India's CERC concedes to review wind farm forecasting rule - report

Dec 4, 2013 - The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in India will review regulations demanding that wind farm operators provide day-ahead output projections as the requirement has brought much discontent.

Indian daily The Economic Times on Wednesday quoted a CERC official as saying that the commission has concluded the rules were not workable at present, so it intended to make changes at the legal and engineering level.

The CERC order for day-ahead forecasts came in the summer of this year and since then has been challenged in three Indian high courts by the Indian wind power association (IWPA), the Wind Independent Power Producers' Association (WIPPA) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corp (BOM:532181). The attackers are aiming at both the rule’s legality and feasibility. The unnamed CERC official noted, as cited by The Economic Times, that CERC would review the various suggestions for changes to the forecast requirement that have been received by stakeholders.

One of the main arguments against the day-ahead prognosis presented by wind farm operators and other sector organisations is the fact that the poor condition of the national grid served as a barrier to the adoption of modern data collection technology. Independent wind power producers have already requested grid infrastructure upgrades so as to be able to meet CERC’s order, the report says.

In July the WIPPA raised up arms against the forecasting requirement saying it could cut operators’ profits by 12% to 15%. Under the CERC order operators of wind farms with capacities of more than 10 MW have to prepare daily forecasts separated in 15-minute intervals. If the difference between the estimates and actual generation is more than 30% the producers are subject to penalties.

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