Andhra Pradesh

The financial failings of India’s electric companies have once again come to the fore as the power minister warned the seven worst offending states the lengthening debts they owe renewables developers could be recovered via the National Company Law Tribunal.

The chargers will be set up in six cities (Agra, Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Shimla) and along Delhi-Jaipur-Agra-Delhi and Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai highways.

After High Court’s stay on tariff revision, the state government has resorted to unprecedented curtailment of wind and solar power projects.

Having won a 100 MW floating solar project last month, state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has added another 25 MW from NTPC to emerge as the largest EPC player in India’s floating solar segment.

The move is the latest attempt by the newly-elected state government to reverse renewable energy commitments made under the previous administration.

The ‘inverted umbrella’ shaped canopies use monocrystalline flexible solar panels on top to generate electricity for functions like mobile and laptop charging, and lighting.

The high-level committee formed by Andhra Pradesh government to review and renegotiate the signed power purchase agreements with wind and solar power developers has the potential to impair the cash flows of projects in the sector.

The state government will defy a ministerial order not to renegotiate signed deals after leadership of the legislative assembly changed hands in May’s elections. Consultancy Bridge to India says the contracts are legally binding but the move will shake investor confidence nevertheless.

The company recently bagged a total capacity of 480 MW in Gujarat, including 200 MW wind and 280 MWp solar. Its 338 MWp solar project at Kadapa Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh has also gone live.

With Karnataka withdrawing open access waivers and the policy not replicated elsewhere, corporate buyers are increasingly favouring group captive projects that are exempt from the cross-subsidy surcharge—the largest and most unpredictable component of grid charges for open access power.