Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022
- The Ministry of Power, Government of India (MOP) on June 06, 2022 notified the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022 (REOA Rules), which will be applicable for generation, purchase and consumption of green energy as defined therein, including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plant(s). Consumers except captive consumers will be eligible for green energy open access if they have a contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more. Some of the salient aspects of REOA Rules are:
- Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO)
- The REOA Rules have introduced a uniform renewable purchase
obligation on all obligated entities in area of a distribution
licensee. Any entity may opt to generate, purchase and consume
renewable energy as per its requirements by one or more of the
following methods:
- There is no capacity limit for installing power plants from renewable energy sources by entities for their consumption. Such projects may be set up at any location in India and power shall be transmitted using open access.
- By procuring renewable energy through open access from any developer either directly or through a trading licensee or power markets.
- Any entity may purchase green energy either up to a certain percentage of the consumption or its total consumption. The entity may place a requisition for this with its distribution licensee, which shall procure such quantity of green energy and supply it. The consumer will have the flexibility to give separate requisitions for solar and non-solar. The green energy purchased from the distribution licensee or renewable energy sources other than the distribution licensee above the RPO target of the obligated entity will be counted towards the RPO compliance of the distribution licensee.
- By consuming green energy from captive power projects.
- The obligated entity can also meet its RPO by purchasing green hydrogen or green ammonia.
- The REOA Rules have introduced a uniform renewable purchase
obligation on all obligated entities in area of a distribution
licensee. Any entity may opt to generate, purchase and consume
renewable energy as per its requirements by one or more of the
following methods:
- Nodal Agency and Applications for Green Energy Open
Access
- All applications for open access to green energy will be allowed by the nodal agency within fifteen days. Reasonable conditions such as the minimum number of time blocks, which should not be more than twelvetime blocks, for which the consumer shall not change the quantum of power consumed through open access may be imposed so as to avoid high variation in demand to be met by the distribution licensee.
- The REOA Rules stipulate that a nodal agency will be appointed by the Central Government to set up and operate a single window green energy open access system for renewable energy. The Central Nodal agency shall set up a centralised registry for all Green Energy Open Access consumers and all the applications related to green energy open access shall be submitted on the portal set up by the said the Central Nodal Agency and these applications shall get routed to the concerned nodal agency notified by the Appropriate Commission for grant of green energy open access.
- The Appropriate Commission shall notify the appropriate Load Despatch Centre as the nodal agency for grant of green energy open access for short term, to be defined by the Appropriate Commission, and the State or Central Transmission Utility, as the case may be.
- The appropriate commission will notify the appropriate Load Despatch Centre as the nodal agency for grant of green energy open access for the short term, and the State or Central transmission utility as the nodal agency for grant of green energy open access for medium and long term.
- Banking
- Banking will be permitted at least every month on payment of charges to compensate additional costs to the distribution licensee, and the appropriate commission will determine the applicable charges.
- The permitted quantum of banked energy by the green energy open access consumers will be at least 30% of the total monthly electricity consumption from the distribution licensee.
- Charges to be levied for Open Access
- The cross-subsidy surcharge (CSS) for the open access consumer purchasing green energy will not be increased by more than 50% of the surcharge determined for the year in which open access has been granted for twelve years from the operation of the generating plant.
- If power produced from a waste-to-energy plant is supplied to the open access consumer, the CSS and additional surcharge (AS) will not apply. CSS and AS will not be applicable if green energy is utilized to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia.
- The distribution licensee would give green certificates on a yearly basis to the consumers for the green energy on a request beyond the renewable purchase obligation.
- The appropriate commission may introduce the concept of rating the consumer of the distribution licensee based on the percentage of green energy purchased.
- Procedure for grant of open access
- Within 60 days of commencement of the REOA Rules, the nodal agency should prepare a common application format for the green energy open access in consultation with the Forum of Regulators.
- The concerned nodal agency will approve the applications within 15 days, failing which it will be deemed to have been approved subject to the fulfilment of the technical requirements as specified by the appropriate commission.
- Short-term and medium-term open access will be allowed if sufficient spare capacity is available in the transmission system without any augmentation. In contrast, the transmission system may be augmented if required for long-term open access.
Draft CERC (Sharing of Inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2022
- Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on June 11, 2022 issued the Draft CERC (Sharing of Inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2022 (Draft Amendment Regulations) through which it has proposed certain amendments in the CERC (Sharing of Inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses) Regulations, 2020 (Principal Regulations).
- CERC has invited comments/suggestions/objections from the stakeholders and interested persons and the same have to be sent on or before July 11, 2022. These amendments shall come into effect from such date as may be notified by CERC.
- Some important amendments proposed are as under:
- Under the Principal Regulations, the Yearly Transmission Charges (YTS) were to be shared by drawee Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) customers of the receiving region and designated ISTS customers with untied Long-Term Access (LTA) in the receiving region, in proportion to the quantity of LTA plus Medium-Term Open Access (MTOA) and untied LTA, respectively. As per the amendment proposed, YTC will be shared by drawee ISTS customers of the receiving region in proportion to their quantity/quantum of General Network Access (GNA).
- Under the Principal Regulations, the Short-Term Open Access (STOA) rate (in paise/kWh) for each billing month was to be calculated astltrklrr: Transmission charges of the state for the billing month/(7200 X the quantity, in MW, of long-term access plus medium-term open access of the state for the corresponding billing period). However, through the proposed amendment, STOA has been substituted by Temporary-GNA (T-GNA) for which the rate (in ₹/MW/block) will be published for each billing month by the implementing agency, which will be calculated state-wise as: Transmission charges for GNA for entities located in the state, for the billing month, under the first bill X 1.10 / (number of days in a month X 96 X GNA quantity, in MW, for the corresponding billing period).
- Under the Principal Regulation, aforesaid charges were to be paid by generating stations located in the state, as per the last published rate. As per the proposed amendment, the same will be payable by drawee entities located in the state, as per the last published T-GNA rate for the state.
- Under the Principal Regulations, when the generating station's Commercial Operation Date (COD) was delayed and the Associated Transmission System (ATS) had achieved its commercial operation, it was required to pay transmission charges corresponding to the LTA granted to such generating station. As per the proposed amendment, if the COD of the connectivity grantee is delayed and the ATS has achieved commercial operation, the connectivity grantee shall have to pay the YTC corresponding to connectivity capacity which has not yet achieved COD.
- Under the Principal Regulations, when LTA is granted to a generating station on existing margins and the COD of the generating station is delayed, then the generating station will pay transmission charges at 10% of the transmission charge per MW for the state where it is located, corresponding to the capacity that is delayed. According to the proposed amendment, in such cases the connectivity grantee shall, corresponding to the capacity that is delayed, pay transmission charges from the start date of such connectivity at the rate of Rs. 3000/MW/month.
- Under the Principal Regulations, generating stations drawing start-up power from ISTS had to pay transmission charges at the rate of the transmission deviation in the state where they were located. As per the proposed amendment, Regional Entity Generating Stations (REGS), (a) drawing start-up power or (b) drawing power during shutdown after COD or (c) for REGS drawing power during non-generation hours or (d) injecting infirm power, through ISTS, shall pay transmission charges for injection or drawl beyond its T-GNA, at the rate of transmission deviation rate for the State in which they are located.
- The proposed amendment also provides that the Implementing Agency shall, within 45 days of the notification of proposed amendment, publish the revised detailed procedures for implementation of the provisions of the said amendment after stakeholder consultation.
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