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PFC Consulting Invites Bids for 1.25 GW ISTS-Connected Solar Projects

NTPC Invites Bids to Develop 176 MW of Solar Projects in Telangana


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/pending-provisions-gna-regulations-effect-october-1-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has notified that certain provisions of the General Network Access (GNA) regulations and the first amendment to the GNA Regulations 2022</strong></a> will come into effect from October 1, 2023. The scheduling and despatch of electricity will be based on the quantum of GNA, GNA (Renewable Energy), Temporary GNA (T-GNA), and T-GNA (Renewable Energy) for each of the designated interstate transmission system (ISTS) customers and other users of the grid.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ntpc-seeks-consultant-solar-project-for-carbon-credits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NTPC Green Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, has invited bids for the appointment of a consultant and the hiring of a designated operational entity for the validation</a></strong> and verification of a 50 MW solar project in Rajgarh, Rajasthan, up to December 31, 2020, and renewal of the project for an additional seven years to continue receiving clean development mechanism benefits and carbon credits. The last date for the submission of bids is September 25, 2023.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-states-take-action-grid-security-in-western-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a recent ruling, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission instructed the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh to strictly adhere to the action plan</a></strong> aimed at enhancing the reliability and security of the electricity grid in Western India. The states must submit quarterly progress reports to the Western Regional Load Despatch Center detailing the plan’s implementation.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/round-the-clock-hydrogen-used-for-storage-r-k-singh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The future of round-the-clock  renewable energy could be remarkably affordable, costing just about ₹6 (~$0.07)/kWh when utilizing green hydrogen for storage, said Union Minister for Power</a></strong> and New &amp; Renewable Energy R. K. Singh said at a conference on clean energy. He said, “Green hydrogen is cheaper than gas and battery energy storage systems. We have come up with a pilot bid for about 100 MW which we hope will establish the benchmark. Once we are able to use green hydrogen for our energy requirements, all supply chain issues, such as the availability of lithium-ion batteries, will be resolved.”</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/odisha-seeks-pumps-under-kusum-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency has invited bids for the selection of vendors for the design, manufacture, supply, transport, installation, testing, and commissioning of off-grid</a></strong> solar photovoltaic water pumping systems of 1 HP -7.5 HP capacities. The winning bidder will also have to look after the complete system warranty and its repair and maintenance for five years under component B of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gujarat-modules-supply-tender-600-mw-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gujarat Industries Power Company has invited bids for the supply of 750 MW of bifacial solar modules with a minimum wattage output of 540 Wp for a 600 MW solar power project at the Khavda</a></strong> Renewable Energy Park in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Bidders must submit ₹100,000 (~$1,203)/MW as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to submit an amount equivalent to 10% of the total contract price as a performance bank guarantee within one month of the issuance of the letter of intent.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rec-approves-greenko-pumped-storage-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Public infrastructure finance company REC Limited has approved a funding of ₹60.75 billion (~$730.8 million) to Greenko to develop a 1,440 MW standalone pumped storage project.</strong></a> REC is also in advanced discussions with Greenko and is poised to extend financial support for multiple clean energy projects. It has also approved debt funding of over ₹30.81 billion (~$370.6 million) to Serentica Renewables’ 560 MW peak greenfield solar-wind hybrid project at Gadag, Karnataka.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/dreamfly-innovations-raises-graphene-battery-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bengaluru-based battery technology startup Dreamfly Innovations has secured $300,000 in funding through a round led by Rebalance Angel Community, with participation from IIM Ahmedabad’s</strong></a> Center for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship. The startup plans to utilize the funds for product commercialization and expanding its team. Dreamfly aims to revolutionize the future of energy by leveraging software-defined battery technology which employs software algorithms to optimize battery performance, efficiency, and safety.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/abu-dhabi-khazna-solar-power-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has invited bids to develop the 1.5 GW Khazna solar power project in Abu Dhabi.</strong></a> The scope of work will involve the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance, and ownership of the project and associated infrastructure. The project will follow the independent power project program of Abu Dhabi, where developers enter into a long-term power purchase agreement with EWEC as the sole procurer of electricity.