The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) ruled that distribution companies (DISCOMs) will not be allowed to impose reliability charges on green open access consumers as there is no defined clause for it in the Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2023.

Distributed Solar Power Association (DISPA), Merino Industries, and Garg Spinning Mills had filed a petition seeking amendment in the provisions of the Renewable Energy Regulations 2021 to ensure it is consistent with the Ministry of Power’s Green Energy Open Access Regulations 2022.

Background

The petitioners highlighted that the Commission notified the Tariff Regulations on April 27, 2021, and the Ministry of Power’s Open Access Regulations came into effect on June 6, 2022.

As per the Electricity Act 2003, the Commission should have made regulations consistent with the provisions of the Act and rules issued by the government. The terms of the HERC Tariff Regulations 2021 were, however, different from the Open Access Regulations 2022.

Rule 9 of the Green Energy Open Access Regulations 2022 lists all the charges payable by green open access consumers, including transmission, wheeling, cross-subsidy, and standby charges.

Whereas as per the HERC Tariff Regulations 2021, open access consumers are liable to pay ₹1.50 (~$0.018)/kWh for injection and drawl of solar power in the grid as reliability charges.

The petitioners argued that both regulations must be consistent to make sure everything is clear.

In their submission, the distribution companies (DISCOMs) argued that reliability charges were consciously provided under the HERC Renewable Energy Regulations, 2021, considering the impact of the infirm injection of solar power on DISCOMs. Reliability charges provide recovery costs associated to keep the system ready and available.

Since there is no mechanism for sharing the balancing costs by the beneficiaries, the renewable generators should contribute by way of payment of suitable reliability charges to the DISCOMs for availing open access along with banking facility in addition to other applicable charges.

The DISCOMs noted that they should be allowed to conduct a fresh study, considering the policy changes and recent data for assessing the reliability charges to be imposed.

Commission’s analysis

The Commission noted that it had already passed an order approving the Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2023, which will be applicable from the date of its notification in the official gazette.

Regulation 9 provides that the charges to be levied on green energy open access consumers will be transmission charges, wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharge, standby charges, banking charges, application fees, SLDC charges, scheduling charges, deviation settlement charges, and reactive energy charges.

The state regulator noted that it is apparent from the list of charges that the reliability charge has not been made a part of the charges recoverable from green open access consumers under these regulations, and the DISCOMs cannot impose them.

Hence, the Commission noted that the present petition was unnecessary and had become infructuous.

Earlier, HERC had approved an additional surcharge of ₹0.78 (~$0.009)/kWh for open access consumers who avail power from any source other than the DISCOMs of the state.

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