CERC Sets Aside Deemed COD in Powerica Case, Quashes Bills

CERC Sets Aside Deemed COD in Powerica Case, Quashes Bills

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has ruled in favour of Powerica Ltd in a dispute over transmission charges for its wind project in Gujarat, setting aside the deemed commercial operation date (COD) declared by the transmission licensee and quashing several transmission charge bills.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), in an order issued this week, held that the deemed COD declared by Jam Khambhaliya Transco Ltd (JKTL) for parts of its transmission system was premature and improperly billed Powerica for transmission charges linked to a 1500 MW system.

Gujarat Wind Project Case 

Powerica is developing a 50.6 MW wind energy project in Dwarka, Gujarat, awarded by the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI). To evacuate power, the firm entered into a transmission agreement with JKTL and secured long-term access (LTA) through the Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL). Due to COVID-19 and right-of-way delays, SECI extended Powerica’s scheduled COD multiple times, finally revising it to September 5, 2022.

JKTL declared the deemed COD of its transmission system on April 12, 2022. Based on this, CTUIL issued transmission charge invoices, prompting Powerica to challenge the validity of the declaration and liability for charges.

CERC’s Key Rulings:

The regulator held that JKTL’s deemed COD was not valid as it was declared before obtaining full energisation approval from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The Commission ruled that the actual deemed COD should be April 27, 2022, not April 12.

CERC further held that Powerica’s liability for transmission charges should be calculated proportionate to its project’s delayed capacity and not the entire 1500 MW of the transmission system. It ruled that Powerica is liable to pay charges for 50.6 MW from April 27 to June 2, 2022, and for 26.3 MW from June 3 to August 18, 2022, when its full project was commissioned.

Invoices quashed 

The Commission quashed the June 2, 2022, bill and all subsequent invoices issued on the basis of the invalid COD and directed CTUIL to reissue bills using the revised calculation.

On Powerica’s claim of ₹1.48 crore in generation loss during a 15-day transmission line shutdown, CERC denied the compensation, finding that the outage was planned and approved, and Powerica had not issued the required notice indicating readiness to synchronize.

The case clarifies how transmission charges should be handled in instances where transmission infrastructure is ready before the generator and underscores the regulatory conditions for deemed COD under competitively bid transmission service agreements.

CERC’s ruling is expected to set a precedent for similar disputes in India’s rapidly expanding renewable energy sector.