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The National Solar Federation of India has written to the Ministry of Power seeking clarity on whether the long-term waiver of transmission charges will extend to solar and wind projects whose commissioning will get extended beyond June 2023 due to regulatory and government delays.
“Many solar projects’ power supply agreements are yet to be signed and once signed, it is required to be approved by respective State electricity regulatory commissions. The whole process will take at least six months and it would not be possible for such projects to commission by June 30, 2023 in the current pandemic situation,” the industry group said in a May 20 letter to Power Secretary Alok Kumar.
In its order on May 15, the Ministry of Power had specified that if any project whose scheduled commissioning date was before July 2023 “is granted extension of time from the commissioning on account of force majeure or for delay on the part of the transmission provider in providing the transmission even after having taken the requisite steps in time, or on account of delays on the part of any government agency,” it will be eligible for the waiver.
Also read: Centre to prioritise transmission projects in areas with high renewable energy potential
The waiver applies to inter-State transmission charges for 25 years. The developers had earlier urged the government to set the cut off for the waiver at December 2023 instead of June 2023.
“If any competent authority has given the project an extension beyond June 2023 then it will be eligible for the waiver,” a senior official at the Ministry of Power told BusinessLine .
Long-term pacts
However, the industry is concerned as any extension in the long-term agreements for transmission charges have to be approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, NSEFI CEO Subrahmanyam Pulipaka told BusinessLine .
The group has also asked for the extension of the waiver of transmission charges and losses to all open access users and not only to captive projects under the manufacturing bids, as the Ministry order specifies.
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