India's Electricity Act, 2003 allowed large power consumers to begin buying energy directly from generators, circumventing the distribution companies, or discoms. This led to a steady erosion of commercial and industrial consumers for discoms. Initially, these direct purchase contracts were with thermal generators. But with the steep decline in the cost of renewable power, particularly solar reaching price parity with coal, and as companies look to green their supply chains, these contracts have been struck directly with RE generators. This has meant a loss of lucrative revenue for discoms, as commercial and industrial customers pay a premium to cross-subsidise residential and agriculture consumers in India.
In the second episode in this series at The Energy Pod where we discuss how India's utilities could enhance their renewables portfolio, we spoke to Abhishek Ranjan, Senior Vice-President, Strategies - Utilities and Retail at ReNew Power. ReNew Power is India's largest renewable energy generation company with a contracted demand of over seven gigawatts.
Mr. Ranjan speaks here in his personal capacity, and does not represent the views of ReNew Power. Ranjan touches upon two main challenges. First, working to ensure 24/7 reliable renewable power, ad second, moving beyond the premium pricing models of green tariffs.
This series is anchored by Deepak Krishnan, Associate Director, WRI India Energy Program; edited by freelance sound engineer Rajesh Mukkath; and scripted and directed by Kunal Shankar, Senior Communications Manager, WRI India Energy Program.
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