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/drx-cathodes-high-energy-density-batteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A consortium of battery scientists, led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), is working to advance battery technology without reliance on metals like nickel and cobalt, which are</strong></a> in short supply. The goal is to expedite the development of battery cathodes known as DRX (disordered rock salt) to enhance energy density in batteries. The consortium focuses on creating DRX cathodes using more readily available materials like manganese and titanium to ensure a stable supply for the automotive industry and prevent price fluctuations.’</p>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: Pending GNA Regulations to Take Effect on October 1, 2023


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					</table><p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has notified that certain provisions of the General Network Access (GNA) regulations and the first amendment to the GNA Regulations 2022 will come into effect from October 1, 2023.</p>
<p>The scheduling and despatch of electricity will be based on the quantum of GNA, GNA (Renewable Energy), Temporary GNA (T-GNA), and T-GNA (Renewable Energy) for each of the designated interstate transmission system (ISTS) customers and other users of the grid.</p>
<p>Last July, the Commission had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-connectivity-general-network-access-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> CERC the Connectivity and General Network Access to the Inter-State Transmission System Regulations, 2022. The regulations were to come into effect from October 15, 2022.</p>
<p>However, in October, CERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-postpones-commencement-of-certain-sections-of-gna-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postponed</a> the commencement dates of various sub-rules of the regulations.</p>
<p>Some of the key sub-regulations of GNA Regulations that will be implemented from October 1, 2023, are:</p>
<ul>
<li>A GNA grantee can grant permission to other organizations to utilize its GNA, either in its entirety or partially, subject to prior approval from the nodal agency, for one year at a time. To compute transmission deviation charges per the sharing regulations, the GNA made available to other authorized entities will be subtracted from its original allocation and then added to the GNA of other recipients.</li>
<li>The connectivity grantee may relinquish, in full or in part, the connectivity with a notice of 30 days to the nodal agency, which will issue a revised grant of connectivity to such grantee.</li>
<li>In case of relinquishment of the connectivity, the subsisting Conn-BG1(Connectivity Bank Guarantee) will be encashed, and the subsisting Conn-BG2 will be encashed if the terminal bays are already developed or construction of which has already been awarded and the subsisting Conn-BG3 will be encashed. In the case of relinquishment of a portion of connectivity, the subsisting Conn-BG2 will be encashed in proportion of the relinquished extent of connectivity. Conn-BG1 will be returned considering full capacity after excluding such relinquished quantum.</li>
<li>In case of revocation or relinquishment of connectivity, the corresponding GNA will be reduced. If a connectivity grantee relinquishes the connectivity in full, it will be disconnected from the ISTS. On revocation, there will be no more billing for the corresponding quantum.</li>
<li>The state transmission utility (STU) may relinquish GNA on behalf of an identified intrastate entity. The relinquishment charges will equal 24 times the transmission charges paid by such intrastate entity for the last billing month corresponding to the relinquished portion. The relinquishment charges will be equivalent to 24 times the transmission charges that the entity paid for the previous month under the sharing regulations for the portion being relinquished. If the remaining duration of the GNA is less than 24 months, the relinquishment charges will be calculated as the product of the number of remaining months and the transmission charges paid by the entity for the last month, corresponding to the amount being relinquished.</li>
<li>Where the existence of infrastructure and availability of surplus transmission capacity in the intrastate transmission network has been established, the SLDC will issue standing clearance within three working days of receipt of such application.</li>
<li>If the SLDC refuses to issue clearance on the grounds of the non-existence of infrastructure or unavailability of surplus transmission capacity in an intrastate transmission network, such refusal will be communicated to the applicant within three or seven working days.</li>
<li>The T-GNA grantee to whom the clearance has been issued will bid in the power exchange so that the aggregate portion in each time block for all the bids under bilateral transactions and collective transactions should not exceed the extent of standing clearance.</li>
<li>If the aggregate of bids in the power exchanges under bilateral transactions and collective transactions by a T-GNA grantee exceeds the standing clearance in any time block, NLDC will debar such T-GNA grantee from participating in bilateral and collective transactions for seven days.</li>
<li>T-GNA granted under the exigency or advance application category for a period not exceeding one month cannot be revised, and those granted for more than one month may be reduced for the balance period with notice of one month by the T-GNA grantee.</li>
