Power Ministry notifies Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022; aimed at promoting generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including energy from Waste-to-Energy plant

The Power Ministry has notified the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022 under the Electricity Act, 2003 which is prima facie applicable for generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plant.

Key Highlights:

1. There shall be an uniform renewable purchase obligation, on all obligated entities in area of a distribution licensee.
2. Any entity, whether obligated or not, may elect to generate, purchase, and consume renewable energy as per their requirements by one or more of the following methods:
   1. There shall not be any capacity limit for installation of power plants from renewable energy sources, by entities for their own consumption and such plants may be set up at any location in India and power shall be transmitted by using open access;
   2. By procuring Renewable Energy through Open Access from any Developer either directly or through a trading licensee or through power markets;
   3. Any entity may elect to purchase green energy either up to a certain percentage of the consumption or its entire consumption and they may place a requisition for this with their distribution licensee, which shall procure such quantity of green energy and supply it and the consumer shall have the flexibility to give separate requisition for solar and non-solar;
   4. The tariff for the green energy shall be determined separately by the Appropriate Commission, which shall comprise of 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
   5. Any requisition for green energy from a distribution licensee shall be for a minimum period of one year;
   6. The quantum of green energy shall be pre-specified for at least one year;
   7. The green energy purchased from distribution licensee or from Renewable Energy sources other than distribution licensee in excess of Renewable Purchase Obligation of obligated entity shall be counted towards Renewable Purchase Obligation compliance of the distribution licensee;
   8. The Accounting of renewable energy supplied at distribution licensee level shall be on a monthly basis;
3. All applications for open access of green energy in this regard shall be allowed by the nodal agency within a period of fifteen days, failing which it shall be deemed to have been approved subject to fulfilment of the technical requirements;
4. Banking of surplus green energy with the distribution licensee has been mandated;
5. 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.

Please refer to the attached Notification for ease of reference.

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“green energy” means the electrical energy from renewable sources of energy including hydro and storage (if the storage uses renewable energy) or any other technology as may be notified by the Government of India from time to time and shall also include any mechanism that utilises green energy to replace fossil fuels including production of green hydrogen or green ammonia as per provision of clause G of sub-rule(2) of rule 4

“obligated entity” means the entities mandated under clause (e) of sub-section(1) of section86 of the Act to fulfil Renewable Purchase Obligation, which includes distribution licensee, captive user, and open access consumer

 “entity ”means any consumer who has contracted demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more except for captive consumers

Source: Ministry of Power