The Chhattisgarh Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) has proposed modalities for renewable energy banking, accounting, and wheeling of power to provide more clarity on the distributed renewable energy (DRE) regulations 2019.

Stakeholders can submit the comments and suggestions by September 17, 2020.

Context

Various representations on issues related to banking and wheeling have been made before the Commission by those interested in setting up renewable projects or getting energy from such projects. While hearing one such petition, the Commission decided to bring in regulatory clarity concerning wheeling and banking to attract investment in this sector and to ensure faster implementation of the projects.

According to the proposal, banked energy in a month will be permitted to be carried forward to the next month within the same banking year. Unutilized banked energy at the end of the banking year will be considered to be purchased by the distribution licensee as provided in the regulations. So, in a nutshell, banked energy should not be carried forward to the next banking year.

Calculation of Banked Energy

At the end of a month, the total renewable energy injected during the month, renewable energy-adjusted from the previous month’s banked energy, and the net banked renewable energy for the month will be worked out by the licensee from the time slot-wise daily energy statement prepared by the state load despatch center (SLDC).

Settlement of Banked Energy

The Commission also noted that the consumer could source power from open access or wheeled power, which could be solar, banked solar, power from captive projects, from power exchanges, or retail supply of power. The settlement of energy consumed will be in the following priority except for peak months and peak period:

• Solar energy injection after adjustment of transmission and wheeling charges
• Captive energy after adjustment of transmission and wheeling charges
• Banked solar energy
• Open access energy through exchange or any other source
• Energy consumed by distribution licensee

Now, during the peak months and peak period, the settlement will be in the following priority:

• Solar energy injection after adjustment of transmission and wheeling charges
• Captive energy after adjustment of transmission and wheeling charges
• Open access energy through exchange or any other source
• Energy consumed by distribution licensee

Scheduling of Power

As per the state provisions, solar generating projects should not be subjected to scheduling and deviation settlement.

The consumer should submit a time slot-wise schedule of power to the state load despatch center (SLDC) for the next day showing the energy drawl from solar project, captive generating projects, banked power, and open access power.

Further, renewable-based captive consumers should submit the time of the day (ToD) slot-wise schedule of power to SLDC daily for the next day showing his energy drawl and banked power. The remaining power after adjustment of banked energy will be considered to be consumed by the distribution licensee.

Tariff and Other Charges

The Commission noted that the cumulative energy drawn from the distribution licensee would be billed to the consumer as per the relevant tariff category of the order. The calculation of the load factor would be carried out on energy consumption from licensees only.

Wheeling Charges

According to the Commission, for open access from solar projects, cross-subsidy surcharge and transmission and wheeling charges in cash will not be levied for the entire life of solar projects. Also, SLDC charges will not be payable for solar projects for 25 years. The transmission and wheeling charges, as approved in the tariff order for the financial year 2020-21, will remain applicable for the entire life of the solar project.

Others

Availability-based meters need to be installed at the generator as well as the consumer’s end. In case of a grid breakdown and during unforeseen situations, when power could not be evacuated or wheeled, the licensee will not be liable to pay any compensation for any loss to the generator. Also, according to the Commission, the surplus renewable energy purchased by the distribution licensee will be eligible for RPO compliance of the licensee.

In March this year, CSERC issued the final generic levelized tariff regulations for small hydro, non‐fossil fuel‐based co‐generation, biomass, and solar projects in the state for FY 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Commission said that the generic tariff would be set on a levelized basis for the tariff period from the commercial operation date of the projects to the end of their useful life periods.

Earlier, to facilitate the growth of renewable energy generation systems in the state, CSERC had approved the regulations for distributed renewable sources. These regulations would apply to prosumer distributed renewable energy systems owned by the prosumer or a third party.