Maharashtra to Obtain 1,000 MW Solar Energy From Six Producers

The power will be supplied to agriculture pumps during the day. It will also help the MSEDCL attain the Renewable Purchase Obligation mandated by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) under the Electricity Act-2003 to purchase a minimum level of renewable energy out of its total consumption.

To fulfill its energy requirements, the state of Maharashtra will now obtain 1000 MW of its total energy from six solar power producers across the country.

Earlier the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) tendered 1 GW of solar energy of which saw lukewarm response from private parties; however the company has received offers at lower rates.

The offers received by state-owned discom range from Rs 2.71 per unit and Rs 2.72 per unit. This price is lower than the bids in other states of the country, said MSEDCL. The total offers received by the discom for a total of 1450 MW were from eight developers who participated in the auction.

The power will be supplied to agriculture pumps during the day. It will also help the MSEDCL attain the Renewable Purchase Obligation mandated by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) under the Electricity Act-2003 to purchase a minimum level of renewable energy out of its total consumption.

During peak seasons, the power consumption recorded by MSEDCL exceeds 23,000 MW.

Earlier the discom in a bid to switch to renewable source of energy had tendered 1GW solar energy on 21 December 2017 but got lukewarm response from the developers. Subsequently, the tenders were reissued on 9 April 2018 with relaxed norms.

Although the date for bid submission was 27^th April, the very few responses prompted authorities to extend the dates.