The Hindu Business Line : Norms for ensuring higher degree of stability — Regulatory commission issues revised electricity grid code

The new code, which will take effect from April 1, has provisions for ensuring greater accountability among stakeholders to ensure higher degree of grid stability.

According to a CERC statement, the reorganisation of the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) will lead to the formation of a large number of independent entities (generating companies, transmission and distribution licensees) in each State and consequently a large number of such intra-State entities in each region.

The code provides that operation of all entities within the State would be coordinated by the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) concerned which, in turn, would coordinate with the Regional Load Despatch Centre (RLDC) on real-time basis.

The RLDC would henceforth issue the regional energy accounts. Earlier, these accounts were issued by the Regional Electricity Boards, which are in the process of being replaced by the Regional Power Committees as per the notification of the Ministry of Power of May 2005, it said.

The Regional Power Committees shall also have representations from IPPs and electricity traders in addition to generating, transmission and distribution utilities, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and RLDCs.

A new chapter on inter-regional energy exchanges has been added with a view to enhance grid security and energy balancing among the five electrical regions in the country. In order to improve grid voltages, the revised code proposes to apply reactive energy charges at the rate of five paise per unit of reactive power on power flows on all inter-State transmission lines. The rate shall increase by 5 per cent every year thereafter, the release said.

For clear chain of accountability, each State as a whole shall be treated as a single entity in the regional grid for the purpose of allocations from Inter State Generating Station (ISGS), daily scheduling and despatch.

The Grid Code has been finalised after consultations with stakeholders including CEA , Power Grid, NTPC Ltd, NHPC, PTC Ltd, SEBs and the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions.

With improvement in frequency regime after the implementation of the availability-based tariff in the country, it has become possible to introduce Free Governor Mode of Operation (FGMO) of generating units that automatically corrects frequency fluctuations. However, generators have shown certain difficulties and to overcome them, an expert team involving the CEA has been constituted, which is visiting various power stations and testing various control models for FGMO implementation. The commission shall separately announce a timetable for implementation of the FGMO . Now every State Electricity Regulatory Commission is required to issue a State Grid code consistent with the one specified by CERC, it said.