Emblem of India featuring four Asiatic lions standing back to back on a circular base with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief.
सत्यमेव जयते
Extraordinary
Published by Authority
CAITRA 22]
THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007
[SAKA 1929
PART I—Orders and Notifications by the Governor of West Bengal, the High Court, Government Treasury, etc.
No. 35/WBERC
Dated 12.04.2007.
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 181 read with clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 39, clause (c) of section 40, sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of section 42 and section 66 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) and all powers enabling on that behalf and in supersession of notifications No. 20/WBERC dated 30th June, 2005 and No. 21/WBERC dated 21st September, 2005 published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary on 30th June, 2005 and 21st September, 2005 respectively, the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission hereby makes the following regulations:—
2.1 In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Act” means the Electricity Act, 2003;
(b) “ABT” means the Availability Based Tariff as specified in the Tariff Regulations;
(c) “Area Load Despatch Centre” or “ALDC” has the same meaning as assigned to it in the State Grid Code;
(d) "Backup Power" means the power supplied to an Open Access Customer, other than a Licensee or a generating company excluding a Captive Generating Plant, out of the available power of the Connected Licensee when power from open access source is not available to the Open Access Customer or as and when required;
(e) "Bulk Power Transmission Agreement" means the open access agreement under regulation 12.1(a) between the Open Access Customer and the Transmission Licensee for transmission or wheeling of power through the Transmission Licensee's transmission lines/system;
(f) "Bulk Power Wheeling Agreement" means the open access agreement under regulation 12.1(a) between the Open Access Customer and the Distribution Licensee for wheeling of power through the Distribution Licensee's distribution system and associated facilities;
(g) "Capacity Charges" means the capacity charges as specified in the Tariff Regulations;
(h) "Captive Generating Plant" means the Captive Generating Plant as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(i) "Commission" means the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission;
(j) "Connected Licensee" means a Licensee or any person who is engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under the Act or any other law for the time being in force and whose works are connected with the premises of any person including an Open Access Customer;
(k) "Distribution Licensee" means a Distribution Licensee as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(l) "Distribution System Network" means the distribution system of a Distribution Licensee in his area of supply;
(m) "emergency requirement" means the requirement of supply of Start-up Power or survival power for generating stations in case of total power failure and/or power for failure in supply of power from open access source of an Open Access Customer for which there may be threat to public safety;
(n) "Energy Charge" means the energy charge as specified in the Tariff Regulations;
(o) "Force Majeure Event" means the Force Majeure Event as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(p) "Incidental Power" means the power supplied by a Connected Licensee to an Open Access Customer, other than a Licensee or a generating company excluding a Captive Generating Plant, by virtue of connectivity with the grid and incidental due to stoppage of power from open access source till receipt of intimation by the Open Access Customer at the drawal point that power from his open access source is not available;
(q) "Intending Distribution System User" means the person who, being eligible for open access in distribution system, has applied for allocation of or increase in allocated capacity rights for the purpose of wheeling and has agreed to the carrying out of works on obtaining such access;
(r) "Intending Transmission System User" means the person who, being eligible for open access in transmission, has applied for allocation of or increase in allocated capacity rights for the purpose of transmission and has agreed to the carrying out of works for obtaining such access;
(s) "Licensee" means the holder of a licence granted by the Commission including a deemed Licensee under 1st to 5th proviso to section 14 of the Act, persons exempted under section 13 or 8th proviso to section 14 of the Act and the holder of a licence granted by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission;
(t) "Long Term Customer" means an Open Access Customer availing Long Term Open Access;
(u) "Long Term Open Access" means a period of 15 years or more for which Open Access Customer has availed or intended to avail open access;
(v) "Nodal Agency" means the Nodal Agency as specified in regulation 9;
(w) "Open Access Customer" means a person using or intending to use the transmission system or the distribution system of any Licensee(s) or any person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under the Act or any other law for the time being in force in the State for transmission and wheeling of electricity and includes a person who has availed or intends to avail open access under section 42 of the Act;
(x) "open access source" means a generating station or any person holding appropriate licence for distribution or trading of electricity from which/whom the power can be accessed by an Open Access Customer;
(y) "Ownership" of a generating station or Captive Generating Plant shall have the meaning as has been prescribed in the Electricity Rules, 2005;
(z) "Regulations" means the regulations made under the Act;
(aa) "RLDC" means the RLDC as defined in the State Grid Code;
(bb) "Rules" means the rules made under the Act;
(cc) "Safe Capacity" means continuous current carrying capacity considering outage of the largest element in such transmission and associated system or as stipulated in the planning criteria by the appropriate authority;
(dd) "Short Term Customer" means an Open Access Customer availing Short Term Open Access;
(ee) "Short Term Open Access" means a period not exceeding four months at a stretch for which an Open Access Customer has availed or intends to avail open access;
(ff) "SLDC" means the SLDC as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(gg) "Standby Power" means power supplied to an Open Access Customer, other than a Licensee or a generating company excluding a Captive Generating Plant, by the Connected Licensee against booking of a reserved generation capacity by such Open Access Customer or reserved allocation for such Open Access Customer when power from open access source is not available to the Open Access Customer or as and when required but subject to Force Majeure Event;
(hh) "Start-up Power" means the power required by any generating station or Captive Generating Plant for black start-up or cold start-up of the generating station within the State;
(ii) "State" means the State of West Bengal;
(jj) "STU" means the STU as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(kk) "Tariff Regulations" mean the regulations specified by the Commission under section 61 of the Act;
(ll) "Transmission Licensee" means the Transmission Licensee as defined in the Tariff Regulations;
(mm) "Transmission System" means the Transmission System as defined in the Tariff Regulations.