<li>The scheduling request by T-GNA grantees under the advance application category will be made on a day-ahead basis before the opening of the bidding window for collective transactions under the day-ahead market, as per provisions of the Grid Code.</li>
<li>If the seller is an intrastate entity with the point of injection under the state control area, the scheduling request should accompany the standing clearance. Whereas, if the seller is a regional entity with the point of injection under the regional control area, the point of injection will be furnished in terms of the provisions of these regulations.</li>
<li>Regarding bilateral and collective transactions, the transmission charges for T-GNA will be payable only at the point of drawal, as per the last published transmission charge rate for the state where such point of drawal is located.</li>
<li>If any scheduling request under T-GNA is not approved by RLDC on a day-ahead basis or curtailed for transmission constraints or grid security, the transmission charges will be refunded to the T-GNA grantee by the 15th day of the following month.</li>
<li>In case of default in payment of transmission charges for T-GNA, the T-GNA granted will be canceled. In case of delay in payment of T-GNA charges under collective transactions, the power exchange will pay simple interest at 0.04% for each day of default.</li>
<li>In the case of constraint in the transmission system, the available transmission corridor will be allocated to the GNA grantees in proportion to their GNA within or from outside the region, and the GNA grantee will be eligible to schedule power under any contract within such allocated transmission corridor.</li>
<li>The T-GNA grantee under the advance application category will be eligible to schedule power under any contract subject to the conditions specified in the Grid Code.</li>
<li>If T-GNA grantees&#8217; day ahead scheduling request for the full T-GNA cannot be accommodated due to the non-availability of sufficient transmission corridor, scheduling will be on a pro-rata basis for T-GNA grantees in proportion to their T-GNA.</li>
<li>The Commission repealed the open access regulations, short-term open access in interstate transmission (Collective Transaction) procedure for scheduling, and the procedure for short-term open access in interstate transmission system through the National Open Access Registry.</li>
<li>The Connectivity Regulations, 2009, related to infirm power and start-up power and the procedure for availing start-up power from the grid by the generating stations under the commissioning phase through the deviation settlement mechanism will continue to be in force until corresponding provisions are included in the Grid Code and become effective.</li>
</ul>
<p>Subrule 28, which deals with the application for T-GNA, and subrule 29, which deals with the processing of applications for the grant of T-GNA by the nodal agency, will also be effective from October 1, 2023.</p>
<p>The provisions of First Amendment to the GNA Regulations introduced in April this year to be implemented from October 1, 2023, are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Entities covered under the GNA regulations may apply for T-GNA (RE), provided the entity intends to draw power from sources other than those specified in the Sharing Regulations. The entity may get such power scheduled under T-GNA (RE) with payment of transmission charges at the transmission deviation rate.</li>
<li>They may convert full T-GNA (RE) into T-GNA by applying to the nodal agency.</li>
<li>To determine whether the drawal schedule was more than GNA or TGNA or both in case of a collective transaction, the SLDC will furnish to NLDC each intra-state entity-wise detail of the schedule under GNA or T-GNA. NLDC will issue power exchange-wise and entity-wise segregation of payable T-GNA charges.</li>
<li>The transmission charges and transmission losses for T-GNA will not be revised with retrospective effect.</li>
<li>Transmission charges for T-GNA, in respect of bilateral and collective transactions undertaken through power exchanges, for the use of ISTS will be settled directly by the power exchange with the respective SLDC.</li>
</ul>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
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<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a>
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All Pending Provisions of GNA Regulations to Take Effect from October 1, 2023


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					</table><p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&amp;&amp;p=f811b07f5429be56ab72537b13a89911925d692d5c1445dbccb66701952bea4aJmltdHM9MTY1NDc2MzE1MCZpZ3VpZD04NDFiMzY1MS04NTdjLTQwN2EtODRhMi1jNDZlY2JjNTI2NDAmaW5zaWQ9NTE2OQ&amp;ptn=3&amp;fclid=c4c1c80d-e7cd-11ec-bb8b-6c74d3b3f828&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9jZXJjaW5kLmdvdi5pbi8&amp;ntb=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has postponed the commencement dates of various sub-rules of the CERC (Connectivity and General Network Access to the Inter-State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022, that were to come into effect on October 15, 2022.</p>
<p>The new commencement dates will be notified later.</p>
<p>The central regulator did not provide any reasons for the postponement.</p>
<p><strong>Postponed subrules</strong></p>
<p>The following are the subrules whose implementation has been delayed:</p>
<ul>
