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The Ministry of Power has authorised the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) as the central nodal agency to establish and manage a single window green energy system.

On 6th June 2022, The Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, were notified by the Ministry of Power.

Following the new rules, any consumer will now be able to take a power-connection without any limitations under the Green Open Access.

The rules are designed to make it simpler for commercial and industrial consumers to obtain green sources of power. Under the Green Open Access, distribution companies can request a green power supply from generating companies. 

After reviewing the applications for green power supply, POSOCO can either approve or reject them within a period of 15 days. If the Corporation fails to respond within the stipulated time, the application will be deemed approved. The government stated that the approval process would move quickly.

Also Read | Centre approves Green Energy Corridor Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System

In order to support smaller consumers, the threshold for such transactions has also been reduced to 100 kilowatts, from 1 megawatt.

Additionally, captive consumers and commercial enterprises who use the open access norms in areas assigned to the discoms will be subject to a uniform renewable purchase obligation.

Fewer surcharges will be charged to users seeking open access to a clean energy source, without being tied to discoms.

As per the new rules, the tariff for green energy will comprise the average pooled power purchase cost of the renewable energy, cross-subsidy charges, if any, and service charges covering the prudent cost of the distribution licensee for providing the green energy. This will be determined separately by an appropriate commission.

Additionally, the government has directed the banking of surplus green energy with the distribution licensee.

“The rules will help streamline the overall approval process for granting open access, including timely approval, to improve the predictability of cash flow for renewable power producers. It will also bring uniformity in the application procedure,” the Ministry stated while notifying the rules.

If green energy is used to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia, consumers of green electricity will specially receive green certificates, and cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge won’t be applicable to them.

The 2003 Electricity Act permitted consumers to buy power directly from the generators by using the grid under an open access arrangement. However, during the past 20 years, the open access market has not grown as quickly as was anticipated.

According to Kushagra Nandan, Cofounder and MD of SunSource Energy, “The commercial and industrial segment accounts for about 50% of electricity consumption in India, and the demand for green energy from this segment, especially from open access projects, has been growing rapidly in the last few years.”

Also Read | Power Ministry puts draft green energy rules on its website for comments

The Ministry of Power oversees the entirely government-owned and run POSOCO. It is in charge of ensuring the safe and secure integration of the National Electricity Grid. Under The Electricity Act of 2003, it comprises five Regional Load Despatch Centers (RLDCs) and the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

Recently, the national grid operator POSOCO and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which both parties agree that weather forecast inputs will be used by Power Systems Operators for more strategic and streamlined management.

The MoU was signed by S. R. Narasimhan, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), POSOCO, and Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General (DG), IMD at NRLDC, POSOCO office.

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