2.2 Words or expressions used and not defined in these regulations but defined in the Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.
4.1 Transmission: Subject to the provisions of these regulations, a Licensee or a generating company or a Captive Generating Plant or a consumer or any person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under the Act or any other law for the time being in force or any other person shall be eligible for open access to the intra-State transmission lines or associated facilities of the STU or any Transmission Licensee on payment of the charges, as may be specified by the Commission, for using the transmission system of the Transmission Licensee.
4.2 Distribution: Subject to the provisions of these regulations and the regulations made under fifth proviso to sub-section (2) of section 42 of the Act, a Licensee or a generating company or a Captive Generating Plant or a consumer or any person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under the Act or any other law for the time being in force or any other person shall be eligible for open access to the distribution system and associated facilities of a Distribution Licensee on payment of charges, as may be specified by the Commission, for using the distribution system and the associated facilities of the Distribution Licensee.
4.3 A Short Term Customer shall be eligible and also re-eligible to obtain fresh reservation of capacity for open access after expiry of his term, subject to the provisions of these regulations.
4.4 A person having been declared insolvent or bankrupt shall not be eligible for open access.
4.5 A person having outstanding dues of any Transmission Licensee or Distribution Licensee, against billing, for two months or more shall become eligible for open access only after clearing his outstanding dues.
4.6 If an applicant for open access has already been charged for having committed any offence under the Act, his application for open access shall be considered only after a competent court of law clears him of the charges.
4.7 An Open Access Customer, after expiry of his open access term, will not have any priority for getting open access under any new application for open access by virtue of his earlier status of Open Access Customer.
A Distribution Licensee using intra-State transmission lines and/or the distribution systems and associated facilities with such lines and systems in the State on the date of coming into force of these regulations under an existing agreement shall be entitled to continue to avail open access on such transmission and distribution systems along with the associated facilities on the same terms and conditions of the existing agreement and on payment of transmission charges and wheeling charges as may be determined by the Commission from time to time.
However, where the Distribution Licensee is using such facilities not under an existing agreement but through an informal arrangement then a formal agreement shall be signed by the Distribution Licensee on such terms and conditions which are otherwise in line with the existing arrangement for a period of 2 years and on payment of such transmission charges and wheeling charges as may be determined by the Commission from time to time.
6.1 The priority for allowing open access to the following categories of Open Access Customers shall be as per the following descending order of priority:
(a) A Distribution Licensee to the extent of its requirement for its consumers within the State and for supplying power to other Licensees.
(b) Power fully based on cogeneration within the State.
(c) Power fully based on wind.
6.2 (a) The inter se priority within each category of Open Access Customers as mentioned in regulation 6.1 shall be decided on first come first served basis.
(b) The Long Term Customers shall have priority over Short Term Customers within each category.
(c) In case of intra-State transmission and/or wheeling through a network of any Licensee, the SLDC may reduce or cancel transmission and/or wheeling capacity reserved for an Open Access Customer, if any problem arises for congestion subsequent to granting and/or starting of such open access operation. Such reduction/cancellation by the SLDC shall be in the reverse order of allotment priority mentioned in regulation 6.1. The decision of the SLDC to reduce or cancel transmission and/or wheeling capacity temporarily or permanently shall be intimated by the SLDC to the Open Access Customer as soon as possible.
6.3 Notwithstanding anything contained in regulations 6.1 and 6.2, the Commission may, by order, change the priority of allotment of open access to enable flow of adequate power to consumers providing essential services including public pumping station, medical care, mass transportation, dairy, airport, underground mines, etc. or when unforeseen natural calamities or other emergencies seriously disrupt public life.
6.4 Notwithstanding anything contained in regulations 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3, the open access for emergency requirement shall have the highest priority.
