Guidelines issued to HVPN

PANCHKULA, JULY 20: The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission HERC has issued guidelines to Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam HVPN re...

PANCHKULA, JULY 20: The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission HERC has issued guidelines to Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam HVPN regarding power procurement, load forecasts and resource plans in keeping with the Haryana Power Reform Act.

The guidelines aim to make power procurement a transparent, economical and efficient process for HVPN and other licencees. Commenting on the guidelines, HERC chairman V.S. Ailawadi saidquot; quot;The guidelines require HVPN to submit 10-year load forecasts annually each April, starting 1999, along with details of the data, assumptions on which it is based and justification for choice of forecasting methodology. The commission has extended the deadline for submission of load forecasts till August 31, 1999, for the current year, as the guidelines have come into effect in July, 1999.quot;

Under the guidelines, HVPN will have to prepare and submit every alternate year in April, power procurement, transmission and distribution resource plans for a period of 10 years. These resource plans aim at ensuring that plans are prepared for adequate and reliable quality supply at economically viable rates. The commission has extended the deadline for submission of resource plans till September 30, 1999.

The guidelines lay down on time schedule for commission processing of these filings before it. On its part, the commission will communicate its views within three months of receiving the load forecasts and resource plans or within three months of receiving any additional information requested. The additional information requested will have to be submitted by HVPN within 15 days or within a maximum period of two months from the date of submission of documents.

For power procurement, HVPN will have to notify the commission 60 days prior to entering into a Purchase Power Agreement PPA as a purchaser or to solicit offers to supply it with power. The guidelines, however, exempt HVPN from notifying the commission in case of short-term purchase agreements for emergency support and to realise short-term operating cost savings, but require HVPN to make conscious effort to minimise the cost to the consumer.