Consumers with a contracted or sanctioned load of 100 kW and above will be eligible to procure power through green energy open access, according to the draft Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2023, issued by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC).

There will be no load restriction for captive consumers procuring power under green energy open access.

The draft regulations align with the green energy open access regulations issued by the Ministry of Power last June.

Stakeholders can submit feedback until August 28, 2023.

The State Load Despatch Center (SLDC) will be the nodal agency for the grant of intrastate green energy open access on a short-term basis, and the State Transmission Utility (STU) will be the nodal agency for the grant of intrastate green energy open access for medium and long-term access.

A central nodal agency will be notified by the Union government to set up and operate a single-window green energy open access system for the interstate transmission system (ISTS).

Green Energy Open Access Charges

Transmission Charges

Green energy open access consumers will pay a charge for the use of intrastate transmission system (InSTS) and ISTS as follows:

• For the use of ISTS: The charges will be specified by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
• For the use of InSTS: The transmission charges applicable during the relevant period will be set by the Commission. These charges will amount to ₹/MW for long-term and medium-term open access, while for short-term open access, they will be ₹/kWh. In the case of renewable energy production within the state, transmission charges, and losses will be calculated at ₹/kWh for all open access durations (long, medium, and short-term). However, For renewable energy generation located outside the state, consumers will be responsible for covering the intrastate transmission charges and losses, adhering to the relevant regulations.

Wheeling Charges

The determination of wheeling charges will fall under the Commission’s purview. These charges, applicable to consumers utilizing open access for green energy, will be calculated at ₹/kWh and will be levied based on the actual wheeled energy. Apart from the wheeling charge, consumers pursuing green energy open access will also be subject to wheeling losses, which will be determined and approved by the Commission as outlined in the tariff order of the respective year.

Cross-Subsidy and Additional Surcharge

Consumers will pay a cross-subsidy surcharge as determined by the Commission in the tariff order for the relevant year.

Consumers must make monthly payments for the cross-subsidy surcharge based on the energy consumed via open access during the month. The surcharge amount will be remitted to the jurisdictional distribution company (DISCOM) from which the consumer was procuring electricity before opting for open access.

The Commission can determine a lower surcharge in the case of shortages and load shedding by the DISCOM.

The cross-subsidy surcharge will not be levied if the consumer is availing green power from its own captive generating project.

Also, cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge will not be applicable in case of power produced from a non-fossil fuel-based waste-to-energy project is supplied to the open access consumer.

The additional surcharge will not be applicable if electricity is produced from offshore wind projects, commissioned up to December 2025, and supplied to the open access consumer.

Further, cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge will not be applicable if green energy is used for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia.

Standby Facility and Charges

In situations where a consumer cannot secure or schedule power from the agreed-upon generating sources due to outages in the generator or transmission systems, or both, the standby charges will become relevant per the standby arrangement outlined by the respective DISCOM or GRIDCO.

However, these standby charges will not apply if the consumer provides advance notice at least one day before the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) closure time.

The standby charges imposed for green energy open access will not exceed 25% of the normal tariff corresponding to the consumer’s specific category.

The calculation of standby charges will be based on the actual energy consumed by the consumer from the DISCOM during the standby period, particularly in cases where there is an outage in the renewable energy generator under the green energy open access arrangement.

Other Charges

The consumer availing of green energy open access will have to pay applicable SLDC charges, scheduling charges, and deviation settlement charges as per the regulations of the Commission.

Banking of Power

According to the proposed regulations, the SLDC will formulate a mechanism for scheduling of injection and drawl of energy linked to the banking of renewable energy.

The quantum of energy banked will be limited to 30% of the total monthly generation (within the state) or consumption of electricity from DISCOM by the consumer.

The energy banked by a generator or consumer located within the state will be constrained to 200 MW for all open access consumers, with the exception of consumers utilizing power for green hydrogen or green ammonia production.

Consumers who draw renewable energy from within or outside the state to produce green hydrogen or green ammonia can take advantage of the banking facility. They may avail banking facility limited to 10% of the energy injected by their renewable sources during the month or an energy amount equivalent to 200 MW (144 MUs), whichever is lower.

The total capacity for renewable energy banking with GRIDCO under the above categories must not surpass 400 MW or the corresponding energy equivalent at any given time.

The banking charge for solar generation will be 10% of the energy banked. The banking charge for wind or solar and wind hybrid generation will be 5% of the energy banked.

The charges associated with the banking of renewable energy used to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia will be within the limits of the cost difference between the average tariff of renewable energy procured by GRIDCO in the preceding fiscal year and the average market clearing price in the Day-Ahead Market for the respective month in which the renewable energy has been banked.

The banking of energy will be permitted only on a monthly basis. The credit for banked energy will not be permitted to be carried forward to subsequent banking cycles or month.

The banked energy, whether accrued during peak or off-peak Time of Day (TOD) intervals, will be exclusively available for withdrawal during off-peak TOD periods. This withdrawal will be subject to the payment of specified banking charges. The specific TOD slots will be determined periodically by the Commission in their tariff orders.

Upon the conclusion of the banking cycle, any unused banked energy will be treated as deemed purchase by GRIDCO. The purchase price will be lower than GRIDCO’s lowest renewable energy procurement price or the minimum price established through the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s competitive bidding process in the preceding fiscal year. Payment for this deemed purchase by GRIDCO will be restricted to 10% of the total banked energy.

The banking of energy and the withdrawal of banked energy will be contingent upon day-ahead scheduling. The settlement for energy transactions will occur in real-time, based on 15-minute time blocks.

Other Points

The consumer may purchase, on a voluntary basis, more renewable energy than they are obligated to. For ease of implementation, this may be in steps of 25% and going up to 100%.

Any requisition for procurement of green energy from a DISCOM or GRIDCO will be for a minimum period of one year.

Procedure for Grant of Green Energy Open Access

The nodal agency will approve applications pertaining to open access for green energy within 15 days of receiving the application. Short-term and medium-term open access will be permitted, provided there is surplus capacity in the transmission system without the need for expansion.

However, the transmission or distribution system might be augmented based on a load flow analysis if deemed necessary for long-term open access.

Challenges to a decision by the nodal agency can be raised with the Commission within 30 days from the date of receiving the decision. The Commission will resolve the appeal within three months.”

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission recently proposed amendments to the Distributed Open Access Regulations, 2016, in line with the Ministry of Power’s Green Energy Open Access Rules.

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