Open Access Regulations & Applicable Charges Manual & Reference Guide 2022

Open Access in India was introduced to ease the purchase of electricity by commercial and industrial consumers. According to sub-section 2, of section 42 of the Electricity Act 2003, electricity consumers now have the right to procure power from the supplier of their choice other than the distribution company that they were buying from. 

They can use the existing transmission and distribution infrastructure after paying appropriate charges determined by their respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) For e.g., a consumer in Assam has the right to select any generator for supplying electricity to his desired destination by using the existing transmission and distribution network. This generator chosen may be generating power in Assam or any other State in India.

Over the past decade, open access has been quite a successful business model, as there has been a spurt in the industrialization and commercialization and so is the cost of electricity for these C&I consumers. It is pertinent to note that over the last decade many micro, small and medium enterprises have mushroomed across the country with major concentration in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal followed by Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra. Besides, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat & Bihar too are hubs for MSMEs in India posing good business case for open access. 

Further, the growth witnessed in the commercial establishments such as IT parks, data centers, corporate parks, food parks, recreational hubs etc., that too has accentuated the volume of OA transactions in these states. Another state that is witnessing a good traction of industries off late is Chhattisgarh. The focus areas of the state government for setting up industries is electronic and engineering , food processing , ethanol , gems and jewellery & forest produce. With such more industry clusters planned across the state in Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh there is a vast untapped market for green open access as the state is giving impetus on developing renewable energy sources. 

Further, the state has also increased the tune of renewable purchase obligation (RPO) from 17.5 % to 21.18 % from 2019 till 2022. Moreover, with the recent Green Open Access Rules (GOAR), 2022 in picture the open access transaction has been reduced from 1MW to 100 KW for green energy to enable small consumers to purchase renewable power through open access, this further strengthens the case for green open access not only in Chhattisgarh but in other states as well.