<li>Use of General Network Access (GNA) by other GNA grantees— such as those entities authorized by state transmission utilities, procurers connected to intra-state transmission systems; distribution licensees seeking ISTS connectivity; trading licensees engaged in cross-border trade of electricity; or transmission licensees connected to ISTS for drawal of auxiliary power.</li>
<li>Relinquishment of GNA connectivity</li>
<li>Temporary GNA eligibility of distribution licensees and bulk consumers directly connected to ISTS, buying entities connected to the intra-state transmission system, or distribution systems connected to the intra-state transmission system.</li>
<li>Generating stations, including renewable generators for meeting their auxiliary consumption or start-up power, captive power projects, and standalone ESS, which are eligible for temporary GNA. Relating to national open access registry. While providing the audit trail of temporary GNA applications, the registry will also provide an interface with the software of the Regional Load Despatch Centers (RLDCs) and State Load Despatch Centers (SLDCs) for processing temporary GNA applications. It will also provide an interface with the power exchanges to validate standing clearance and processing of intra-day, day-ahead contingency, term-ahead, day-ahead, and real-time transactions. NLDC will be responsible for developing and maintaining the registry.</li>
<li>Application for grant of temporary GNA; standing clearance on temporary GNA; scheduling request for power under temporary GNA; and transmission charges for temporary GNA. The allocation of transmission corridors under GNA and temporary GNA; short-term open access granted as temporary GNA under the exigency application category. When this subrule becomes effective, short-term open access applications under the open access regulations pending with RLDC or NLDC will be closed.</li>
<li>Curtailment of GNA connectivity will also become effective later. This subrule states that transactions under temporary GNA will be curtailed first, followed by transactions under GNA. Within transactions under temporary GNA, bilateral transactions will be curtailed first, followed by collective transactions under the day ahead market, followed by collective transactions under the real-time market. Within bilateral transactions under temporary GNA, curtailment will be on a pro-rata basis based on temporary GNA. Within transactions under GNA, curtailment will be on a pro-rata basis based on GNA.</li>
<li>Transmission charges and losses for the use of the inter-state transmission system.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fresh applications</strong></p>
<p>Fresh applications for connectivity and GNA and their processing and grant under GNA regulations will be made effective from a date to be notified separately.</p>
<p><strong>Scheduling and Despatch </strong></p>
<p>Scheduling and despatch of electricity will continue to be based on the extent of long-term, medium-term, and short-term open access of each of the designated ISTS customers and other grid users under the provisions of the CERC (Indian Electricity Grid Code) Regulations, 2010.</p>
<p>Short-term open access will continue to be granted under the CERC (Open Access in inter-State transmission) Regulations, 2008, until further notification.</p>
<p>Billing, collection, and disbursement of  ISTS charges and losses will continue to be based on the long-term, medium-term, and short-term access of each of the designated ISTS customers and other users of the grid under the provisions of the CERC (Sharing of inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses) Regulations, 2020 until further notification.</p>
<p>In October this year, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/electricity-rules-enable-utilities-access-transmission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notified</a> the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development, and Recovery of Inter-State Transmission Charges) Rules 2021 to enable power utilities to access the transmission network across the country smoothly.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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CERC Postpones Commencement of Certain Sections of GNA Regulations

<p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has proposed amendments to the &#8216;Sharing of Interstate Transmission Charges and Losses) Regulations, 2020.&#8217;</p>
<p>Some of the important amendments are listed here.</p>
<p><strong>Raising bills</strong></p>
<p>The yearly transmission charges will be shared by drawee ISTS customers of the receiving region in proportion to their quantity of GNA. Previously, the yearly transmission charges were to be shared by drawee ISTS customers of the receiving region and designated ISTS customers with untied long-term access in the receiving region, in proportion to the quantity of LTA plus medium-term open access and untied LTA, respectively.</p>
<p><strong>GNA </strong></p>
<p>Per another important amendment, the &#8216;T-GNA 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).</p>
<p>Earlier, the short-term open access rate (in paise/kWh) for each billing month was to be calculated as: 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).</p>
<p>The transmission charges for T-GNA will be payable by drawee entities located in the state, as per the last published T-GNA rate for the state. Per the previous clause, the transmission charges for short-term open access were to be paid by generating stations located in the state, as per the last published rate.</p>
<p><strong>Transmission charges in case of delay</strong></p>
