CERC Refrains From Penalizing Southern States For Power Over Drawl 

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The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), in its latest judgment, has warned the southern Indian states against ignoring the warnings from the regional load despatch centers. The Commission, however, refrained from levying penalties on the state utilities for the same.

The case came to the fore when the Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre (SRLDC) moved the CERC seeking its intervention into the issue. SRLDC is s responsible for the integrated operation of the electricity grid in the Southern Region. 

It comprises the power systems of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry and parts of Goa. Its petition said that some states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu overdrew the power from February 2022 to April 20, 2022. This allegedly led to critical operational conditions due to the curtailment of grid frequency. 

“Under such stressed conditions, massive over-drawl from the grid by several constituents aggravated the situation further and led to prolonged periods of low-frequency operation, as indicated…. Any untoward tripping or incident during such stressed operational condition would have led to a major disruption/disturbance in the grid,” the petition read. 

It also said they sent the warnings to the concerned states for follow-up actions. The CERC in its judgment, also asked the SLDC (State Load Despatch Centre) to mention the prevailing grid frequency in their communication to the state utilities for better communication. It also said that communication sent by the SRLDC should be sufficiently clear so that the responding entity would understand the emergency state, the break of clause and the RLDC direction. 

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The order also said that the state SLDC should monitor its overdrawl rather than wait for a message from the RLDC. 

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“In light of the above discussions and an action plan finalized in consultation with States, at present, we are not inclined to levy a penalty at this stage. In case the Petitioner faces any issues regarding the implementation of the action plan or non-compliance of directions issued by the Petitioner, it may approach the Commission as per law.