The Ministry of Power has granted permission for renewable energy projects to use electricity that was curtailed under the Temporary Grid Network Access (T-GNA) for charging additional co-located Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and subsequently selling this stored electricity independently.
According to a report by The Economic Times on Saturday, implementing this mechanism will not require a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the buyer under the existing Power Purchase Agreement (PSA). The Ministry clarified in a letter dated August 27 that the stored electricity can be sold by any party through energy exchanges or other means.
The Ministry stated that to ensure optimal utilization of renewable energy generation, projects that have received rights according to applicable bidding guidelines may use renewable energy curtailed under T-GNA to charge an additional co-located BESS that is not covered by the existing Power Purchase/Sale Agreement (PPA/PSA).
Reasons for developers' request for permission to use curtailed power
In June, the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) submitted a representation stating that approximately 90 percent of the power planned under T-GNA in the northern region was being curtailed. The association also argued in favor of allowing this scheme, asserting that the commercial BESS would constitute a new element and would not be part of the project's contractual configuration under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Since such a provision was not explicitly included in the PPA, the member developers approached renewable energy development agencies, including the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC, requesting project-specific NOCs. These permissions were required to allow developers to use the curtailed electricity to charge a commercial BESS and then sell the stored energy at their discretion.
How this decision will affect renewable energy developers
The Ministry of Power's decision will ease the situation for renewable energy developers by allowing them to monetize electricity that would otherwise be curtailed under T-GNA. Developers will be able to store curtailed power in separately installed, co-located BESS systems and sell the stored electricity independently. Furthermore, the additional BESS must not be included in the project's existing power purchase or sale agreement.
The Ministry of Power emphasized that this clarification aims to ensure the best utilization of renewable energy generation. T-GNA allows generators to temporarily connect to the interstate transmission system, but transmission constraints can lead to generation curtailment, meaning the generated electricity cannot be fed into the grid.