Amidst the widening mismatch between the demand and supply of power, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on Friday notified its medium-term open access and connectivity regulations.
According to these regulations, any generating plant with an installed capacity of at least 250 mw and any bulk consumer with a load of at least 100 mw can seek connectivity to the interstate transmission system. Though the development may help distribution companies maintain grid discipline, merchant power plants will now be directly connected to the grid and lose out an opportunity to enter into a bilateral agreement for power sale. All grid-connected entities can either seek a medium-term open access or a long-term access to the interstate transmission system.
One of the important features of the regulations is that any thermal generating company with a capacity of at least 500 mw and any hydro generating company with a minimum capacity of at least 250 mw, irrespective of its ownership, will be connected to the grid directly, without a dedicated transmission line. Also, medium-term open access would be available for any period between three months to three years and shall be provided on the basis of the availability of transmission capacity in the existing transmission system. No augmentation of the transmission system is envisaged for granting medium-term open access. An entity that has been granted medium-term open access can exit only after a notice of thirty days or by paying transmission charges for a period of thirty days.
On the other hand, long-term access can be availed for any period between 12 to 25 years and may require the construction of new transmission capacities for long-term access. It will also be possible to exercise an exit option from long-term access without any financial liability if the access has been availed for at least 12 years and provided an advance notice is given at least one year before such an exit.
?The regulations will incentivise distribution companies (discoms) to adhere to grid discipline,? said a Mumbai-based analyst, adding, ?If discoms choose a demand side management or load shedding to maintain grid discipline they will get 8 paise as unscheduled interchange (UI) charge. However, if discoms overdraw they will have to pay an UI charge of around Rs 8.?
The regulations have standardised the application fees for different purposes and also the timeframes for disposal of such applications. The nodal agency for seeking connectivity, medium-term open access or long-term access would be the Central Transmission Utility (CTU), which has been mandated to prepare a detailed procedure for the implementation of these regulations within a period of sixty days, during which it would consult the stakeholders by offering a notice of one month. The applications under these regulations would be entertained immediately after CERC gives its approval to the detailed procedures.