The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved an additional surcharge of ₹0.76 (~$0.0092)/ kWh, which will apply to consumers availing power through open access during April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023 period.

The Commission arrived at the levy through the revised methodology for calculating the additional surcharge.

Background

In 2014, the Commission issued an order to determine the applicability and methodology of an additional surcharge following consultation with stakeholders.

However, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) and the DISCOMs appealed against the decision, which was subsequently taken to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) for resolution. The APTEL disposed of the appeal in 2018.

The tribunal order granted the petitioners the freedom to request a revision of the methodology used to calculate the additional surcharge for future periods, which GUVNL and the DISCOMs did by filing a petition in 2018.

During this period, the Federation of Kutch Industries Associations and the Federation of Gujarat also filed a petition requesting a clearer statutory explanation of the methodology for calculating the additional surcharge.

The Commission reviewed all the petitions and released a revised order in 2022, which modified the methodology for determining the additional surcharge that open access consumers must pay.

The Commission directed GUVNL to provide certified data from State Load Despatch Center and a chartered accountant every six months for October to March and April to September. GUVNL was required to submit this data within 90 days of completing each six months period.

GUVNL submitted the data covering April 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022.

Commission Analysis

After analyzing the data provided by GUVNL, the Commission has worked out an additional surcharge of ₹0.76(~$0.0092)/ kWh, applicable for April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023.

The Commission has considered the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of 14.88%, which is the lower of the normative T&D losses approved by the Commission for 2022, i.e., 14.88% and the latest trued-up T&D losses for the DISCOMs, i.e., 16%.

Additionally, the Commission has considered 7.14% to work out the network-related cost paid by open access consumers through demand charges.

Earlier, Gujarat DISCOM’s had petitioned GERC to approve a green tariff of ₹9.89 (~$0.12)/kWh in the true-up petition filed for the financial year 2021-22.

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