6.5 The Open Access Customers will have to indicate in their applications for open access the potential hazards concerning public safety in line with the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and any other law as applicable. On the basis of such declaration and subject to approval by the Commission after due consideration of such declaration the Open Access Customer will be listed for open access from different sources for emergency requirement.
6.6 The trial run requirement for assessing technical feasibility of power flow from one point to another point is to be decided by the Transmission Licensee or the Distribution Licensee, as the case may be, and accordingly scheduling is to be done with due consultation with the SLDC.
The capacity available for open access shall be considered after taking into account the following factors:
(a) In respect of transmission lines and associated systems forming part of evacuation system of a generating station, load flows anticipated on line at assessed output from the generating station with outage of any one of the single or double circuit line emanating from the generating station.
(b) (i) Maximum load on such transmission and associated system recorded during the previous year vis-à-vis Safe Capacity of such system;
(ii) The appropriate load growth potential on such transmission and associated system;
(iii) Additional investment planning on new lines or improvement in lines/systems;
(iv) The capacity already allotted for open access for the relevant period;
(c) The open access for Long Term Customer shall be allowed in accordance with the transmission planning criteria specified in the State Grid Code.
Notwithstanding anything laid down hereinbefore, if the injection point of an open access source and open access drawal point are within the area of a single Distribution Licensee without involving any other distribution system of any other Distribution Licensee or transmission system of any other Transmission Licensee, such Open Access Customer shall pay the charges specified under regulations 14.3.5 and 14.3.6 to the Nodal Agency instead of the person as specified in the regulations concerned. Other applicable charges, however, shall be paid as per these regulations.
9.1 The Nodal Agency for arranging the Long Term Open Access within the State shall be the STU if its system is used. Otherwise, the Nodal Agency shall be the Transmission or the Distribution Licensee in whose system the point of drawal of electricity is located.
9.2 The Nodal Agency for Short Term Open Access and open access for emergency requirement and trial run within the State shall be the SLDC.
(Non-Refundable for Open Access Customer)
| Location of open access Drawal Point | Location of open access source | Nature of open access source for Supply/Time of Supply | Application Fees for different categories of Open Access Customers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Term | Short Term | |||
| Within West Bengal other than Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | Within West Bengal | Co-generation & Renewable | 50,000.00 | 5,000.00 |
| Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | 10,000.00 | 2,500.00 | ||
| CCGT – Combined Cycle Gas Turbine CCT* – Cleaner Coal Technology |
60,000.00 | 7,500.00 | ||
| Others | 1,00,000.00 | 10,000.00 | ||
| Outside West Bengal | Power for Peak Hours | 5,000.00 | 2,500.00 | |
| Power round the Clock | 35,000.00 | 20,000.00 | ||
| Power for Normal Hours | 15,000.00 | 7,500.00 | ||
| Power for Off-peak Hours | 40,000.00 | 20,000.00 | ||
| Outside West Bengal | Within West Bengal | Renewable and Co-generation | 50,000.00 | 5,000.00 |
| Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | 10,000.00 | 2,500.00 | ||
| Others | 1,00,000.00 | 20,000.00 | ||
| Power drawal by Pumped Storage Plant within West Bengal | Anywhere | Any Type | 5,000.00 | 1,000.00 |
*Note: Cleaner Coal Technology means super critical pulverized coal fired thermal power technology, fluidized bed combustion, integrated coal gasification combined cycle thermal power technology, etc.
(b) A Licensee, for using the intervening transmission facility of any other Licensee, shall apply, in Format 1, to the Commission under section 35 of the Act and the fee for such application shall be as per the application fees for respective categories as mentioned in the table in clause (a) and shall be payable to the Commission.
(c) Any application for open access and grant of such open access is case specific in terms of capacity allotted, the injection point, drawal point and period for such open access.
(d) Any other information/details that may be required by the concerned Transmission Licensee(s)/ STU/SLDC/ Distribution Licensee(s) / Commission shall be provided promptly by the applicant.
10.2 The Nodal Agency shall decide on the availability of transmission and/or wheeling capacity for open access.
(a) The Nodal Agency shall, in consultation with the SLDC, the Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s) concerned, and based on system studies of the Licensee(s) concerned, if required, assess the capacity available and communicate the decision, either in Format – 2 or in Format – 2A, to the applicant within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application.
(b) In case open access can be provided without any further system strengthening, the Nodal Agency shall give consent in the Format – 2 for Long Term Open Access to the applicant within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application.
(c) If in the opinion of the Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s) further system strengthening is essential before providing Long Term Open Access, the applicant may request the Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s) concerned, as the case may be, to carry out system studies and preliminary investigation for the purpose of arriving at cost estimates and completion schedule for system strengthening plan. The Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s) concerned shall, on receipt of such request, intimate estimated expenditure for carrying out such study within thirty days from the date of receipt of such request from the applicant.
