A recent order by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has said that renewable energy certificates (REC) affected by the Commission’s order of June 17, 2020, will now be considered valid.
An order by CERC dated November 18, 2021, said that RECs which were still valid for trading at power exchanges under REC regulations, as on June 17, 2020, and have remained unsold till date, shall continue to be valid and be good for sale or purchase for the then remainder period of their validity, computed with reference to June 17, 2020.
The CERC order added that purchase of such RECs during the period of extended validity by obligated entities will be treated as good compliance under RPO targets.
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Background
In an order dated November 9, 2021, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), set aside a CERC order dated June 17, 2020. The CERC order of June 17, 2020 had dealt with determination of forbearance and floor price under the REC framework.
APTEL in the order of November 9, 2021, further directed CERC to issue formal orders to this effect with two weeks thereof.
The CERC order of November 18, 2021, discussed above, was in response to the APTEL order.
The APTEL order of November 9, 2021 was in response to an appeal (No.113 of 2020) filed by Indian Wind Power Association against the CERC order of June 17, 2020.
The CERC order of June 17, 2020 (now impugned) had set the forbearance price of RECs (both solar and non-solar) at Rs.1,000 per MW. The floor price was nil. This forbearance price and floor price was to come into effect from July 1, 2020 and be effective up to June 30, 2021, or till further CERC orders.