<p>Another amendment states that when the commercial operation date of a connectivity grantee is delayed and the associated transmission system has achieved commercial operation, the connectivity grantee should pay yearly transmission charges corresponding to connectivity capacity which has not achieved commercial operation. Earlier, when the generating station&#8217;s operation was delayed and the associated transmission system had achieved commercial operation, it was required to pay transmission charges corresponding to the LTA granted to the generating station, which had not achieved commercial operation.</p>
<p>When only some of the transmission elements of the associated transmission system have achieved commercial operation before the operation of the associated transmission system, yearly transmission charges of such transmission elements will be included to determine the transmission charges of ISTS customers. Previously, if only some of the transmission elements achieved commercial operation and the generating station wanted part-operationalization of LTA, the central transmission utility could allow it. The yearly transmission charges were to be included for the determination of transmission charges of the ISTS customers.</p>
<p>Another amendment says that when connectivity is granted on existing margins and the commercial operation of such a grantee is delayed, it should, corresponding to the capacity delayed, pay transmission charges from the start date of connectivity at the rate of ₹3000 (~$38.37)/MW/month. Whereas the earlier clause noted that when long-term access is granted and the commercial operation date of the generating station is delayed, the generating station must 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.</p>
<p>Also, when a transmission line has already been constructed by an ISTS licensee, the yearly transmission charges should be payable by the generating station to the ISTS licensee. Earlier, when a dedicated transmission line had already been constructed, the generating station&#8217;s yearly transmission charges were to be payable to the licensee from the commercial operation of the transmission line until the operationalization of the LTA of the generating station.</p>
<p>According to another amendment, regional entities generating stations drawing start-up power or drawing power during shutdown after the commercial operation or for renewable generating stations drawing power during non-generation hours should pay transmission charges for injection or drawal beyond its T-GNA at the transmission deviation rate. According to the clause before the amendment, 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.</p>
<p>CERC has stated that the implementing agency should, within 45 days of the notification of the amendments, publish the revised procedures for implementation of the provisions of this amendment after stakeholder consultation.</p>
<p>Last November, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ists-charges-levied-solar-wind/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that ISTS charges would be levied on renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, pumped hydro storage, and projects with battery energy storage systems (BESS) commissioned after June 30, 2025.</p>
<p>In 2019, CERC <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-details-mechanism-sharing-charges-losses-renewable-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a draft regulation for sharing interstate transmission charges and losses.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom&#8217;s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don&#8217;t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a>
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CERC Proposes Amendments to Regulations on Sharing ISTS Charges and Losses

<p>Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&amp;&amp;p=f811b07f5429be56ab72537b13a89911925d692d5c1445dbccb66701952bea4aJmltdHM9MTY1NDc2MzE1MCZpZ3VpZD04NDFiMzY1MS04NTdjLTQwN2EtODRhMi1jNDZlY2JjNTI2NDAmaW5zaWQ9NTE2OQ&amp;ptn=3&amp;fclid=c4c1c80d-e7cd-11ec-bb8b-6c74d3b3f828&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9jZXJjaW5kLmdvdi5pbi8&amp;ntb=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has issued the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the Inter-State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022.</p>
<p>The regulations provide a framework to facilitate non-discriminatory open access to generating companies for inter-state transmission systems (ISTS) through general network access (GNA).</p>
<p><strong>Application for grant of connectivity and GNA</strong></p>
<p>Applications for the grant of connectivity or grant of GNA should be made online to Central Transmission Utility (CTU) along with an application fee of ₹500,000 (~$6,430). After scrutiny, CTU will intimate the deficiencies in the application for grant of connectivity or grant of GNA within a week of receiving the application. The applicant must rectify the deficiency within one week, failing which the application will be closed, and 20% of the application fee will be forfeited. The balance will be refunded to the applicant within 15 days.</p>
<p><strong>Eligibility for ISTS connectivity </strong></p>
<p>Generating stations, including renewable generators, with or without energy storage systems (ESS), with an installed capacity of a minimum of 50 MW individually or with an aggregate installed capacity of 50 MW and above through a lead generator or a lead ESS will be eligible for ISTS connectivity.</p>
<p>Captive power projects of 50 MW and above are also eligible. So are standalone ESS with an installed capacity of 50 MW and above individually or with an aggregate installed capacity of 50 MW and above through a lead ESS or lead generator.</p>
