COVID-19: MNRE grants time extension in commissioning of renewable energy projects

New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Wednesday announced a timeline extension in the scheduled commissioning date (SCD) of renewable energy projects considering disruption due to the second wave of COVID-19 cases.
The ministry in its order said that RE projects being implemented through implementing agencies designated by the MNRE having their SCD on or after 1 April 2021 would be eligible to claim time-extension for completion of their project activities.
“The actual quantum of time-extension shall be decided in due course depending on the COVID-19 related developments that take place in the coming weeks,” it added.
The ministry, however, added that such time-extensions were not to be used as a ground for claiming termination of power purchase agreement (PPA) or for claiming any increase in the project cost.
While there were no instructions from the central government for a countrywide lockdown, several states have taken various measures such as night curfew and weekend lockdown to contain the spread.
The ministry had received several representations for seeking time-extension on the grounds that there had been resurgence of COVID-19, leading to several states and union territories issuing instructions restricting mobility of people.
Last year, the ministry had provided a blanket time-extension of five months for RE projects on account of COVID-19 and the associated lockdown. In March this year, it said that further time-extension beyond five months could be granted by implementing agencies in exceptional cases. However, for any time-extension totalling beyond six months, a reference had to be made to the ministry.