The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the annual transmission charges for a major interstate renewable energy transmission project in Madhya Pradesh. The project is designed to evacuate 2,500 MW of renewable energy from the Morena Special Economic Zone and will be developed under the Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) model. The approval follows a competitive bidding process conducted according to the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003.

The petition for tariff adoption was submitted by Morena-I SEZ Transmission Limited under Section 63 of the Electricity Act. This section allows the Commission to adopt tariffs discovered through a transparent and competitive bidding process in line with government guidelines. The transmission project was initially initiated by PFC Consulting Limited, which acted as the Bid Process Coordinator for the project. The company had incorporated Morena-I SEZ Transmission Limited as its wholly owned subsidiary before transferring it to the successful bidder.

The bidding process attracted strong participation from the industry. A global invitation for bids resulted in twelve companies submitting both technical and financial proposals. During the first stage of financial bidding, Apraava Energy Private Limited emerged as the lowest bidder with an annual transmission charge quote of Rs 1,816 million. This price became the starting benchmark for the electronic reverse auction stage.

As per the bidding guidelines, six of the top-qualified bidders were allowed to participate in the e-reverse auction. The auction turned highly competitive and continued for fifty-one rounds. Out of the six shortlisted bidders, five actively participated in reducing their price offers. After the intense bidding process concluded, Enerica Infra 1 Private Limited secured the lowest bid, also known as the L1 position, by offering annual transmission charges of Rs 1,562.34 million.

The final winning bid was marginally lower than the next best offer of Rs 1,566.26 million submitted by Apraava Energy Private Limited. The Bid Evaluation Committee carefully reviewed the bidding process and confirmed that it complied fully with the government’s competitive bidding guidelines.

According to the committee, the discovered tariff was significantly lower than the estimated levelized tariff of Rs 2,639.99 million per annum that had been calculated under normal regulatory norms. The winning tariff was nearly 40.82% lower than the benchmark estimate, indicating strong competition and market efficiency during the bidding process. The committee therefore declared the discovered tariff to be reasonable, acceptable, and aligned with prevailing market conditions.

Following the successful bid, Enerica Infra 1 Private Limited completed all required post-bid formalities. These included furnishing a contract performance guarantee worth Rs 52 crore and acquiring full equity ownership of Morena-I SEZ Transmission Limited from PFC Consulting Limited.

CERC stated that the approved transmission charges would remain applicable for the entire period defined in the Transmission Service Agreement. However, the tariff adoption remains subject to the final grant of the transmission license, which is currently under process. The sharing of transmission charges among beneficiaries will be carried out according to the applicable regulatory framework.

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