BSES Inks Deal With SECI To Buy 200 MW Wind Power

BSES, the power discom will purchase 200 MW of wind power at an economical rate that will help support the peak demand in Delhi at night.

In a statement, BSES said that sister discoms-BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) on 3 January, have inked Power Sale Agreements with SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) to procure 200 MW (100-MW each) of wind-power.

A BSES spokesperson said, “Renewable energy is critical for sustainable growth and BSES is alive to it while ensuring there is minimal burden on the consumers. This allocation of wind power is once again a testament to our efforts.”

The 100-MW of power for each discom is expected to be available from FY 2020-21 for a period of 25 years at a tariff of Rs 2.84 per unit, including the trading margin, an official statement said. SECI will act as an intermediary procurer. With this latest agreement, BSES discoms have deals in place for a massive  600 MW of wind power.

BRPL and BYPL earlier signed agreements to procure 250 MW and 150 MW of wind-power, reportedly. Of these, 50 MW of wind power has started flowing from October 2018 and another 50 MW is expected to be available over the next couple of months. The remaining will start flowing from November 2019.

The discom said the tariff is priced substantially lower than the average cost of long-term power purchase agreements, which are around Rs 4.5 per unit. This agreement will also help BSES discoms fulfill their renewable purchase obligations(RPO).

The statement said that a judicious mix of wind and solar power in the discoms’ power portfolio will be helpful in effectively meeting Delhi’s peak power demand. And in what would have been considred unthinkable only two years ago, will also lead to lowering of power purchase costs for the discoms.

“Delhi experiences peak power demand twice in a 24-hour period and this wind power being sourced from the coastal areas of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu is expected to support the night peak demand,” it added.

Picture credit: NREL.gov