<p>Standalone ESS with an installed capacity of 5 MW and above applying for the grant of connectivity to ISTS through the electrical system of a generating station that already has ISTS connectivity are also eligible.</p>
<p><strong>Connectivity bank guarantee</strong></p>
<p>Connectivity bank guarantee must be submitted in three parts. Applicants must furnish ₹5 million (~$64,309) for the first part. For the second part, the connectivity bank guarantee must be furnished based on the number of terminal bays. For a 132 kV terminal bay, applicants must submit a connectivity bank guarantee of ₹20 million per bay. For 220/230 kV, 400 kV, and 765 kV terminal bays, applicants must submit a connectivity bank guarantee of ₹30 million (~$385,854), ₹60 million (~$771,708), and ₹120 million (~$1.54 million) per bay, respectively. For the third part, applicants must submit a connectivity bank guarantee of ₹200,000 (~$2,572)/MW for the existing ISTS.</p>
<p><strong>Final connectivity grant </strong></p>
<p>Within 15 days of receiving the connectivity bank guarantee, CTU will intimate the final grant of connectivity. The intimation will contain the name of the ISTS sub-station or switchyard of the generating station where the connectivity is granted.</p>
<p>Within 30 days of the intimation of connection details by CTU, the connectivity agreement will be signed with the successful applicant.</p>
<p>The first part of the connectivity bank guarantee will be returned within 30 days of the declaration of commercial operation of total capacity by the connectivity grantee. The second and third parts will be returned in five equal parts over five years corresponding to the generation capacity, declared under commercial operation by the connectivity grantee.</p>
<p><strong>Eligibility for GNA</strong></p>
<p>The State Transmission Utility, on behalf of intra-State entities, including distribution licensees, drawee entities connected to an intra-state transmission system, distribution licensees, or bulk consumers seeking to connect to ISTS with a minimum load of 50 MW are eligible for GNA. Trading licensees engaged in cross-border electricity trade in the cross-border regulations and transmission licensees connected to ISTS for the drawal of auxiliary power are also eligible.</p>
<p><strong>Grant of GNA</strong></p>
<p>CTU will process all applications within two months and grant additional GNA based on available transmission capacity or a pro-rata basis. GNA, once granted, will remain valid until relinquished.</p>
<p><strong>Eligibility for temporary GNA</strong></p>
<p>Distribution licensees and bulk consumers directly connected to ISTS, buying entities connected to the intra-state transmission system, or distribution systems connected to such intra-state transmission system are eligible for temporary GNA (T-GNA). Generating stations, including renewable generators for meeting its auxiliary consumption or start-up power, captive power projects, and standalone ESS are also eligible.</p>
<p><strong>Arrangement for transition</strong></p>
<p>If long-term access to entities becomes effective, it will be considered part of GNA deemed to have been granted. If medium-term open access granted to entities becomes effective, GNA will be deemed to have been granted until such medium-term open access expires. Short-term open access granted per the open access regulations will be treated as T-GNA under the exigency application category.</p>
<p><strong>Curtailment</strong></p>
<p>When for the reason of transmission constraints or in the interest of grid security, it becomes inevitable to curtail power flow on a transmission corridor, the transactions already scheduled may be curtailed by the regional load despatch center. Transactions under T-GNA will be curtailed first, followed by transactions under GNA.</p>
<p>India added 513 MW of new open access solar capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of the calendar year (CY) 2022, registering a growth of 58% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), compared to 324 MW installed in Q4 2021. The numbers were revealed in Mercom India Research’s newly released <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-open-access-market-report-q1-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report Q1 2022.</a></p>
<p>In October this year, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/electricity-rules-enable-utilities-access-transmission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notified</a> the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development, and Recovery of Inter-State Transmission Charges) Rules 2021 to enable power utilities to access the transmission network across the country smoothly.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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CERC Issues Connectivity and General Network Access Regulations

<p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CERC</a>) has issued a draft regulation &#8211; ‘Connectivity and General Network Access to the Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) Regulations, 2021.’</p>
<p>The proposed regulations provide the framework to facilitate open access power to consumers, generating companies, and distribution licensees for ISTS use through General Network Access (GNA). GNA is open access to ISTS connectivity granted under these regulations.</p>
<p>These regulations will come into force on a date to be specified by the Commission.</p>
<p><strong>Connectivity to ISTS</strong></p>
<p>The following entities will be eligible to apply for the grant of connectivity to the ISTS:</p>
<ul>
<li>Generating stations, including renewable projects with or without energy storage system (ESS), with an installed capacity of 50 MW or above individually or with an aggregate installed capacity of 50 MW and above through a lead generator</li>
