ICRA downgrades green energy companies

With India’s renewable energy sector facing regulatory uncertainty and liquidity concerns, rating agency ICRA has revised the rating or outlook for nearly one-third of its rated portfolio of wind and solar power. The agency has downgraded the rating of 20 per cent of the 1.9 GW portfolio. The rating outlook for another 10 per cent of such capacity has been revised, ICRA said in a statement on Wednesday.

With India’s renewable energy sector facing regulatory uncertainty and liquidity concerns, rating agency

ICRA has revised the rating or outlook for nearly onethird of its rated portfolio of wind and solar power.

The agency has downgraded the rating of 20 per cent of the 1.9 Gw portfolio.

The rating outlook for another 10 per cent of such capacity has been revised,

ICRA said in a statement on

Wednesday. It listed payment delays, regulatory uncertainty on tariffs, execution delays, and stressed financing environment as some of the headwinds for the sector. “Given the headwinds faced by the wind and solar energy power segments, coupled with a gradual deterioration in the liquidity profile of independent power producers

(IPPS) due to payment delays from a few state distribution utilities (discoms), ICRA has revised the ratings/rating outlook of almost one-third of its rated portfolio,” it said.

Some of the companies on whom ICRA took rating action in the past two months include Bindu Vayu Urja, Orange Anantapur Wind Power, Khandke Wind Energy, Mytrah Vayu (Indravati and Tungabhadra). The rating agency also pointed out that tendering activity for the solar sector had slowed in the first nine months of the calendar year 2019. “Overall tendering action was lower by 28 per cent to about 7 Gw on year-on-year basis, with many bids remaining under-subscribed,” the note added.