Amendment to the Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV Power Projects

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-15022025-260976 EXTRAORDINARY PART I-Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 49] NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025/MAGHA 23, 1946 MINISTRY OF POWER RESOLUTION New Delhi, the 12th February, 2025 Amendment to the Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV Power Projects No. 48-19/2/2024-NRE— The Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV Power Projects have been notified vide Resolution No. 27/01/2023-RCM published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) (Part1 Section 1) on 28th July, 2023. Subsequently, the said Guidelines were further amended vide resolution No. 48-19/2/2023-NRE dated 17th November, 2023 and resolution No. 48-19/2/2024-NRE dated 2nd February, 2024 respectively. 2. The Central Government hereby notifies the following amendment in the said guidelines dated 28th July, 2023 amended on 17th November, 2023 and 2nd February, 2024 :- i. New clause 3.3 has been added after Clause 3.2 of the existing guidelines: "3.3 In case of location specific bids, the procurer may specify the sub-station(s) in Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)/ Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS), where the developers will connect the Solar PV Power Project.” ii. Section 6.6 (b) of the Guidelines has been modified as under: "In the event the Generator fails to maintain energy supply corresponding to the minimum CUF as declared in the PPA for 2(two) consecutive years excluding the first Contract year ending on 31st March immediately after Project CoD, the Generator shall be in default. The Generator's yearly minimum CUF obligation shall get reduced to the average of actual CUF for the 2 default years and the Generator shall be obligated to pay to the Procurer lump-sum damages equivalent to 24 (twenty-four) months or balance PPA period whichever is less, of the tariff, for the reduction in yearly minimum CUF obligation. Provided that in case the Generator fails to pay the lump sum damages then, such failure of the Generator may be treated as an event of default and the PPA may be terminated. In the event of termination of PPA, the Generator shall be liable to pay to the Procurer, damages, equivalent to 24 (twenty-four) months, or balance PPA period whichever is less, of tariff for its contracted capacity with the stipulated minimum CUF." iii. Clause 6.7 of the existing guidelines has been modified as under: "CHANGE IN LAW/REGULATION The provisions for Change in law shall be in accordance with the Electricity (Timely Recovery of Costs due to Change in Law) Rules, 2021 and amendments thereof issued from time to time. Further, the term Change in Law ("CIL") shall refer to the occurrence of any event related to the project from seven (7) days prior to the last date of Bid Submission" iv. New clause 9.3 has been inserted after clause 9.2 and the associated note has been amended as under: "9.3 In normal circumstances, the signing of the PPA and PSA (if applicable) should be completed within 30 (thirty) days from the issuance of the LoA. This period may be extended up to 12 months from the LoA date, beyond which the LoA will be cancelled. Note: It is clarified that if the Procurer gives extended time, subject to adherence to 9.3, for any of the events in the bidding process, on account of delay in achieving the activities required to be completed before the event, or any other reason, such extension of time shall not be in any way be construed as deviation from these Guidelines." v. Section 10.4 of the Guidelines has been modified as under: "Subject to provisions of the Act, the distribution licensee or the Intermediary Procurer, as the case may be, shall approach the Appropriate Commission for adoption of tariffs discovered, in terms of Section 63 of the Act, within 30(Thirty) days of the discovery of the tariffs through e-reverse auction or otherwise, after the transparent competitive bidding process conducted in accordance with these Guidelines." vi. New instrument for establishment of Earnest Money deposit (clause 11.1) has been added after clause 11.1(a): "11.1(a1) Insurance Surety Bonds which would be paid unconditionally similar to a Bank Guarantee OR Any other instrument approved in General Financial Rules as amended from time to time by Central Government OR" vii. New instrument for establishment of Performance Bank Guarantee (clause 11.2) has been added after clause 11.2(a): "11.2(a1) Insurance Surety Bonds which would be paid unconditionally similar to a Bank Guarantee OR Any other instrument approved in General Financial Rules as amended from time to time by Central Government OR" viii. Section 11.3 of the Guidelines has been modified as under: "In addition to the other remedies, this PBG (or alternatives provided thereto as per these Guidelines) can be encashed to recover any damages/dues of the generator in terms of the PPA. It is hereby clarified that the damages/dues recovered by the Intermediary Procurer by encashing the PBG, upon the default of the generator under the PPA, shall be credited to the Payment Security Fund to be maintained by the Intermediary Procurer under Clause 6.3 of these Guidelines. PBG (or alternatives provided thereto as per these Guidelines) shall be returned to the generator within 45 days of the actual commencement of supply date of the project. In case of part commencement of supply of power, PBG corresponding to such part capacity should be released within 45 days of the actual commencement of supply date." ix. Clause 15 of the existing guidelines has been modified as under: "15. Technical Specification 15.1 Procurers shall promote commercially established and operational technologies to minimize the technology risk and to achieve the timely commencement of supply from the Projects. The detailed technical parameters for Solar PV/Energy Storage Systems shall be as specified by MNRE from time to time. 15.2 The developer shall install and maintain GPS enabled Automatic Weather Station (AWS) as per the technical specifications and standards specified by relevant central government agency. Availability of the data from such AWS shall be ensured as specified by the appropriate Load Dispatch Centre and other Central Government agencies in accordance with the provisions of Indian Electricity Grid Code and instructions from the appropriate Load Dispatch Centre from time to time. 15.3 The technical criteria shall include provisions to ensure that the developer complies with applicable cyber security regulations, directives, and guidelines issued by the Central Government Authorities dealing with cyber security." x. Clause 16 of the existing guidelines has been modified as under: "The objective of these Guidelines is to bring standardization & uniformity in processes so that there is fairness & transparency in procurement. As such, these Guidelines need to be strictly followed in the bidding process and no bid, under section 63 of the Electricity Act, for procurement of Solar power from the Projects with or without Energy Storage System shall be issued in contravention to these Guidelines. However, in case it becomes imperative for the Procurer to deviate from these Guidelines and/or the SBDs, the same shall be subject to approval by the Appropriate Commission before the initiation of bidding process itself. The Appropriate Commission shall approve or require modification to the bid documents within a reasonable time not exceeding 60 (sixty) days of filing such petition. Provided that if, for a bid, the deviations are already approved by the Appropriate Government prior to notification of these amendments, fresh approval by the Appropriate Commission shall not be required for that bid." HEMANT KUMAR PANDEY, Chief Engineer(R&R)