The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has issued amendments to the Green Energy Open Access Regulations which were released in 2023. The amendments were finalized after a recent public hearing.

One key amendment introduced is regarding the eligibility criteria for open access.  Initially, only consumers with contracted 100 kW or more capacity were eligible. The Commission has now clarified that consumers with contracted demand of 100 kW and above, either through a single connection or multiple connections aggregating to 100 kW or more located in the same electricity operation division of a distribution licensee, will be eligible for Green Energy Open Access

Another major change is that the additional surcharge will not apply to electricity generated from offshore wind projects commissioned until December 2032 and supplied to open access consumers. Previously, this exemption was only applicable until December 2025.

Several stakeholders, including Cleanmax Enviro Energy Solutions, the Distributed Solar Power Association, Hexa Sun Energy, and Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam, submitted their concerns and suggestions regarding the rules.

The Commission said eligible consumers of a distribution licensee who are not on independent feeders will be allowed open access, subject to the condition that they agree to the system constraints as well as the power cut restrictions imposed by the distribution licensee serving them. In such cases, under-drawal, if any, on account of power cut restrictions will not be compensated.

Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam suggested specific wording adjustments for clarity, including changing “consumers” to “consumer” and fine-tuning terminologies associated with electricity divisions. The Commission agreed to implement some of these recommendations to eliminate ambiguities.

Stakeholders requested clarifications regarding the application of imbalance charges and the ability of captive consumers to avail long-term, medium-term, and short-term open access simultaneously, even beyond their contracted demand.

The Commission has acknowledged these concerns and made provisions to ensure consumers can draw power without undue restrictions, provided they do not exceed their approved contract demand.

Recently, the regulator released draft regulations on the Deviation Settlement Mechanism and related matters aiming to maintain grid discipline and security through the commercial mechanism for deviation settlement.

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