Nevertheless, cancelling, renegotiaiting or price-matching PPAs in the solar sector has gathered momentum recently with incidences in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, causing some concern for the sector.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

According to a government release, Singh said MNRE is in the final stages of “codifying” this law that would penilise “delinquencies”. It also plans to make Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) statutory.

Enforcement of RPOs, which mandate states to procure a certain percentage of their energy from renewables, has been famously poor to date, and it remains to be seen whether the new plans would have any impact. Former joint secretary of MNRE Tarun Kapoor once said that the RPO was the single most important policy driver for solar in India.

Other new rules announced by Singh include making smart meters mandatory and imposing penalties for non-payment of electricity bills.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
March 19, 2024
Texas, USA
Solar Media Events
March 26, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA