The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has published regulations for ISTS (Inter-State Transmission System) implementation in the official gazette. These regulations have been in force since July 23, 2018.

The regulations have been issued in order to lay down the broad principles, procedures and processes to be followed for planning and development of an efficient, coordinated, reliable, and economical system of inter-State transmission system (ISTS) for the smooth flow of electricity from generating stations to the load centers.

These regulations are expected to bring about transparency in the planning process and demarcate the roles and responsibilities of various organizations.

These regulations will be applicable to central transmission utility (CTU), state transmission utilities (STUs), generating companies including companies having captive generating plants connected to ISTS, transmission licensees, distribution licensees, regional power committees (RPCs), national load dispatch Centre (NLDC), regional load dispatch centers (RLDCs) and state load dispatch centers (SLDCs), and any other recognized entity under the Act involved in planning and development of ISTS.

Key Highlights

• CTU will plan the ISTS and will be responsible for the preparation of base case and to undertake system studies for the development of the transmission system.
• CTU will ensure proper coordination with various agencies such as CEA, transmission licensees, distribution licensees, generating companies, STUs, RLDCs and SLDCs involved in the planning process.
• NLDC and RLDC will provide periodic operational statistics and feedback to CTU along with supporting analyses and details which have a bearing on the planning process of inter-state transmission system.
• The generating companies which are connected (or will connect) to ISTS network will provide the technical data in a format prescribed by the CTU.
• Generating stations connected to (or intending to connect to) ISTS will furnish status of their projects to CTU from time to time.
• RPC will assist CTU in preparation of base case in consultation with transmission and distribution utilities of the region.
• When the augmentation of transmission system is undertaken for renewable energy sources, transmission system will be planned by considering estimated renewable capacity additions; renewable purchase obligation (RPO) of each state; and utilizing the available margins in the system being planned for conventional power.

These regulations are expected to help in the timely development of ISTS in India. ISTS is of utmost importance for the growth of solar and wind as all areas do not have the same solar potential or land availability. ISTS is required to realize the potential of solar rich states.

Recently, CERC released procedural regulations for granting ISTS connectivity to renewable energy projects. Mercom previously reported that the Solar Power Developers Association (SPDA) wrote to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), seeking postponement of scheduled auctions for projects, considering the ongoing transmission issues.