The Union Ministry of Power issued Electricity (amendment) Rules – 2024.
About Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2024:
- Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2024 was issued under the Electricity Act, 2003, with a focus on simplifying electricity supply for large corporate and green energy sectors.
- The amendment aims to facilitate ease of doing business for entities involved in captive power, energy storage, and green hydrogen projects.
- Consumers exceeding a specified load and energy storage systems (ESS) can establish dedicated transmission lines without the need for a license, creating a new category of bulk consumers.
- The move is expected to enhance grid reliability and provide more affordable electricity to emerging bulk consumers, aligning with the existing provisions for generating companies and captive generating stations.
- To rationalize open access charges, the new rules prescribe methodologies for determining wheeling charges, state transmission charges, and additional surcharges.
- Consumers or companies setting up a captive generating plant or an ESS with a load of at least 25 MW (Inter State Transmission System) or 10 MW (Intra-State Transmission System) won’t require a license, subject to compliance with regulations and technical standards.
- The rules mandate a linear reduction and elimination of additional surcharge within four years for those availing General Network Access or Open Access, with exemptions for first-time consumers of a distribution licensee.
- Tariffs are required to be cost reflective, with a permissible gap of not more than three percent between approved Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and estimated annual revenue, except under natural calamity conditions.
- A liquidation mechanism is introduced for any gap, along with carrying costs, through three equal yearly instalments from the next financial year.
- Despite plans to add 80 GW of thermal capacity until 2030, India’s coal-fired capacity is expected to reduce from 56% to about 35%, as the country aims to bid out 50 GW of renewable energy projects annually.
Ref: Source
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