In a bid to rationalise the flow of unplanned power — unscheduled interchange — in the country, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has put a cap on the volume of electricity that can be transacted by utilities through the mechanism.

Unscheduled interchange (UI) refers to buying and selling of electricity apart from the planned sale or purchase as envisaged in the long-term power purchase agreements. “We wanted to send the message that UI is not meant for trading of power. The move would force the distribution utilities to opt for planned procurement of power and thus create an environment for investors to set up new power plants,” said CERC Secretary Alok Kumar.

The commission has directed in the new regulations that the overdrawl of electricity from the schedule by a utility should not exceed 12 per cent of that is scheduled.

The move forms a part of the new “regulations on UI for electricity grid operations” notified by the commission. The new regulations would come into force next month.

In another change brought through the new regulations, the commission has also differentiated between the rates applicable for UI within the permissible limits of frequency of power flow and those applicable for excessive overdrawl of electricity from the grid. “This will ensure that a habitual offender pays more,” Kumar added.

The power regulator has also reduced the permissible operating range of the frequency of electricity flow in the grid by 0.4 hertz. Higher frequency indicates quality power. According to the current norms, the operating range of the grid is between 49 and 50.5 hertz. The new tighter frequency band is aimed at delivering better quality of supply to the consumers.

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