<li>Captive projects with capacity for injection to ISTS of 50 MW and above</li>
<li>Standalone ESS with an installed capacity of 50 MW and above individually or with an aggregate installed capacity of 50 MW and above through a lead generator or lead ESS</li>
<li>Renewable energy park developers</li>
<li>Renewable generating projects or standalone ESS with an installed capacity of 5 MW and above applying for the grant of connectivity to ISTS through the electrical system already having connectivity to ISTS</li>
</ul>
<p>The applicant will be required to submit a connectivity bank guarantee in three parts &#8212; Conn-BG1 amounting to ₹5 million (~$65,601); Conn-BG2 of ₹20 million (~$262,406) for a 132 kV terminal bay, ₹30 million (~$393,609) for a 220kV/230 kV terminal bay, ₹60 million (~$787,218) for a 400 kV terminal bay, and ₹120 million (~$1.57 million) for a 765 kV terminal bay; and Conn-BG3 of ₹200,000 (~$2,624)/MW for the existing ISTS.</p>
<p>Within 15 days of receiving the Conn-BG2 and Conn-BG3, the nodal agency will intimate the final grant of connectivity to the entity that has been intimated in-principle grant of connectivity.</p>
<p>Within 30 days of the grant of connectivity by the nodal agency, the connectivity agreement will be signed between the entity and the nodal agency.</p>
<p>If the connectivity is granted to a generating station or a captive generating project, or a standalone ESS, the dedicated transmission lines should be established, operated, and maintained by such entities. In the case of a renewable power park developer, the dedicated transmission lines will be developed, owned, and operated by the developer.</p>
<p><strong>General Network Access</strong></p>
<p>The following entities will be eligible for the grant of GNA:</p>
<ul>
<li>State Transmission Utility (STU) on behalf of distribution licensees connected to ISTS and other intrastate entities</li>
<li>A buying entity connected to the intrastate transmission system</li>
<li>A distribution licensee or a bulk consumer seeking to connect to ISTS, directly, with a load of 50 MW and above</li>
<li>Trading licensees engaged in cross border trade of electricity</li>
<li>Transmission licensee connected to ISTS for drawal of auxiliary power</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Grant of additional GNA to STU</strong></p>
<p>The nodal agency should process all the applications within two months and grant additional GNA to the STU based on the available transmission capacity.</p>
<p><strong>Grant of connectivity to entities other than STU</strong></p>
<p>Entities granted connectivity to ISTS will be deemed to have been granted GNA, equal to the quantum of connectivity from the start date of connectivity.</p>
<p>A buying entity connected to the intrastate transmission system and trading licensees engaged in cross-border trade of electricity will be granted GNA as per the following timeline:</p>
<ul>
<li>Where GNA is granted on the existing system: by the end of the month after the month in which application complete in all respects has been received</li>
<li>Where augmentation of the transmission system is required: within 180 days from the end of the month in which the application has been received</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Temporary GNA</strong></p>
<p>The following entities will be eligible to apply for Temporary GNA to ISTS:</p>
<p>As buyers:</p>
<ul>
<li>Distribution licensee directly connected to ISTS</li>
<li>Bulk consumer directly connected to ISTS</li>
<li>A buying entity connected to the intrastate transmission system</li>
<li>Generating stations including renewable energy generating stations for meeting its auxiliary consumption</li>
<li>Captive generating plant</li>
<li>Standalone ESS</li>
</ul>
<p>Trading licensee</p>
<p>Power exchange for collective transactions or bilateral transactions</p>
<p>The National Load Despatch Center (NLDC) or the nodal Regional Load Despatch Center (RLDC) should convey the grant of Temporary GNA to the applicant as per timelines stipulated in the regulations. In the event of rejection of the application, NLDC or the nodal RLDC should give reasons.</p>
<p><strong>Transmission charges for Temporary GNA</strong></p>
<p>The transmission charge rate for Temporary GNA, in ₹/MW/time block, for a state should be published for each month by the implementing agency.</p>
<p>In the case of bilateral and collective transactions, the transmission charges for Temporary GNA should be payable only at the point of drawal, as per the last published transmission charge rate for Temporary GNA for the state where such point of drawal is located.</p>
<p><strong>Allocation of transmission corridor under GNA and Temporary GNA</strong></p>
<p>The entities to whom GNA has been granted will be eligible to schedule power within the GNA, provided that in the case of constraint in the transmission system, the available transmission corridor will be allocated to the GNA grantees in proportion to their GNA within the region or outside the region.</p>
<p>A temporary GNA grantee under the advance application category will be eligible to schedule power, provided the day ahead scheduling request for total quantum cannot be accommodated due to the non-availability of a sufficient transmission corridor.</p>
<p>Once the day ahead schedule is finalized, the schedule for Temporary GNA grantees under the advance application category will be finalized over the balance transmission corridor.</p>
