CERC issues regulations achieve clean energy target, sound grid operations

Advises Centre to ask states to execute energy accounting & implement availability based tariff

Amid the Centre's push to pursue an ambitious renewable energy (RE) target of 175 GW by 2022, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has taken a number of initiatives which are aimed to enable reliable and secure operations of large interconnected grid operations. 

The CERC has notified regulations with regard to Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) and Grid Code and Ancillary Services Regulations to support variable generation.

India’s renewable energy target of 175 GW includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydroelectric projects, power minister Piyush Goyal said 

An official from the power ministry, who was present at the Make in India Week conference last week, told Business Standard, “CERC has been instrumental in the creation of an enabling market environment through notifying regulations also on open access, inter-state transmission and point of connection tariff. These regulatory interventions will facilitate secure and reliable grid management and effective power market development. CERC also came up with a suo-motu order, charting out the roadmap for operationalization of reserve capacity.''

Moreover, the CERC also released the Framework on Forecasting, Scheduling and Imbalance Handling for Variable Renewable Energy Sources (Wind and Solar). The Forum of Regulators (FOR), which is a representative body of central and state electricity regulatory commissions, will prepare model regulations for states on Forecasting, Scheduling and Deviation Settlement for Solar & Wind Generation.

The regulator proposes to amend the DSM Regulations after RE energy states demanded relaxing the  deviation settlement norms stating that the deviation limit of 12% or 150 MW is likely to be counter-productive. Some of the states also approached the Centre with a plea that if relaxation in DSM norms is not provided, they would not be able to integrate such large scale RE power into the grid norms up to 2017.  The official informed that CERC will relax the deviation settlement norms upto 2017.

Meanwhile, CERC has advised the Centre to issue an advisory to the states to execute detailed energy accounting along with procedures for DSM pool in the state as well as for implementation of availability based tariff (ABT).  

The ABT, which is a frequency based pricing mechanism applicable for unscheduled electric power transactions, is concerned with the tariff structure for bulk power and is aimed at bringing about more responsibility and accountability in power generation and consumption through a scheme of incentives and disincentives.

Further, CERC emphasised the need for ring fencing the state load despatch centres (SLDCs) and a special scheme for capacity building of SLDCs.