The Ministry of Power on June 06, 2022 has issued the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022.
The foremost provisions of the rules are as followed:
• Applicability.– This rules shall be applicable for generation, purchase and consumption of green energy as defined under clause (c) of rule 2,including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plant.
• Procedure for grant of Green Energy Open Access.– (1) The Central Nodal Agency shall prepare, within a period of sixty days of commencement of these rules, a common application format for the Green Energy Open Access in consultation with the Forum of Regulators and applications for the Green Energy Open Access shall be made in this format.
(2) All the applications for the Green Energy Open Access complete in all respects, shall be submitted on the portal set up by the Central Nodal Agency.
(3) The concerned nodal agency shall, by an order in writing, approve the applications for the Green Energy Open Access within a period of fifteen days, failing which it shall be deemed to have been approved subject to the fulfilment of the technical requirements as specified by the appropriate Commission:
Provided that the order of processing of such applications for Green Energy Open Access shall be first in first out.
(4) The Short term and medium term open access shall be allowed, if there is sufficient spare capacity available in the transmission system without any augmentation whereas for long term open access, the transmission system may be augmented if required:
Provided that priority shall be given to long term in the existing system if spare capacity is available and further, open access for non-fossil fuel sources shall be given priority over the open access from the fossil fuel.
Explanation: For the purposes of this rule, the expression ―Fossil Fuel includes the fuels such as coal, lignite, gas, liquid fuel or combination of these as its primary source of energy, which are used in Thermal Generating Station for generating electricity.
(5) No application for open access shall be denied unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter and all orders denying open access shall be speaking orders.
(6) Appeals against an order of the concerned nodal agency, shall lie before the Appropriate Commission, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of order under sub-rule (4) of rule 7.
(7) The Appropriate Commission shall dispose the appeal within a period of three months and the order issued by it, shall be binding on the parties.
• Green certificate.–The distribution licensee shall give green certificate on yearly basis to the consumers for the green energy supplied by the licensee to consumer on his request beyond the renewable purchase obligation of the consumers.
• Rating.–The State Commission may introduce the concept of rating of the consumer of the distribution licensee, based on the percent of green energy purchased by such consumer.
• Model regulation on methodology.– (1) In order to have a common methodology for calculation of all the open access charges, the forum of regulators shall prepare a model regulations on methodology for calculation of open access charges, as well as banking charges within a period of four months from the date of commencement of these rules.
(2) The framing of methodology referred to in sub-rule (1), of the forum of regulators shall ensure that various permissible charges are not be onerous and shall meet the prudent cost of the distribution licensee in order to fulfil the objective of promoting the procurement of green energy by Green Energy Open Access Consumers.
[Notification No. G.S.R. 418(E)]
