The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has ruled against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution (MSEDCL) for wrongly imposing wheeling charges and losses on solar power generators.

MERC directed MSEDCL to refund ₹15.4 million (~$179,285.63) to petitioners TP Solapur Saurya, TP Arya Saurya, and TP Ekadash.

The Commission also ordered the reversal of 2.10 million units (MU) of wheeling losses deducted between May 2023 and March 2024.

Background

The petitioners, who operate solar power projects under Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL), supply electricity to high-voltage open-access consumers such as Tata Steel, Neosym Industry, and Fenace Auto. Their solar projects include an 8.4 MW facility at Akkalkot (Solapur district) and 12.5 MW and 8.8 MW facilities at Himayatnagar (Nanded district).

These facilities are directly connected to Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission’s (MSETCL) transmission network at the 132 kV level to ensure that power is transmitted without needing MSEDCL’s distribution infrastructure.

However, MSEDCL imposed wheeling charges of ₹15.4 million (~$179,285.63) and deducted 2.10 MU wheeling losses from the energy supplied from May 2023 to March 2024.

The wheeling charges were ₹2.57 million (~$29,996.34) for TP Solapur Saurya, ₹8.60 million (~$100,175.82) for TP Arya Saurya, and ₹4.254 million (~$49,495.92) for TP Ekadash. Additionally, MSEDCL deducted energy units from open access consumers under the pretext of transmission losses.

The petitioners approached the Commission, arguing that MSEDCL’s actions violated Regulation 14.6(b) of the MERC (Distribution Open Access) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2019, which state that wheeling charges do not apply when the generator and consumer are both connected to the transmission system.

They also referred to a previous MERC order, which had ruled against MSEDCL’s similar attempts to levy such charges. Despite the petitioners sending a formal representation to MSEDCL on June 25, 2024, urging the removal of the charges, they received no response.

Commission’s Analysis

The Commission reaffirmed that wheeling charges are applicable only when electricity is transmitted through a distribution network. It observed that the solar projects were directly connected to MSETCL’s transmission network at the 132 kV level via dedicated 33/132 kV lines owned by the petitioners.

It deemed the imposition of wheeling charges as unlawful since the power was never routed through MSEDCL’s distribution system. MERC also dismissed MSEDCL’s claim that auxiliary or start-up power drawn by the petitioners from its network justified the imposition of wheeling charges.

The Commission clarified that auxiliary power usage is a separate transaction unrelated to the open access electricity supply. It ruled that merely using MSEDCL’s auxiliary services does not mean the distribution network was used for wheeling power.

It also rejected MSEDCL’s argument that the solar generators indirectly used its infrastructure through pooling substations. The charges imposed were declared unlawful since there was no physical interconnection with MSEDCL’s distribution network.

MERC directed MSEDCL to refund the ₹15.4 million (~$179,285.63) levied as wheeling charges and reverse the 2.10 MUs deducted from the open access consumers’ accounts. The Commission also directed MSEDCL not to impose such charges in future invoices unless the power physically flows through its distribution network.

Recently, MERC approved the adoption of a tariff of ₹3.65 (~$0.0421)/kWh for Adani Electricity Mumbai to procure 250 MW of wind power from JSW Neo Energy for 25 years.

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