CSERC (Terms and conditions for determination of tariff for Renewable Energy sources) Regulations, 2025 – EQ
Summary:
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1. **Scope & Eligibility**:
* Applies to RE projects achieving Commercial Operation Date (COD) between **1st April 2025 and 31st March 2030**, located within the state, and supplying their entire power to state distribution licensees on a long-term basis.
* Defines eligibility criteria for various technologies: Wind, Small Hydro, Solar (PV, Thermal, Floating), Biomass (Biogas, Gasifier), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Renewable Hybrid Projects, and RE projects with Storage.
2. **Tariff Mechanism**:
* **Generic Tariff**: Determined by the Commission at the start of each financial year for specific technologies like Small Hydro and Solar PV projects (0.5 MW to 2 MW capacity).
* **Project-Specific Tariff**: Determined by the Commission on a case-by-case basis for technologies like Wind, Large Hydro (>25 MW), Solar Thermal, Floating Solar, MSW projects, RE Hybrid projects, and projects with Storage.
* **Tariff Structure**: Primarily a **single-part tariff** (fixed cost components). For projects with fuel costs (e.g., biomass), a **two-part tariff** (fixed cost + fuel cost) is used.
3. **Key Financial Parameters**:
* **Control/Review Period**: 5 years (1st April 2025 to 31st March 2030).
* **Tariff Period**: Equal to the **Useful Life** of the project (e.g., Wind: 25 years, Solar: 25 years, Small Hydro: 40 years).
* **Capital Cost**: Specifies benchmark costs for various technologies (e.g., Small Hydro up to ₹10.27 Crore/MW, Solar PV ₹3.5 Crore/MW). Project-specific capital costs are examined for prudence.
* **Debt-Equity Ratio**: 70:30 for generic tariff determination.
* **Return on Equity (RoE)**: 14% for most RE projects; 15% for Small Hydro projects.
* **Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Expenses**: Provides normative first-year O&M costs with an annual escalation of **5.25%**.
4. **Operational Principles**:
* All RE power plants are treated as **’Must Run’** plants and are not subjected to ‘Merit Order Despatch’ principles.
* Most RE plants (except certain fuel-based and storage projects) are not subjected to scheduling and deviation settlement for commercial purposes, only for grid operations.
5. **Technology-Specific Parameters**:
* **Chapters 3 to 12** detail norms for specific technologies: **Wind, Small Hydro, Non-fossil fuel Co-generation, Solar PV, Solar Thermal/Floating Solar, MSW/RDF, Biogas, Biomass Gasifier, RE Hybrid, and RE with Storage**.
* Parameters include: Capital Cost, Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF), Auxiliary Consumption, Station Heat Rate, Fuel Specifications & Costs, etc.
6. **Petition & Procedural Requirements**:
* Outlines the process and required documentation for filing a petition for project-specific tariff determination.
* Provides standardized templates (**Forms 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2**) for submitting project assumptions, financial calculations, and fuel usage statements.
7. **Miscellaneous & Powers**:
* The Commission retains powers to relax provisions, remove difficulties, and allow deviations from norms under specified conditions.
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