The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) has raised concerns over a petition seeking approval for the adoption of tariff and a draft Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for procuring 10 MW of grid-connected ground-mounted solar power in Bihar. The petition was jointly filed by Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) and Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited (BSPHCL) for approval of the solar power procurement process involving the state distribution companies, North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited.
In an order issued on July 29, 2026, a BERC bench comprising Chairman Amir Subhani and Member (Legal) P.S. Yadav highlighted several procedural issues, delays, and technical shortcomings in the petition. The Commission observed that the filing process did not comply with key requirements under the Ministry of Power’s competitive bidding framework.
One of the major issues identified by BERC was the delay in submitting the tariff adoption petition. As per central bidding guidelines, procurement agencies are required to approach the regulatory commission within 15 days of tariff discovery. However, in this case, the e-reverse auction was completed on September 26, 2025, and the Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued on October 6, 2025. Despite this, BSPGCL and BSPHCL filed the petition only on July 21, 2026, after a delay of several months.
The Commission noted that the reasons for the delay were not explained and that the petitioners had not submitted any formal application seeking condonation of delay. BERC questioned why such a significant gap occurred between tariff discovery and the filing of the petition.
The regulator also examined provisions included in the tender documents and draft PPA. The tender required successful solar developers to pay administrative overhead charges to BSPGCL and reimburse regulatory fees payable to BERC. The Commission questioned the legal basis for imposing such charges on developers, stating that these additional costs could increase the final solar power tariff and ultimately place an additional burden on electricity consumers.
BERC also sought clarification on the discovered tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit, asking BSPGCL to provide supporting analysis to demonstrate whether the tariff was competitive and aligned with prevailing market conditions.
Several deviations from the Ministry of Power’s standard guidelines for tariff-based competitive bidding were also flagged by the Commission. BSPGCL was directed to explain the reasons behind these deviations in the Request for Proposal (RfP) and draft PPA and confirm whether required approvals had been obtained from the relevant authorities.
The Commission further pointed out legal inconsistencies in the draft PPA, including references to outdated regulations such as the repealed 2005 open access regulations. BERC instructed the utility to update and correct these provisions.
Additionally, the regulator raised concerns over the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) calculations submitted by BSPGCL. The calculations were based on data from August 2024, and the Commission stated that updated information was required to assess the current renewable energy requirement and supply position.
During the hearing, BSPGCL representatives requested additional time to respond to the observations raised by the Commission. BERC accepted the request and granted two weeks for submitting a detailed reply. The next hearing regarding admission of the case has been scheduled for August 25, 2026.
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