The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has issued a set of regulations dealing with power generation, transmission and distribution for the state of Goa and union territories with the exception of Delhi.

These regulations will be applicable in Goa and the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Chandigarh.

The regulations will come in into effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette and will remain in force until March 31, 2022, unless otherwise reviewed or extended.

Some of the highlights of the regulation are as follows:

• The annual transmission charges of the transmission licensee will be determined by the commission, based on the aggregate revenue requirement
• The aggregate revenue requirement for a transmission licensee will comprise return on equity, depreciation, interest, finance charges on loan capital, interest on working capital, deposits from transmission system users, operation and maintenance expenses and income tax
• Every distribution licensee will segregate accounts for distribution wire business and retail supply business
• The tariff for retail supply of the distribution licensee will provide for the recovery of the aggregate revenue requirement
• Aggregate revenue requirement for retail supply business will consist of cost of own power generation and power purchase expenses from other sources, inter-state transmission charges, intra-state transmission charges, return on equity capital, operation and maintenance expenses and more
• The distribution licensee will be allowed to recover transmission charges payable for access to and use of the inter-state and intra-state transmission system
• The distribution licensee will recover the level of distribution losses arising from the retail supply of electricity. The commission may specify a trajectory for distribution losses.
• The commission may categorize consumers based on their load factor, power factor, voltage and total consumption of electricity

Recently, Mercom reported that JERC also came up with open access regulations for the intra-state transmission (ISTS) and distribution for the year. According to the commission, a consumer with a load of 4 MW and above or a generating station with a capacity of 4 MW and above will be eligible to obtain ISTS connectivity.