(d) The Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s), as the case may be, shall carry out the studies as mentioned in clause (c) immediately on deposit of estimated expenditure by the applicant and intimate the results of the studies to the Nodal Agency, SLDC (if different from Nodal Agency), applicant, STU (if different from Nodal Agency) and Commission within 90 days from the date of deposit of amount of the estimated expenditure by the applicant.
(e) The applicant shall bear the actual expenditure incurred by the Transmission Licensee(s) and/or the Distribution Licensee(s), as the case may be, in this respect within the limit of cost estimate intimated by the Licensee concerned. Actual expenditure shall be subject to the scrutiny of the Commission. Adjustments, if any, will be made accordingly within the ceiling of 105% of the cost estimate.
(f) In case the system requires strengthening, subject to approval of such strengthening by the SLDC (if different from Nodal Agency) and the STU (if different from Nodal Agency), the cost for such strengthening shall initially be paid by the applicant to the concerned Licensee(s) as an advance, if it is for exclusive use of the applicant and the advance shall be refunded by the licensee(s) concerned to the Open Access Customer in seventy two equal monthly instalments. Any such extension or augmentation of the network will become the property of the Licensee(s).
(g) In case any strengthening is required in inter-State transmission system to absorb/evacuate power beyond intra-State transmission system, the applicant shall co-ordinate with the STU and CTU concerned as deemed necessary.
(a) The floor price for bidding for reservation of transmission or wheeling capacity shall be the charges for Short Term Open Access related to transmission or wheeling, as the case may be, as determined in accordance with regulations 14.3.1 or 14.3.2.
(b) The bidders shall quote price in terms of the floor price.
(c) No bidder shall be allowed to quote price, which is more than eight times the floor price in case of intra-State transmission system.
(d) Reservation of transmission or wheeling capacity shall be made in decreasing order of the price quoted.
(e) In case of equal price quoted by two or more bidders, the reservation of transmission or wheeling capacity shall be made pro rata to the transmission or wheeling capacity sought to be reserved.
(f) The Short Term Customer getting reservation for capacity less than the capacity sought by him and the Short Term Customers getting transmission or wheeling capacity reservation equal to the capacity sought to be reserved, shall pay the charges quoted by him.
In addition to the time schedule specified under regulations 10.3 and 10.4 for processing applications for advance reservation, as far as practicable, the following time schedule shall be adhered to by the Nodal Agency for processing the application for grant of open access, namely:—
| Sl. No. | Type of Service/Activity | Maximum Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Short term Service (for the period to be treated on first-come-first-served basis) | |
| Up to one week | 2 days | |
| More than a week | 3 days |
(i) The advance payment of transmission and wheeling charges, operating charge and application fee shall not be insisted upon. These payments can be made within 3 working days from the date of filing the application.
(ii) In the event of emergency, the beneficiaries/buying utility may locate a source of power to meet short term emergency requirement on the same day and forward request for open access to the SLDC through the ALDC. The SLDC shall endeavour to accommodate such requests for emergency requirement as soon as and to the extent practically feasible. Open access for emergency requirement will be decided by the SLDC on requisition from Open Access Customer or generating station depending on the grid condition and State Grid Code.
(d) Open Access for Trial Run: In case of open access for trial run purpose the period shall not be more than 15 days.
Provided that, subject to regulation 28, the decision of the Nodal Agency to utilize inherent design margins for Short Term Open Access will be final.
In case of any dispute regarding availability of transmission and/or wheeling capacity for open access between the applicant/Open Access Customer and the Licensee or between Licensees or between a Licensee and the STU and/or the SLDC, as the case may be, the aggrieved party may file a petition along with all necessary documents before the Commission for adjudication / settlement of the dispute within 60 days from cause of action.
An Open Access Customer who has been allowed open access shall enter into commercial agreements with the Transmission and/or Distribution Licensee(s), generating companies, electricity traders and others as are applicable to him. In case of open access by a consumer whose open access source is a Captive Generating Plant of which the Open Access Customer is the sole owner, no agreement between the Open Access Customer and the owner of the open access source is required. The agreements shall to the extent applicable, inter alia, provide for the eventuality of pre-mature termination of the agreement and its consequences on the contracting parties, duration of the agreement, the maximum power to be wheeled, the point of injection, the point of drawal, duration and hours of availing open access, the time slabs, payment of wheeling charges, transmission charges and other charges, mode of payment, security deposit/advance payment including manner of payment of charges, metering of injection of energy and drawal of energy, manner of meter reading and its accounting, penalty and the charges for non-compliance of the direction of the SLDC, compliance mechanism of Grid Code and State Grid Code, billing system and payment thereof.
