Despite Delays, OPTCL Gets CERC Nod For GNA

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in its latest order has granted a one-time relaxation to Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), allowing it to submit a delayed application for additional General Network Access (GNA) despite missing the statutory deadline.

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The Commission said the move was necessary to address procedural and operational hurdles faced by the Odisha utility and to avoid additional costs for consumers in the state.

OPTCL, which acts as the State Transmission Utility (STU) for Odisha, had sought permission to submit a request for 130 MW of additional GNA for the financial years 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28. Under CERC’s GNA regulations, such applications were required to be filed by September 30, 2024. However, OPTCL missed the deadline due to what it called “genuine administrative and procedural difficulties”.

The Commission noted that OPTCL had acted on a last-minute request from GRIDCO Limited, the state’s bulk power purchaser, which had asked for the additional access just two days before the deadline. Efforts were made to submit the application on the National Single Window System portal, but procedural delays, including the absence of a valid board resolution and a vacant CMD position from August to November 2024, made timely compliance impossible.

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OPTCL passed the required board resolutions in December 2024 and secured a digital signature certificate for its authorized officer only by January 22, 2025, the petition stated.

In its ruling, CERC invoked its special powers under Regulation 41 (Power to Relax) and Regulation 42 (Power to Remove Difficulty) of the GNA Regulations, 2022, to permit the delayed application as a one-time measure. The regulator also directed OPTCL to file a fresh application within one month of the order, and asked the Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL) to process the same within a month of its receipt.

While the Commission acknowledged that GRIDCO should have planned better, it also recognised that this was the first time STUs were responsible for submitting GNA requests under the new regulatory framework. “Given the transitional nature of this responsibility and the procedural bottlenecks cited, a one-time relaxation is justified,” the order stated.

Without the relaxation, GRIDCO would have been forced to rely on Temporary GNA (T-GNA), attracting higher transmission charges and potentially burdening end consumers in Odisha, the petition had warned.

The Commission’s ruling provides regulatory clarity and administrative relief to OPTCL while helping ensure continuity in power access planning for the state.