The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has ‘requested’ the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission to review biomass power tariffs, to help the endangered industry in the State.
The ministry wants the regulator to review the current tariff at which the biomass power producers would sell the electricity to the state electricity distribution utility. It wants the tariff to be brought in accordance to the formula recommended by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
TNERC fixed the biomass tariff at Rs 4.70 a kWhr, for all biomass power plants built between September 29, 2009 and July 31, 2012, basing its calculations on costs as it saw as reasonable; if the tariff was fixed on the basis of CERC’s normative costs, it would work out to Rs 7.20 a kWhr.
Finding the tariff unviable, especially during the windy summer months when wind power chips in, the Biomass Power Producers’ Association of Tamil Nadu sought the help of the ministry.
MNRE’s Director (Biomass Power) Girish Kumar has noted in his letter to Tamil Nadu regulator that the CERC had come up with its recommended tariff on the basis of “detailed study of various biomass plants in the country”.
“MNRE is requesting TNERC to review the tariff parameters in line with the parameters decided by the CERC” and this ‘kind act’ would enable the biomass industry in the State to “revive and survive”.
The association has called attention to the “irony” of the state government inviting investments into the biomass sector at the Global Investor Meet held in September. The government then noted that the State has potential to accommodate 290 MW of biomass-based power plants, complementing the existing 210 MW of biomass-based power capacity, set up with an investment of Rs 850 crore.