Green Open Access Rules 2022: Now choose where you want green power from!

• Small consumers with contracted or sanctioned load of 100 kW can buy green energy at a separate tariff from a source of their choice
• No load limitation for captive consumers

New Delhi: In order to spur the adoption of green electricity produced through renewable sources of energy, the Ministry of Power has notified the Green Open Access Rules 2022, which will allow small consumers with contracted or sanctioned load of 100 kW to buy green energy at a separate tariff from a source of their choice. The government has brought down the threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW, and has removed all load limitations for captive consumers.

"These rules are notified for promoting generation, purchase and consumption of green energy, including through waste-to-energy plants. It enables a simplified procedure for open access to green power," the Power Ministry said in a statement.

"In order to further accelerate our ambitious renewable energy programmes, with the end goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and green energy for all, Green Open Access Rules 2022 have been notified on June 6, 2022," it added.

Green Open Access Rules 2022

Any entity, whether obligated or not may elect to generate, may purchase and consume Renewable Energy (RE) as per their requirements, according to the Green Open Access Rules 2022. Consumers can generate electricity from renewable energy sources. There will be no capacity limit for installation of power plants from RE 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, the ministry has said in the notification.

Consumers can also procure Renewable Energy through open access from any developer who generates green power either directly or through a trading licensee or through power markets.

By requisition from distribution licensee, any entity may elect to purchase green energy either upto 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, said the Power Ministry. The consumer shall have the flexibility to give separate requisition for solar and non-solar electricity.

"Every consumer becomes stakeholder to contribute in achieving India's commitment of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel by 2030," said the Power Ministry. The rules are expected to encourage households with sanctioned load of 100 kW or above and small industries to shift to green energy.

Approvals for green access to be granted in 15 days

There will be transparency in the approval process of the open access applications. As per the rules, the approvals are to be granted in 15 days or else it will be deemed to have been approved subject to fulfilment of technical requirements. It will be through a national portal.

Tariff to be determined separately

On the tariff, the statement said, "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 to the consumers."

The rules will help streamline the overall approval process for granting open access, including timely approval, to improve predictability of cash flows for renewable power producers. It will also bring uniformity in the application procedure.

The rules provide certainty on open access charges to be levied on green energy open access consumers, which includes transmission charges, wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharge and standby charges.

Cap on increasing the cross-subsidy surcharge as well as the removal of additional surcharge not only incentivises the consumers to go green but also addresses the issues that have hindered the growth of open access in India, said the Power Ministry.

Consumers will be given certificates if they consume green power. Cross subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge shall not be applicable, if green energy is utilised for production of green hydrogen and green ammonia.

Besides, there shall be a uniform renewable purchase obligation on all obligated entities in the area of distribution licensees.

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