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					</table>The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://erckerala.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KSERC</a>) has rejected the petition filed by the <a href="https://cochinport.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cochin Port Authority</a> seeking adoption of a tariff of ₹4.75 (~$0.0498)/kWh for power from a proposed 1.5 MW floating solar project at Willingdon Island, Kochi.
The Commission noted that the discovered tariff was significantly higher than recently approved solar tariffs, including tariffs for other floating solar projects.
The Commission also stated that Cochin Port Authority may meet any shortfall under the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines after accounting for the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) already met by the Kerala State Electricity Board (<a href="https://kseb.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KSEB</a>).
Background 
Cochin Port Authority distributes electricity in the port areas of Willingdon Island, Vallarpadam, and Puthuvypeen special economic zones.
It stated that its electricity requirement is met by purchasing power from KSEB at the bulk supply tariff. During 2024-25, it purchased about 48.96 million units from KSEB.
The Cochin Port Authority submitted that, as a distribution licensee, it was required to comply with the RPO target and, as a major port, it also had to implement renewable energy projects to achieve 60% renewable energy consumption by 2030 under the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines.
The port first floated a tender in January last year. Two bids were received, but only one bidder qualified, prompting the tender committee to recommend re-inviting the tender to encourage wider participation. It floated a fresh tender in June last year. Six firms participated, and three qualified. Sunshell Power was declared the winner with a quoted tariff of ₹4.75 (~$0.0498)/kWh.
KSEB opposed the port’s plea, arguing that the discovered tariff was excessively high relative to prevailing market rates.
Commission’s Analysis 
The Commission observed that the Cochin Port Authority proposed the floating solar project as part of renewable energy initiatives and to comply with the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines, which require major ports to meet 60% of electricity consumption from renewable sources.
However, the Commission clarified that the green energy obligations under the Ministry of Ports guidelines are distinct from renewable purchase obligations applicable to distribution licensees under the Electricity Act, 2003.
On tariffs, the Commission compared the ₹4.75 (~$0.0498)/kWh bid with other solar tariffs and found it to be much higher, so it was rejected. It also noted that the average market rate of electricity in the Green Day Ahead Market during 2025-26 was below ₹2.50 (~$0.0262)/kWh.
The Commission referred to the Supreme Court judgment, which stated that electricity regulators must reject bids if the tariffs are not market-aligned. In this case, the discovered tariff was about 60% higher than average market rates.
KSERC also noted that, under the Renewable Energy and Net Metering Regulations, a distribution licensee that purchases electricity in bulk from another licensee does not have a separate renewable purchase obligation if the seller licensee meets the obligation for the energy sold or if the buyer reimburses the seller for the approved additional cost of procuring renewable energy.
Since the Cochin Port Authority purchases its entire electricity requirement from KSEB which is pursuing a target of meeting 50% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030, the Commission said that the port authority would not be required to separately meet renewable energy requirements up to the percentage met by KSEB.
The Commission observed that the Cochin Port Authority could separately purchase up to 10% of its electricity requirement from KSEB, sourced from renewable sources, by paying the approved green tariff.
Recently, KSERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/regulator-allows-kerala-to-procure-power-exchanges-manage-summer-deficit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">permitted</a> KSEB to procure up to 250 MW of short-term power through exchange-based contingency mechanisms to manage the ongoing summer supply deficit.
Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.

Kerala Regulator Rejects Cochin Port’s 1.5 MW Floating Solar Tariff

The <a href="http://cochinport.gov.in/home-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cochin Port Trust</a> has floated a tender for the development of a 350 kW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project at its premises.
The scope of work will include the site survey, design, engineering, manufacture, supply, storage, civil work, erection, testing, and commissioning of the 350 kW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project on the roofs of various buildings at the site.
It will also include operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) of the system for 25 years under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model after its operational acceptance.
The last date for the submission of bids is December 30, 2019, and the pre-bid meeting will take place on December 16, 2019.
The prospective bidders must pay a sum of ₹315,000 (~$4,456) as the earnest money deposit (EMD), and the maximum allowed levelized tariff for 25 years has been set at ₹4.52 ($0.064)/kWh.
To be eligible for this tender, the bidder should have an annual turnover of ₹50 million ($707,413) in any one of the last three financial years. To adhere to the technical eligibility criteria, the bidder should have installed and commissioned at least one grid-connected solar PV power project having a capacity of at least 250 kW. This project should have been commissioned for at least six months before the techno-commercial bid opening date.
The successful bidder should also get approval from the estate division of the Cochin Port Trust for using the rooftop and installing the panels and equipment. The allotment of the area at the site will be free of cost.
Of late, several ports have been turning their attention to solar power to meet their energy requirements, and this is not the first time the Cochin Port Trust has made such a move.
Earlier this year, the Cochin Port Trust <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cochin-port-trust-install-rooftop-floating-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invited</a> bids for both rooftop and floating solar projects at its premises. The area available for the installation of the solar project was around 14,000 square meters, considering both rooftops and water bodies, and it is expected to generate ~1.2 MW of power. The proposed solar power project is to be installed on both the rooftop of residential buildings and water bodies, as identified by the bidder.
Previously, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/jlnpt-survey-floating-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust had issued a request for proposal (RfP) inviting bidders to provide quotations for carrying out a detailed survey for an upcoming floating solar project at its premises.

Cochin Port Tenders a 350 kW Rooftop Solar Project at its Premises

<a href="http://cochinport.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cochin Port Trust (CoPT)</a>, a government of India enterprise under the <a href="http://shipmin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ministry of Shipping</a>, has invited bids for both rooftop and floating solar power projects at its premises.
Initially, approximately 14 blocks of a residential building with flat-roof will be available for the project, and about 4 kilometers of surrounding water bodies are also available in Kochi, where the project has to be implemented.
The area available for the installation of the solar project is around 14,000 sq mts, considering both rooftops and water bodies, and it is expected to generate ~1.2 MW of power. The proposed solar power project is to be installed on both the rooftop of residential buildings and water bodies, as identified by the bidder. The document states that the bidders should mention the estimated power to be generated per annum by the proposed solar project, and they should also indicate the requirement of auxiliary power to run it.
A pre-bid meeting will be held on November 6, 2019, and the last date for uploading the amendments is November 15, 2019. The last date for bid submission is November 15, 2019.
The project will be executed on a BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) basis for 25 years.
The scope of work includes the site survey, identification for rooftop/water bodies, engineering, design, manufacturing, storage, civil work, testing, and commissioning of the projects. The scope of work would also include the operation and maintenance of the projects for 25 years under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.
The document further notes that the bidder should be an EPC contractor with the capability of introducing turnkey solutions for at least 1 MW of solar PV-based projects and should have executed at least one project on the date of opening of the Expression of Interest (EoI).
Of late, an increasing number of ports have also turned to solar as viable options for meeting their energy requirements.
For instance, previously, the Kamarajar Port Limited (<a href="http://www.ennoreport.gov.in/content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KPL</a>) issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) to set up a 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project at the port premises. The Kamarajar Port is in the state of Tamil Nadu and was previously known as Encore Port.
Recently, the Visakhapatnam Port <a href="https://mercomindia.com/vizag-port-running-solar-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that since May 2016, it has been running on 100% solar energy.
In August 2017, Bosch, a supplier of technology and services, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bosch-commissions-4-mw-mangalore-port-trust-solar-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">commissioned</a> a 4 MW solar PV project at the New Mangalore Port Trust.

Cochin Port Trust to Install Nearly 1 MW of Rooftop and Floating Solar Systems

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