Provided that no separate arrangement for Incidental Power is required to be made in the agreement where the unscheduled interchange charge at drawal point is applicable to the Open Access Customer as per the Tariff Regulations:
Provided further that the Distribution Licensee shall not pass any losses, arising out of such agreement, to its other consumers or other Licensees:
Provided further that such agreement needs to be consistent with the State Grid Code:
Provided further that in case of constraints for shortage of power or outage of transmission line or distribution facilities at that time when power from Connected Licensee is drawn by the Open Access Customer, the Connected Licensee may treat the Open Access Customer like other consumers for the purpose of distribution of electricity subject to the terms and conditions of the above agreement:
Provided also that any direction or order given by the Commission or the Appropriate Government as mentioned in the regulation 25 shall have overriding effect over such agreement.
In case the Open Access Customer wants Stand-by Power, the agreement mentioned in clause (b) shall provide for the arrangement of capacity charge recovery from the Open Access Customer executing such agreement against the reserved capacity on the basis of advance payment of the proportionate capacity charges of such reserved capacity for the Open Access Customer only to the extent stipulated and agreed to in the agreement in order to avail such power:
Provided that no part of such capacity charge of the reserved capacity shall be recoverable from other Open Access Customers and/or other consumers of the Licensee:
Provided further that in addition to such capacity charge, the Open Access Customer is required to pay energy charge at a tariff agreed to by the Open Access Customer and the Licensee in the agreement for the purchase of quantum of energy from such Stand-by Power source:
Provided further that no part of such energy charge for supply of energy to the said Open Access Customer from that reserved capacity shall be recovered from other Open Access Customers and/or other consumers of the Licensee.
Provided further that when generation from such stand-by capacity is not required by the Open Access Customer, the Distribution Licensee can sell the generation from such capacity to any person without affecting the right of the Open Access Customer for drawing power from such generation, as and when required, in pursuance of the agreement in order to reduce the portion of the annual aggregate revenue requirement that is to be recovered from the core-business of the Licensee and on account of consumers in his area of supply only:
Provided also that the Licensee shall have no obligation under section 43 of the Act to supply Stand-by Power:
12.2 After the agreements have been entered into, copies of the same shall be furnished to the SLDC. The SLDC shall, within 3 days from the date of receipt of the copies of the agreements, inform the Open Access Customer as also all Licensee(s) concerned the date from which the open access will be available.
12.3 The power flow under the open access allocation shall not be effected unless the agreements as per regulation 12.1 are executed and the process under regulation 12.2 is completed.
12.4 (a) If an Open Access Customer, who has been permitted to avail open access under regulation 10 or regulation 11, does not execute the open access agreements, as mentioned in regulation 12.1, within 45 days from the date of such permission, the permission to avail open access shall be deemed to have been cancelled immediately without any further notice. Once allotment of open access is cancelled, the Open Access Customer shall have to apply as a new applicant for grant of open access, if required, at a later stage.
Provided that such extension of time shall not be more than 90 days from the date of granting of open access.
Provided also that such extension will be allowed only if there is no other person seeking open access using the same capacity, which has been granted for allotment.
13.1 In case an Open Access Customer is unable to utilize, full or substantial part of the capacity allotted to him, he shall inform the concerned Licensee, STU and SLDC giving reasons for his inability to utilize the capacity in full or in part, as the case may be, and may surrender the capacity allotted to him.
13.2 (a) The SLDC may reduce/cancel the allotted capacity of an Open Access Customer who is frequently under-utilizing the capacity allotted to him or not utilizing the same and if the customer is not able to give sufficient reasons within a reasonable time for such non/under-utilization.
(b) The capacity, which remains unutilized out of the allotted capacity of an Open Access Customer, cannot be transferred in favour of another person by the Open Access Customer. Grant of all open access shall be person and case specific as mentioned in regulation 10.1(c).
(c) However, if any Open Access Customer does not use his allotted open access capacity within 40 days from the date of execution of the agreements as mentioned in regulation 12, the grant of open access under regulation 10 or regulation 11 shall be deemed to have been cancelled automatically and the relevant open access agreements as per regulation 12 shall be deemed to have been terminated forthwith. Once allotment of open access is cancelled, the Open Access Customer shall have to apply as a new applicant for availing open access, if required, at a later stage.
13.3 The transmission and/or wheeling capacity becoming available as a result of surrender by the Open Access Customer under regulation 13.1 or as a result of reduction or cancellation of the reserved transmission and/or wheeling capacity by the SLDC/Nodal Agency, may be reserved for any other Open Access Customer in accordance with these regulations.
13.4 An Open Access Customer, whose capacity has been reduced or cancelled, shall, in addition to discharging his contractual obligations, pay full charge for scheduling and system operation, as has been fixed by the Commission from time to time on full open access capacity allotted to him for the remaining period of the allocation. However, if the unutilized capacity is being used by any other Open Access Customer or any Licensee, proportional charges are to be borne by the original Open Access Customer to the extent of under-utilisation.
