Govt plans to start new power dispatch system from FY23

The Union power ministry said on Friday that it would implement the first phase of the Market Based Economic Despatch (MBED) system from April 1, 2022. MBED is an electricity market design, aimed to cut power procurement costs of power distribution companies (discoms), which will accumulate demand requirements from all states in a central pool and allocate power to them from the cheapest source available across the country. Power plants which supply electricity across multiple states will have to mandatorily participate in the MBED system while other generation plants can also volunteer.