Odisha Regulator Notifies Open Access Charges for 2020-21

Odisha, which has had a relatively better record on the electricity distribution front in recent years, has just had the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission notify charges for the year 2020-21. These new charges will be effective from Oct 1, 2020. While usually the charges would have run to Mar 31, 2021, due to the exceptional circumstances prevailing currently, no end date has been specified, making these tariffs valid till the next order.

The story is good for renewable energy generators in the state, with the regulator continuing with zero cross-subsidy surcharge for consumers availing open access power from renewable sources. Valid till a limit of 1 MW. Transmission and wheeling charges remain as expected, at 20 percent, except for power generation from cogeneration and biomass power projects.

The normative transmission loss at EHT (3.0%) (Extra High Tension)  and normative wheeling loss for HT(High Tension) level (8%) have been assumed for the year .

The open access charges joined a slew of other tariff orders released by the commission, from retail, to bulk consumers.

Odisha has the Green Energy Development Corporation (GEDCO), and the Odisha Renewable Energy Development agency (OREDA) to spearhead the state’s renewable energy push. The sate has just about 475 MW of solar power installed in the state, with another 460 MW in the pipeline. The state has set a target of 1500 MW by 2022 to meet its renewable energy targets. Floating solar plants with a capacity of 500MW are also planned in association with the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation.