A Cabinet approval by the erstwhile YSRCP government for acquiring the project came within a day and the nod from a key regulatory authority in three days, documents accessed by ET showed.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) wrote to the Andhra Pradesh government to procure solar power under its manufacturing-linked solar scheme on September 15, 2021, showed the documents referenced by ET. Within a day, on September 16, the matter was brought before the Cabinet and the proposal approved.
On November 5, just after a month and a half of the Cabinet approval, the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Corporation (APCPDCL) indicated to Andhra Pradesh Energy Regulatory Commission (APERC) the government should go ahead with the plan to acquire solar power.
APCPDCL Chief General Manager (Projects) sent the APERC secretary a three-page justification note that said: “It is submitted that considering the justification stated above, it is earnestly requested to accord approval to the interim power procurement plan.”
A tariff adoption petition was filed in APERC on November 8. As per the set process, APERC examines the demand indicated by discoms, whether the state requires electricity and also holds public hearings to make an informed decision. This process can take months. A similar tariff adoption petition, filed in December 2021 to procure power from Sembcorp Energy India, got APERC approval in June 2022 after a public hearing in April. However, in this AGEL case, the approval came in three days – on November 11, showed the documents cited above. The tariff adoption petition was also approved by APERC. The then Andhra Pradesh government signed the power supply agreement with SECI on December 1 of the same year. The entire process was wrapped up in two-and-a-half months.
The Naidu government is now considering writing to SECI to scrap the power purchase agreement with AGEL and recommend a probe into the way the decision was made. The government is also examining whether it needs 7,000 MW at all.
