BESS made mandatory: Nepra approves amendments to electricity wheeling auction process

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved amendments to the electricity wheeling auction process proposed by the Independent System and Market Operator of Pakistan (ISMO). The modifications include making battery energy storage systems (BESS) mandatory for solar and wind projects participating in the first auction.

Under the new amendment, solar and/or wind projects will only be eligible to participate if the firm capacity of their co-located BESS is at least 10 percent of the firm capacity of the associated renewable generation facility. Nepra emphasized that the first wheeling auction quantum has been increased from 200 MW to 400 MW. The mandatory BESS requirement is expected to reduce system-level renewable energy curtailment by around 0.3 percentage points for wind and 1.1 percentage points for solar, with negligible impact on marginal electricity prices.

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