CERC eases inter-state access norms for power companies

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has notified easier norms for "grant of connectivity, long term access and medium-term open access in interstate transmission."

Any generation plant having installed capacity of at least 250 MW and any bulk consumer having at least a load of 100 MW can seek connectivity to interstate transmission system, as per the revised interstate access norms, an official release said.

More importantly, any thermal generating company of at least 500 MW capacity and hydro generating company of at least 250 MW capacity, irrespective of ownership (whether government owned or private sector), will be connected to the grid directly without having to construct a dedicated transmission line.

CERC has also standardised the regulations and the application fees for different purposes as also the timeframes for disposal of such applications.

The Central Transmission Utility (CTU) will be the nodal agency for seeking connectivity under the medium term open access or long term access.

CTU has been asked to prepare detailed procedures for implementation of these regulations within a period of 60 days during which it would consult the stakeholders.