‘DISCOMs saved ₹ 22.70 Cr. when buying electricity ‘

AP-DISCOMs CMDs on Thursday said the normative availability of energy for the generators under Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) between December 17, 2020 and January 15, 2021 was 3,289.30 million units (MU). However, the actual energy availability reported for the supply was 2,470.79 ME.

In response to a letter from the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) regarding the electricity purchase on Wednesday, the CMDs stated that the actual energy supplied by the generators was 2,253.27 MU, below 819 MU when compared to the Commission’s orders , Give 3 MU. DISCOMs searched for the cheapest electricity available to fill the void and saved yen 22.70 billion through market purchases.

They said that 3,289.3 MU was the availability based on the full capacity of the power plants according to the tariff orders of the commission and would only be fully available to the DISCOMs if the power plants declare their ability to supply the energy which only 2470, 79 MU.

The producers declare the energy availability on a day-ahead basis and their ability to deliver on a certain day is always lower than the normative availability under full load operating conditions. The actual energy reported by the generators depends on the maintenance needs of the machine and the availability of fuel.

The electricity procurement plan for the next day will be finalized by the state load distribution center on the basis of the energy availability declaration from the power plants.

The energy availability declared on a day-ahead basis is always less than or equal to the normative availability according to the PPAs. The generators dispense with fixed costs for the energy that is not made available.

Additionally, the CMDs stated that the average price of market purchases for the above period was ₹ 3.38 per kWh (excluding AP TRANSCO fees of 0.19 / kWh which are reimbursed). The average price of alternative electricity available from the approved sources over the same period was 3.68 yen per kWh (excluding Transco fees). This resulted in a saving of ₹ 0.30 per kWh.

‘Calculation error’

The APERC should have taken into account real-time availability as stated by the approved sources. Instead, it took into account the normatively approved availability that was specified in the end customer tariff. The Commission wrongly calculated the loss compared to the energy from power stations that was not available at the time.

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