Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has imposed penalties of ₹17.2 million on Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) and ₹28.8 million each on BSES Yamuna Power Ltd. (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. (BRPL).
The penalties have been imposed for defaulting on renewable energy purchase obligations (RPO) for three financial years.
The commission has ordered the distribution companies (DISCOMs) to pay the penalty within a month.
The petition was filed by Green Energy Association and the Indian Wind Power Association (IWPA) stating that the commission had allocated funds to the distribution companies (DISCOMs) for the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to meet the RPO, and even when RECs were available in the market, no efforts were made by the DISCOMs to fulfill their RPO.
The commission, in its order, observed, “There is no doubt that DISCOMs have failed to meet their RPO. Keeping in view all factors and various directions of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), it is established that the failure of DISCOMs to meet the RPO make them liable to pay penalty.”
A penalty of ₹100,000 for each year of default and an additional ₹5,000/day fine for continuing to default until DISCOMs met the RPO for a given year, was imposed by the commission.
Reference- Mercom India, Economic Times, The Financial Express