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The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has announced a new additional surcharge for consumers using open access to procure electricity from sources other than the state-owned distribution companies. This surcharge will be applicable for the period between October 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
The commission’s decision is based on a detailed analysis of the data submitted by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for the period from October 2023 to March 2024. This data was certified by the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) and a Chartered Accountant, as required by earlier directives. The commission also required that the data be made available to the public on the websites of GUVNL and the state-owned distribution companies, which include Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL), Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL), Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL), and Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL).
The additional surcharge, set at ?0.93 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), will be applied to consumers who use open access to procure electricity. This means that if consumers choose to source their power from any provider other than their respective state-owned distribution company, they will have to pay this surcharge. The surcharge is calculated to compensate the distribution companies for the fixed costs they incur for maintaining generation capacity that becomes stranded when consumers shift to open-access sources.
During the assessment, the commission noted a reduction in the available energy capacity compared to the previous period. They also looked into certain blocks of time when no open access energy was scheduled. Additionally, they examined the costs associated with the allocation of power from central generating stations and the corresponding fixed costs.
The new surcharge is intended to cover the stranded generation capacity that arises when consumers use open access. The stranded capacity refers to power generation capacity that is contracted on a long-term basis by the state distribution companies but remains unused because consumers have opted to buy electricity from other sources. This unused capacity still incurs fixed costs, which the state-owned companies are obligated to pay. The additional surcharge aims to recover these costs from the open-access consumers.
The commission’s analysis considered various factors in determining the surcharge, including transmission and distribution losses, the energy supplied to the general body of consumers, and the fixed costs attributable to the stranded capacity. The stranded capacity specifically attributable to open-access users was also taken into account, along with the network-related costs already paid by these users through demand charges. The additional surcharge is designed to ensure that the financial burden of stranded capacity is shared by the consumers who choose open access, preventing the state-owned distribution companies from bearing the entire cost. This decision reflects the commission’s ongoing efforts to balance the interests of both the distribution companies and consumers in Gujarat. |
