In a recent order, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) stated that waste to energy generation projects in the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi will be exempted from certain applicable open access and deviation charges for intra-state scheduling purposes of procurement from these projects.

The exemptions will be applicable for the useful life of the existing projects. It will also apply on future projects commissioned on or before March 31, 2022, and also on those for which the power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been signed on or before March 31, 2022.

The Delhi commission has stated that waste to energy projects in the NCT will be exempted from wheeling charges, transmission charges, regulatory asset surcharge, pension trust surcharge, and cross subsidy surcharge on the sale of electricity within the NCT under open access regulations.

The DERC has also exempted the waste to energy projects from any commercial or financial implication in case of deviation from the scheduled power under the deviation settlement mechanism from the date of the commissioning of the project.

According to the order, the actual generation from waste to energy projects will be treated as scheduled generation. An existing project with a PPA cannot terminate it in order to avail these exemptions.

In its order, the commission stated, “The purpose of waste to energy is to dispose the waste and divert from dump for protecting the environment. Such projects will also aid the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission as well as Namami Gange Mission through conversion of waste to energy. Moreover, the quantum of waste to energy generated is minimal and has extremely limited operational precedence.”

Recently , the DERC issued draft regulations which state that the transmission systems in the region that are aimed at easing congestion in intra-state transmission systems can now receive funding from the Power System Development Fund of Delhi.