13.5 Notwithstanding any allocation for open access, it shall be lawful for the Distribution Licensee to utilize for the purpose of effecting supply for other purposes (except providing open access to any other Open Access Customer), at any point of time, any portion of allotted capacity, if and to the extent found underutilized by the Open Access Customer.
13.6 The Open Access Customer, the Licensee(s), the generating company(ies) and the electricity trader(s) shall be liable / responsible to follow the instructions of the SLDC from time to time in regard to optimum scheduling in despatch of electricity, safe and secured grid operation, keeping records for energy accounting, grid discipline, economic operation of the relevant grid in accordance with the Grid Code and State Grid Code. The Open Access Customer, the generating company(ies), the Licensee(s) and the electricity trader(s) shall follow the provision of the Act, applicable Rules, Regulations and Codes. Flow of power between point of injection and drawal should be on real time basis.
13.7 The relinquishment of rights and obligations by a Long Term Customer shall be subject to payment under regulation 13.4 and/or payment of fixed/capacity charges applicable, if any, of the Licensee concerned for the rest of the period, as may be determined by the Commission.
14.1 Different charges for use of the facilities of a Transmission Licensee or a Distribution Licensee shall be regulated as under:
14.2 In case intra-State transmission system and/or distribution system within the State is used by an Open Access Customer in addition to inter-State transmission system, separate charges shall be payable for the power being conveyed on intra-State transmission system and/or distribution system in addition to payment of transmission and other charges for inter-State system. The Open Access Customer shall directly pay the charges to the respective agencies providing open access as specified/determined by the Commission.
14.3 For the purpose of these regulations, the charges for intra-State transmission system and distribution system shall mean charges and expenses on account of the following heads:
$$ST_RATE = 0.25 \times [TSC / Av_CAP] / 365$$
Where:
(i) ST_RATE is the rate for Short Term Customer in Rs. per MW per day;
(ii) ST_RATE shall be calculated and applied for transmission system of the STU or any other Transmission Licensee forming part of intra-State transmission system.;
(iii) "TSC" means the Annual Transmission Service Charges as specified in the Tariff Regulations.
(iv) "Av_CAP" means the average capacity that is actually transmitted for Long Term Customer in MW as will be decided by the Commission or as will be determined in the relevant transmission tariff order, if any, by the Commission in accordance with the Tariff Regulations.
(f) The transmission charges payable by a Short Term Customer in case of uncongested transmission network shall be levied as under, namely:
| Hours of open access per day | Proportion of Transmission charge |
|---|---|
| (i) Up to 6 hours in a day in one block | 1/4th of transmission charge of relevant Short Term Customer. |
| (ii) More than 6 hours and up to 12 hours in a day in one block | 1/2 of transmission charge of relevant Short Term Customer |
| (iii) More than 12 hours and up to 24 hours in a day in one block | Equal to transmission charge of relevant Short Term Customer |
Provided that the above rates are not applicable to those Short Term Customers who have their drawal point within the State and injection point outside the State:
Provided also that the transmission charges payable by a Short Term Customer where capacity has been reserved through bidding process shall be as per regulation 10.5.
| Location of open access Drawal Point | Location of open access source | Nature of open access source for Supply/Time of Supply |
|---|---|---|
| Within West Bengal other than Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | Within West Bengal | Co-generation & Renewable |
| Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | ||
| CCGT* – Combined Cycle Gas Turbine | ||
| CCT* – Cleaner Coal Technology | ||
| Outside West Bengal | Others | |
| Power for Peak Hours | ||
| Power round the Clock | ||
| Power for Normal Hours | ||
| Outside West Bengal | Within West Bengal | Power for Off-peak Hours |
| Non-conventional, Renewable, Co-generation | ||
| Hydro Pumped Storage Plant | ||
| Others | ||
| Power drawn by Pumped Storage Plant within West Bengal | Anywhere | Any Type |
*Note: Cleaner Coal Technology means super critical pulverized coal fired thermal power technology, fluidized bed combustion, integrated coal gasification combined cycle thermal power technology, etc.
Provided that such wheeling charge shall be as per regulation 10.5 where the capacity has been reserved through bidding process.
Reactive energy charges shall be such as given in the Schedule.
Meter reading and other related charges shall be such as given in the Schedule.
The Handling & Service charges shall be such as given in the Schedule.
The fee and charges payable to SLDC under sub-section (3) of section 32 of the Act shall be such as may be specified by the Commission from time to time.
(a) A twenty-hour day-ahead schedule shall be submitted by the Open Access Customer for both drawal and injection of active power on 15-minute time block basis to the SLDC as specified in the Tariff Regulations. Un-scheduled interchange charges for deviation from the Schedule shall be paid at such rates as specified in the Tariff Regulations.
