States' dues to renewable power companies at Rs 3,000 crore: CEA

CEA started the portal to collate data for dues in the renewable sector last week

In just a week after opening a new portal for collating data on dues of renewable power projects, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has received details of Rs 3,000 crore of pending dues. More than 50 per cent of the dues are from south India with more than 90 days of payment delay. 

Some project developers said their dues are yet to be updated on the portal, which will further increase the cumulative amount. 
 

Officials said the total amount of dues would be close to Rs 6,000 crore. The CEA, the apex technical body under the ministry of power, started the portal to collate data for dues in the renewable sector last week. A portal for collating similar data for conventional energy is already functional under the name PRAAPTI. 

“This data would also be fed into the PRAAPTI portal. We have initiated the process. The CEA will publish updated data every Friday. In another two weeks, we will share the data with PFC Consulting, which runs the PRAAPTI portal, and it will upload the dues of renewable power generators as well,” said a senior CEA official. 

Business Standard recently reported that the CEA has set up a new division which overlooks day-to-day developments, capacity addition and grid integration of renewable-based power. With the share of renewable power increasing, the CEA is planning to put out daily data on renewable the same way as it does for thermal, hydro power and coal demand.

In order to map the intermittent solar and wind energy, the CEA will source data from renewable energy management centres (REMCs) which are being set up across the country. 

These centres will collect the data, help in integration of renewable to the grid and maintain grid balance in the area. 

It is the first attempt to bring all renewable energy generation control operations under a standardised framework consistent across all states and regions in real time. 

Financially distressed state-owned power distribution companies (discoms) are laggards in their payments to power generators. To the thermal power sector, the cumulative dues of states are Rs 29,173 crore. Renewable power is a must-run in the country but states are either laggards in procuring it or paying for it. 

Barring discoms, which are financially more stable, such as in Gujarat, none of the states are close to meeting their annual mandatory target of renewable purchase obligation. 

India’s renewable energy capacity is at 81,000 Mw, of which wind power is 36,000 Mw and solar power is 27,000 Mw. The Centre has set a target of 175,000 Mw of renewable energy by 2022. India also aims to source 40 per cent of its energy demand from renewable sources, under its Paris Climate change target. Tariff in solar and wind have come down below Rs 2.5 per unit, lower than average rate of thermal power in India. 

But as state discoms battle weak finances, procurement of renewable faces challenges as no state wishes to pay for intermittent and seasonal renewables.