<p>If an application for the grant of connectivity or grant of Long-Term Access or Medium-Term Open Access is yet to be granted as on the date of coming into effect of these regulations, the applicant will have the option of withdrawing the application or converting the application by complying with the regulations.</p>
<p><strong>Curtailment</strong></p>
<p>When it becomes inevitable to curtail power flow on a transmission corridor due to  transmission constraints or in the interest of grid security, the transactions already scheduled may be curtailed by the RLDC as per the following provisions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Transactions under Temporary GNA will be curtailed first, followed by transactions under GNA</li>
<li>Within transactions under Temporary GNA, bilateral transactions will be curtailed first, followed by collective transactions under day-ahead market followed by collective transactions under real-time market</li>
</ul>
<p>In October this year, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/electricity-rules-enable-utilities-access-transmission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notified</a> the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development, and Recovery of Inter-State Transmission Charges) Rules 2021 to enable power utilities to access the transmission network across the country smoothly.</p>
<p>Earlier, CERC had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-blueprint-ists-renewable-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a detailed procedure for granting connectivity to renewable projects to ISTS.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a>
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Open Access Renewable Energy Generators to Have Easy Access to ISTS Network

<p>The <a href="https://powermin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Power</a> has notified the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development, and Recovery of Inter-State Transmission Charges) Rules 2021 to enable power utilities to access the transmission network across the country smoothly.</p>
<p>Power projects will no longer have to specify their target beneficiaries &#8211; a significant change from the existing system of applying for prior approval for access. The rules will also empower state power distribution and transmission companies to determine their transmission requirements and build them. States will be able to purchase electricity from short-term and medium-term contracts and optimize their power purchase costs.</p>
<p>Currently, generating companies apply for long-term access (LTA) based on their supply tie-ups, while medium-term and short-term transmission access is acquired within the available margins. Based on the LTA application, incremental transmission capacity is added. Several developments, such as the increasing focus on renewable energy, and the expansion of the market mechanism, necessitated a review of the existing transmission planning framework based on LTA.</p>
<p>The rules specify how the existing LTA would be transitioned into general network access (GNA). The rules also outline the recovery of GNA charges from the transmission network users and assign the responsibility of billing, collection, and disbursement of inter-state transmission charges to the Central Transmission Utility (CTU).</p>
<p>Apart from introducing GNA, the rules also specify the roles of the various agencies in the transmission planning process. The CTU will prepare a short-term plan every year for the next five years and a perspective plan every alternative year for the next ten years. It will also prepare an implementation plan for the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) every year for the next five years. The plans will be prepared on a rolling basis. The CTU will consider aspects such as right-of-way and progress of the generation and demand in various parts of the country while preparing the plan.</p>
<p>For the first time, the rules enable the transmission capacity to be sold, shared, or purchased by the states and generators. The regulations prescribe that excess drawal or injection over the approved GNA capacity will be charged at rates at least 25% higher. This will ensure that the entities do not under-declare their GNA capacity. The <a href="https://cercind.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Electricity Regulatory Commission</a> has been empowered to frame detailed GNA regulations in the inter-state transmission system.</p>
<p>The Union government has notified these rules to streamline the process of planning, development, and recovery of investment in the transmission system. The rules are aimed at encouraging investments in the generation and transmission sectors and developing deeper markets.</p>
<p>In August 2020, CERC <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-blueprint-ists-renewable-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a detailed procedure for granting ISTS connectivity to renewable projects. This procedure applied to CTU, regional load despatch centers, state load despatch centers, state transmission utility, distribution companies, and renewable energy implementing agencies like the Solar Energy Corporation of India.</p>
<p>In 2019, CERC <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-details-mechanism-sharing-charges-losses-renewable-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> draft regulations for sharing inter-state transmission charges and losses. It specified that the transmission charges would be shared among the designated ISTS customers so that the yearly transmission charges are fully covered and any adjustment on account of the revision of transmission charges is recovered.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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