(b) Notwithstanding anything specified hereinbefore, if the injection point of an open access source and open access drawal point are within the area of a single Distribution Licensee without involving any other distribution system of any other Distribution Licensee or transmission lines of any other Transmission Licensee, such Open Access Customer shall pay un-scheduled interchange charges for deviation from the Schedule to the Distribution Licensee at a suitable rate as agreed under any agreement between the Distribution Licensee and the Open Access Customer:
Provided that the Distribution Licensee shall not pass any losses, arising out of such agreement, to its other consumers or other Licensees.
Any Intending Transmission System User is entitled to obtain access to the intra-State transmission system in accordance with these regulations subsequent to payment of Transmission System Access Charges (TSAC) to the Transmission Licensee concerned as agreed to in Bulk Power Transmission Agreement when such TSAC consists of the following expenditure:
Any Intending Distribution System User is entitled to obtain access to the distribution system in accordance with these regulations subsequent to payment of distribution System Access Charges (DSAC) to the Distribution Licensee concerned as agreed to in Bulk Power Wheeling Agreement when such DSAC consists of the following expenditure:
Explanation: For the purpose of these regulations, avoided cost shall be computed as under:
Weighted average of unit cost of pooled power purchase variable cost* and own generation fuel cost (against sent out energy), if any per unit
$$\frac{(100 - T \text{ & D Loss in percentage as allocable for the relevant open access case}) \times 0.01}{1}$$
*Where the power purchase cost is in single part the separation of capacity cost and variable cost will be as per the decision of the Commission.
14.3.12 On an application by any Licensee, the Commission may, by order, require any other Licensee owning or operating intervening transmission facilities to provide the use of such facilities to the extent of surplus capacity available with such Licensee at rates, charges and terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon:
Provided that any losses incurred for such agreement shall not be allowed to be recovered through the tariff from other consumers or Licensees.
Provided also that if the rates, charges and terms and conditions cannot be mutually agreed upon by the Licensees, the rates, charges and terms and conditions as specified in these regulations shall apply.
Any other charges prescribed under any Rule is to be borne by the Open Access Customer if it is applicable to him.
The technical loss for transmission and distribution system for different voltage level will be as under for the purpose of these regulations:
| EHV | — | 4% of the energy at the point of injection at this voltage level. |
| HV | — | 8% of the energy at the point of injection at this voltage level. |
| LV&MV | — | As will be determined by the Commission from time to time. |
Provided that within a category, all Open Access Customers shall have same curtailment priority and shall be curtailed pro rata to the allotted transmission and/or wheeling capacity in the case of Long Term Customers and the reserved transmission and/or wheeling capacity in the case of Short Term Customers:
Provided also that during emergency requirement, as decided by the SLDC or the ALDC, the curtailment may be as per decisions of the ALDC and/or the SLDC.
22.1 In case of curtailment of more than 50% of the reserved transmission capacity by the SLDC on any particular day on account of transmission constraints, the transmission charges for that day shall be payable by the Short Term Customers on pro rata basis in accordance with the transmission capacity actually provided.
22.2 In case of curtailment of more than 50% of the reserved wheeling capacity by the ALDC on any particular day on account of wheeling constraints, the wheeling charges for that day shall be payable by the Short Term Customers on pro rata basis in accordance with the wheeling capacity actually provided.
The SLDC, STU and Licensee concerned shall post the information as may be directed by the Commission from time to time on its website in a separate page titled “Open Access Information” and shall issue a quarterly report containing such information.
Every Transmission Licensee shall declare the existing Long Term Customers using its transmission system (including self use) on its website or the website of the State Load Despatch Centre concerned latest by 1. 4. 2008.
In case of any unethical practice or gaming by any person including an Open Access Customer, through power injection or drawal or change of status, the Commission may, by order, issue necessary directions which shall be binding on all parties concerned.
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of these Regulations, the Commission may, by general or special order, direct the STU, SLDC, Licensees, electricity traders, generating companies and Open Access Customers to take such action, not inconsistent with the Act, as may appear to the Commission to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removal of the difficulty.
28.1 In the event of any dispute on any or all of the following, the same shall be referred to the Commission for decision:
28.2 The Commission, while deciding any dispute under these regulations or otherwise, by a general or special order made from time to time, may lay down, if required, the conditions to be complied with by the Licensees concerned, STU, SLDC and Open Access Customer in regard to operation constraints and the open access shall be allowed only subject to the due satisfaction of such conditions.
29.1 The Commission, at any point of time, at its own discretion, may vary, alter, modify, add or amend any provisions of these regulations.
