10 power projects get 3 more years to submit required documents to get ‘mega’ tag: CCEA

New Delhi, March 30

The government on Wednesday decided to extend the time limit for 10 power projects by 36 months to furnish documents required to become certified ‘mega’ power projects so as to avail tax benefits and bid for tenders or supply of electricity.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as this would enable developers to competitively bid for future PPAs (power purchase agreements) and get tax exemptions as per policy terms, the government said in an official statement.

According to it, the decision would also lead to an increase in liquidity of such projects and would boost the country’s overall growth ensuring the revival of various stressed power assets, it added.

“’The CCEA today approved the time extension (36 months) to identified 10 provisional mega certified projects for furnishing the final mega certificates to the tax authorities,”’ the statement read, while adding that it has approved an amendment in the Mega Power Policy, 2009, to give more time to these power projects.

The time period for the 10 provisional mega projects, which are commissioned/partly commissioned for furnishing the certificates to the tax authorities has been extended to 156 months instead of 120 months from the date of import, it added.

According to officials in the power ministry, majority of these 10 provisional mega power projects are in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

During this extended period, bids for power firm (combination of intermittent renewable energy, storage and conventional power) will be invited in coordination with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) and these mega projects will be expected to participate in such bids to secure PPAs, it said.

The power ministry will also develop an alternative in this period, based on present electricity markets, while ensuring that benefits are passed on to consumers in a competitive manner, it added.