The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has ruled in favour of the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in a case related to its Renewable Power Purchase Obligation (RPO) compliance for the financial year 2019-20. The Commission held that DPA successfully met its revised renewable energy obligations after allowing the authority to adjust its surplus wind energy procurement against shortfalls in solar and other renewable energy categories.
DPA, which operates as a deemed distribution licensee in Kandla, Gujarat, had filed a petition before GERC seeking revision of its RPO targets and permission to fulfil its obligations through excess wind energy. The request was made under the provisions of the GERC (Procurement of Energy from Renewable Sources) Regulations.
Under the original regulations, obligated entities were required to achieve an overall RPO target of 14.30% for FY 2019-20. This included 8.05% from wind energy, 5.50% from solar energy, and 0.75% from other renewable energy sources such as biomass and small hydro.
During the financial year, DPA recorded a total energy requirement of 11.652 million units (MUs). While it did not generate or procure any electricity from solar or other renewable sources, it procured 11.434 MUs of wind energy, resulting in an impressive 98.13% compliance through wind power alone.
The port authority informed the Commission that nearly 70% to 80% of its electricity requirement is met through wind energy generated from its 6 MW wind power plant at Sukhpur and a 4.2 MW wind power plant at Banugar in Gujarat. It also argued that purchasing additional solar power would have significantly increased its power procurement costs, ultimately affecting consumers through higher electricity charges.
The GERC bench, comprising Chairman Pankaj Joshi and Members Hiren Shah and Jatin N. Thakkar, examined the petition along with previous regulatory orders and judgments of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). The Commission observed that DPA was in the early stages of functioning as an independent distribution licensee during FY 2019-20 and faced challenges in energy procurement because of its limited consumer base.
The Commission also noted that Gujarat experienced lower solar capacity additions during the year. Solar installations in the state declined from 852.13 MW in FY 2018-19 to 508.24 MW in FY 2019-20, creating supply constraints.
Using its powers under the Second Amendment Regulations, 2018, GERC revised the applicable RPO targets for FY 2019-20. The revised targets reduced the solar obligation to 3.52% and the “other renewable” obligation to 0.24%, while keeping the wind target unchanged at 8.05%. As a result, the overall RPO target was revised to 11.81%.
Based on these revised targets, the Commission allowed DPA to offset its shortfall in solar and other renewable energy with its surplus wind power procurement. GERC concluded that DPA had fully met its revised RPO requirement for FY 2019-20 and disposed of Petition No. 1992 of 2021.
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