CSERC Grants Open Access Exemption For Captive Solar Power Without Dedicated Feeders

M/s Abis Exports (India) Pvt. Ltd., engaged in the business of poultry, animal and fish feed, oil refinery, and dairy farming, approached the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) seeking exemption from the requirement of having dedicated feeders to avail open access for solar power at their user ends. The company has already commissioned two 12 MWp solar PV plants and recently added a third 12 MWp solar unit at Mehrumkhurd (Chaweli) in Rajnandgaon district, Chhattisgarh. This new plant, meant for captive use, is connected to the 33/11 kV Mehrumkhurd substation of the state distribution utility CSPDCL.

Abis Exports intends to draw solar power at three different consumer locations, all currently connected through multi-consumer 33 kV feeders. These locations are at Mehrumkhurd (900 kVA), Mahuljhopdi (600 kVA), and Sukhri (5,600 kVA), with respective solar power shares of 20%, 10%, and 70%. Given the negligible drawl from each site, the company argued that it is not feasible to establish dedicated feeders for each consumer end.

The company requested CSERC to grant them exemption under clause 5(5) of the CSERC Open Access Regulations, 2011, and allow power drawl through the existing common feeders. They also assured to installation ABT meters with automatic meter reading (AMR) facilities and RTUs for data communication with the SLDC, and to comply with any load restrictions or technical conditions imposed by CSPDCL or the transmission company CSPTCL.

CSPDCL, in its response, initially pointed out some confusion in the details provided by the petitioner but later acknowledged that the three consumer points indeed represent captive usage. They had no objection to the exemption, subject to conditions such as non-claim for outages on common feeders and compliance with metering regulations. CSPTCL also agreed to the exemption on similar terms and confirmed that their network could technically support the power transmission from the solar plant to the user points.

After reviewing all submissions and documents, CSERC ruled in favor of the petitioner. The Commission granted exemption from the requirement of dedicated feeders for open access under the relevant regulations. This decision is contingent on the petitioner meeting all technical and operational conditions laid out by both the distribution and transmission utilities.