Gujarat Proposes New Generic Tariffs For Waste-To-Energy Plants

The new tariffs would be applicable till March 31, 2028. Photo by-Freepik

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has floated a discussion paper to determine the state’s generic tariff for waste-to-energy plants. It has asked the stakeholder and the public to send their suggestions and objections to the Commission by the end of July 5. 

The new tariffs would be applicable till March 31, 2028. Photo by-Freepik

On November 10, 2016, the Commission issued the Generic Tariff order for procurement of power by discoms from municipal solid waste (MSW) to energy projects. It was applicable for the control period up to March 31, 2021. The Commission has now planned to issue a fresh generic tariff order for such plants, which could apply until March 31, 2028.

The last tariff order fixed the tariffs under different categories based on technology. The order fixed the tariff for mass incinerations at Rs 7.03/unit (without AD benefits) and Rs 6.31/unit (with AD benefits). On the other hand, for the RDF incineration technology, the tariff stood at Rs 7.07/unit (without AD benefit) and Rs 6.67 (with AD benefit). 

However, the latest proposed tariffs under the discussion paper are higher than the current ones. The discussion paper said that the tariffs were decided based on various operational and financial parameters to determine the MSW tariff. These included total project cost, central financial assistance (CFA), total cost considering the CFA, normative operations and maintenance (O&M) costs and escalation of O&M and others.

As per the latest proposed tariffs, the GERC fixed the tariff for mass incineration projects at Rs 7.07/unit (without AD support) and Rs 6.46/unit (with AD support). For the RDF incineration projects, the costs remained at Rs 7.10/unit (without AD support) and Rs 6.54/unit (with AD support. All of these tariffs were for projects that are developed, excluding CFA. For projects with CFA, the tariffs in these categories are even lower. 

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In India, while most Indian states like Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh depend on Generic tariffs for Waste-To-Energy (WTE) projects, Maharashtra followed project-specific tariffs. 

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WTE situation in Gujarat

Gujarat has 164 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) responsible for MSW management. The total solid waste collection in Gujarat stands at 10373.79 TPD, out of which 10332 TPD is collected, 6946 TPD of waste is treated, and 3385.82 TPD of waste is landfilled /dumped. 

It also has 38 composting plants, 95 vermicompost plants, three biogas and 2 RDF/palletization have been set up in the state. It is reported that 28 Regional/Individual landfill sites are identified, 25 Landfill under the planning stage and 11 Landfill sites are constructed. There are 164 dumpsites present in the state. About 100% door-to-door collection of mixed MSW has been reported, with 82% segregation at source, as per the discussion paper. 

As per GERC, there are four WTE plants with different capacities. These include the WTE plant at Jamnagar (7.5MW), Vadodara (14.9MW), Rajkot (14.9MW) and Ahmedabad (14.9MW). The state also released its WTE Policy in 2022, where it has planned to develop 100 MW of power from wastes in the state by 2028. 

The latest proposed tariff for Waste To Energy Projects in Gujarat. Source-GERC