29.2 The Commission may, at any time and at its discretion, modify the Schedule through notification.
29.3 Nothing in these regulations shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent powers of the Commission to make such orders as may be necessary for meeting ends of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the Commission.
30.1 The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Open Access) Regulations, 2005 issued under Notification No. 20/WBERC dated 30th June 2005 and published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, on 30th June 2005 and The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Open Access – Schedule of Charges, Fees & Formats for Open Access) Regulations, 2005 issued under Notification No. 21/WBERC dated 21st September 2005 and published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, on 21st September 2005 are hereby repealed.
30.2 Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action already taken under the repealed Regulations, shall in so far as it is not inconsistent with the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Open Access) Regulations, 2007, be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Open Access) Regulations, 2007.
(See regulations 14.3.3, 14.3.4 and 14.3.5)
If the voltage at the point of drawal is below 97% of the normal voltage, the Open Access Customer shall pay @ 6 paise/kvarh to the concerned Licensee for drawal of reactive energy at the drawal point. If at the injection point the voltage is higher than 103% of normal voltage, the Open Access Customer shall pay @ 6 paise/kvarh to the concerned Licensee for injection of reactive energy at the point of injection. Both drawal and injection of reactive energy shall be measured at 15 minutes time block along with voltage.
Charges for meter reading and other related charges including the charge for communicating the meter reading to SLDC shall be paid by the Open Access customers @ Rs. 2,000.00 per month for each meter and shall be paid to the Licensee, who is rendering such services, on monthly basis.
[See regulations 10.1 (a) & (b) and 16.1]
(Licensees to submit licences valid under the Act. Others to submit documentary evidence in support of above.)
Name :
Designation :
Phone Numbers (Off): (Res):
(Fax): (Mobile):
e-mail id :
| Period | Time Period | Capacity needed / Max. power to be conveyed |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (Date) | To (Date) | From (Hrs.) | To (Hrs.) | (MW) |
Name :
Point of Injection :
Name of concerned SLDC :
Name :
Point of Drawal :
Name of concerned SLDC :
(Please mark as appropriate)
Long Term Open Access :
Short Term Open Access :
Bank Draft/Pay Order No.
Dated:
In favour of :
Payable at :
Signature:
Name:
Designation:
Seal of the office of the Applicant:
Place:
Dated:
Enclosures:
Copy:
Note: In the event the application is made under regulation 10.1(b), full particulars relating to the intervening transmission facility are to be provided in the application.
| Date & Time of Receipt of Application | (To be filled in by Nodal Agency) |
| --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
(To be issued by Nodal Agency/SLDC)
[See regulations 10.3 (a) & (b) and 16.2]
| Period | Time Period | Capacity needed / Max. power to be conveyed (MW) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (Date) | To (Date) | From (Hrs.) | To (Hrs.) |
| Period | Time Period | Capacity needed / Max. power to be conveyed (MW) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (Date) | To (Date) | From (Hrs.) | To (Hrs.) |
Agreement/MOU Details (needs to fill up only relevant agreement details)
| With | No. | Date | Valid up to | Max. MW |
Capacity already Utilized earlier |
Balance MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ------ | ----- | ------ | ------------- | ------------ | -------------------------------------- | --------------- |
Signature: _____
Name: _____
Designation: _____
Seal of the office of the Nodal Agency/SLDC
Place: _____
Dated: _____
To: _____
(Applicant) _____
Copy:
ANNEXURE – 2
(To be issued by Nodal Agency / SLDC)
[See regulations 10.3 (a) & (b) and 16.2 ]
| 1. Name of the Customer | : | |||
| 2. Name of Injecting Agency | : | |||
| 3. Name of Drawee Agency | : | |||
| 4. Name of other Agencies involved, if any | : | |||
| 5. Open Access Capacity Applied | : | |||
| Period | Time Period | Capacity needed / Max. power to be conveyed (MW) | ||
| From (Date) | To (Date) | From (Hrs.) To (Hrs.) | ||
| 6. Open Access cannot be granted immediately due to the following reasons: (Attached sheets, if required, including extracts of relevant correspondence with appropriate Licensees) |
||||
| Signature: | ||||
| Place: | Name: | |||
| Dated: | Designation: | |||
| Seal of the office of the Nodal Agency/SLDC | ||||
| To: | ||||
| (Applicant) ..... | ||||
| Copy: | ||||
| (a) SLDC (if different from the Nodal Agency); | ||||
| (b) Transmission Licensee (if different from the Nodal Agency and who own the transmission line through which power is/are to be transmitted). | ||||
| (c) Distribution Licensee (if different from the Nodal Agency and in whose distribution network the point of drawal of power is located). |
By Order of the Commission,
Place: Kolkata
Date: 12.04.2007
K. L. BISWAS,
Secretary of the Commission.