The Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) has invited comments on Uttarakhand Power Corporation’s (UPCL) proposal to levy an additional surcharge of ₹1.20 (~$0.016)/kWh on consumers sourcing power through open access from October 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

The proposed surcharge is 12.14% higher than the current additional surcharge of ₹1.07 (~$0.013)/kWh.

The last day to submit the comments and suggestions is August 5, 2022.

Background

UPCL filed a petition before UERC to determine an additional surcharge under the provisions of UERC (Terms and Conditions of intra-State Open Access) Regulations, 2015 to meet the fixed cost of UPCL arising out of its obligation to supply electricity to open access consumers.

UPCL pointed out that 5.32 million units (MU) of open access energy was drawn by the consumers at the state periphery from October 2021 to March 2022 and that 5.68 MU was the total stranded energy due to open access.

UPCL claimed that the average fixed cost at the state periphery is ₹1.02 (~$0.013)/kWh. In comparison, the average fixed cost at the consumer end after considering approved Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand (PTCUL) losses at 1.40% and distribution losses at the rate of 13.75% is ₹1.20 (~$0.016)/kWh.

UPCL proposed that the additional surcharge for October 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, be ₹1.20 (~$0.016)/kWh. This was arrived at by the calculation – average fixed cost at state periphery multiplied by average fixed cost at consumer end after considering approved PTCUL and distribution losses divided by the open access energy.

In March, UERC revised the additional surcharge to ₹1.07 (~$0.013)/kWh from ₹1.94 (~$0.024)/kWh for consumers sourcing power through open access from April 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022.

In May, UERC announced the generic tariff for solar, solar thermal, and grid-interactive rooftop and small solar projects to be commissioned in FY 2022-23. It approved the benchmark capital cost of ₹9.08 million (~$480,198)/MW and ₹13.70 (~$0.178)/kWh for solar and solar thermal projects commissioned on or after April 1, 2022. It also set the benchmark capital cost of ₹49,442 (~$638)/kW, ₹45,322 (~$585)/kW, ₹42,583 (~$549)/kW, and ₹41,035 (~$529)/kW for grid-interactive rooftop and small solar projects.

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