COVID-19: MNRE allows 2-and-a-half-month extension to RE projects

• The order is in continuation to another order dated May 12 in which the MNRE had allowed RE projects having commissioning date on or after April 1 to claim extension
• The time extension will, however, be granted on certain conditions, said the MNRE

New Delhi: Recognising the entire period between April 1 and June 15 as a phase of disruption caused due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to allow the two-and-a-half-month-long period to be treated as time extension for renewable energy (RE) projects. The order was released in continuation to another order dated May 12 in which the MNRE had allowed RE projects having commissioning date on or after April 1, 2021, to claim extension.

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An official notification released by the ministry on Wednesday said, "… in order to facilitate the ease of doing business and as a measure of relief to RE projects so that they can deal with difficulties arising out of the restrictions imposed on account of the second COVID-19 surge, it has been decided that the entire period of disruption ie 1st April, 2021 to 15th June, 2021 (both dates inclusive) can be allowed as time-extension to RE projects being implemented through Implementing Agencies designated designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of MNRE…"

RE project developers cannot use extension as ground to cancel PPAs

The time extension will, however, be granted on certain conditions, said the MNRE. "As a measure of relief to RE projects so that they can deal with difficulties arising out of the restrictions imposed on account of the second COVID-19 surge, it has been decided that RE projects, being implemented through Implementing Agencies designated by the MNRE or under various schemes of the MNRE, having their Scheduled Commissioning Date (SCD) on or after 1st April 2021 will be eligible to claim time-extension for completion of their project activities, provided such time-extensions are not used as a ground for claiming termination of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or for claiming any increase in the project cost," it said.

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