The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has decided to allow amendments to its renewable energy connectivity regulations to enable the transfer of connectivity rights in certain cases.

Background

The Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) had filed a petition seeking amendments to an order restricting the transfer of grid connectivity for renewable energy projects.

GETCO requested the transfer of connectivity rights in cases where project developers or park developers are developing renewable energy projects for multiple entities.

The existing regulations prohibit connectivity transfer once granted and require the same entity that obtained connectivity to sign transmission/wheeling agreements.

This created challenges for renewable energy project and park developers who obtain connectivity for aggregate capacity but need to transfer it to individual project entities.

Commission’s Analysis

The Commission noted that the developer model is widely used in the renewable energy sector, particularly for wind projects, with smaller entities often relying on this approach.

Restricting the transfer of connectivity rights could hinder the development of such projects and pose challenges for smaller industries. Allowing connectivity transfer in specific cases could lead to more efficient use of transmission infrastructure.

However, providing flexibility to developers must be balanced with preventing the speculative holding of connectivity rights.

Additionally, the Gujarat Renewable Energy Policy 2023 acknowledges the transfer of projects between developers and other entities, reinforcing the relevance of this issue.

Stakeholders emphasized that requiring individual connectivity applications for each small project would be inefficient. Moreover, applying new restrictions retroactively on previously granted connectivity rights could disrupt ongoing projects.

Considering these factors, the Commission decided to permit amendments enabling connectivity rights transfer in certain cases for renewable energy project and park developers while implementing safeguards to prevent misuse.

The decision seeks to balance promoting renewable energy development and ensuring the effective use of grid resources.

Recently, GERC ruled that wind power developers must share benefits from selling all types of carbon credits with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam and not just from the Clean Development Mechanism.

Earlier, GERC allowed net metering for rooftop solar systems with a capacity of 1 kW and up to 1 MW. Gross metering was permitted for rooftop solar systems with 10 kW and up to 1 MW capacity.

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