The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has issued an update to its regulations governing access to the inter-State transmission system (ISTS) with the notification of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State Transmission System) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2025. These extensive amendments were published on August 31, 2025.
The amendments introduce a series of new mechanisms designed to streamline processes, enhance grid efficiency, and specifically address the unique challenges of integrating renewable energy (RE) projects.
Innovative Connectivity for Renewable Energy
The most significant changes revolve around a new, time-based approach to grid access for RE projects:
The regulations introduce new definitions for “Solar hours” and “Non-Solar hours.” The National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) will declare these time blocks weekly based on anticipated solar insolation.
A new model allows solar-based projects to receive “solar hour access” for injection rights during daylight hours, while wind and energy storage systems (ESS) can get “non-solar hour access” for injection during the remaining hours. This is intended to allow multiple projects to share the same transmission capacity, significantly optimizing grid utilization.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) system has now been declared as part of the ISTS. A simplified process for connecting RE projects to the BBMB network has been introduced, with different procedures for projects above and below 5 MW.
Stricter Financial and Monitoring Frameworks
The amendments also introduce a more robust and transparent system for managing financial guarantees and project compliance:
New rules specify tiered penalties for withdrawing applications for connectivity or GNA. For instance, withdrawing before an in-principle grant results in a 50% application fee forfeiture, while withdrawal after a final grant leads to a 100% fee forfeiture and 15% of the bank guarantee (BG) being encashed.
Renewable Power Park developers with a capacity of over 500 MW can now apply for connectivity in phases, starting with a minimum of 300 MW, to better manage large-scale project implementation.
For the first time, a connectivity grantee is allowed to change their renewable energy source (e.g., from solar to wind) once, within a specific timeframe, with the Nodal Agency’s approval.
The NLDC and Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) are now mandated to monitor the utilization of connectivity and GNA. They will submit a quarterly report to the Commission and propose actions for any instances of non-optimal utilization.
Reallocation and Transfer of Capacity
The regulations create new mechanisms to ensure that transmission capacity does not remain idle:
A new process allows a connectivity grantee to reallocate its granted connectivity to a different substation within the same “Cluster of ISTS substations” if a bay becomes vacant.
The rules now permit the transfer of connectivity granted to a parent company to its subsidiary and vice versa, as well as between subsidiary companies of the same parent company.