(ET)
Yet another developer has withdrawn its winning bid for wind power projects that NTPC auctioned last year, after the state-run company failed to get regulatory approvals for those, revealing further signs of a slowdown in this segment. NTPC last year auctioned 1200MW of projects where the winning tariffs were in the range of Rs 2.77-2.83 per unit.
Entities like NTPC, which conduct the auctions, are subsequently required get sanctions from the states where the projects would be set up. In previous years, this was widely regarded as a formality with sanctions being automatically given. This time, however, NTPC was has not been able to secure tariff approval from various state power regulatory commissions, and therefore had given the winners the option to withdraw their offers. Regulatory approval for tariff adoption is required within two months of signing the PPA (power purchase agreement) or PSA (power sale agreement), whichever is done first.