29 June, 2011

A new inter-State power transmission charge regime is to come into effect from July 1. Under the proposed ‘Point of Connection’ (PoC) regime for calculating inter-State transmission charges and losses, wheeling power from large projects to customers across longer distances could be cheaper.

These include projects such as the 4,000-MW ultra mega power projects being developed by Tata Power and Reliance Power, where beneficiaries are spread across the regional grids.

The implementation of the new PoC model, which will progressively replace the ‘Regional Postage Stamp’ method being followed currently, could make it relatively cheaper for an upcoming power project in, say, the north-eastern State of Arunachal Pradesh to route power to the southern States of Kerala or Tamil Nadu.

“The new regulation on sharing of inter-State transmission charges and losses aims at developing a uniform transmission charge sharing mechanism among grid constituents and avoiding pancaking of transmission charges for power transmitted across regions, as is being experienced under the current (postage stamp) regime,” the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Chairman, Dr Pramod Deo, said.

He said that to begin with, a hybrid model entailing 50 per cent of the old regime and 50 per cent of the new model is being ushered in, with progressive increase in the new regime over the next three years.Under the current method being followed, states in a region share the charges and losses of transmission on a pooled basis in the ratio of quantum of power drawn through the inter-State transmission system.