TGERC tightens open-access rules, waives surcharge: Key policy moves reshaping Telangana's green-power market in 2025

TGERC tightens open-access rules, waives surcharge: Key policy moves reshaping Telangana's green-power market in 2025

July 1, 2025

In 2025, the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission issued a series of policy actions materially affecting how in-state consumers and generators use open access: the issuance of a Draft First Amendment to the 2024 Terms & Conditions of Open Access Regulation, formal regulatory activity on additional surcharge for open-access transactions-a first computation in September and a subsequent decision to keep the surcharge nil for a later period-and fresh Rooftop Solar PV rulemaking. These are supposed to bring clarity in the procedures and adjust the economics for the buyers, speeding up rooftop and green energy uptake across the state.

The most important element for market participants is the Draft First Amendment to the TGERC (Terms & Conditions of Open Access) Regulation, i.e., the amendment to Regulation No.1 of 2024. The draft – published by the Commission in 2025 – explicitly amends the procedural and operational provisions that govern intrastate open access, which covers application timelines, documentation, inter-party obligations, and the mechanics for wheeling/ scheduling. It also purportedly signals that the Commission intends to sharpen clarity where the 2024 regulation left operational ambiguity. Businesses seeking to sign third-party captive or GEOA contracts should treat this draft as the leading indicator of final rule changes and monitor the Commission’s final notification.

Closely related to transaction economics, the extra surcharge levied on open-access consumption was also treated in TGERC’s 2025 tariff/orders calendar. In late-September 2025 the regulator circulated detailed AS calculations-an interim computation showing a positive value for H2 FY2025-26-but shortly thereafter the Commission approved a nil/additional-surcharge position for the period beginning 1 October 2025 through 31 March 2026 effectively lowering the immediate incremental cost of open-access purchases for large consumers in that half-year. This sequence-computation followed by a subsequent nil-surcharge decision-is the main 2025 economic intervention market actors should note, since it alters the relative price advantage of open-access procurement versus conventional utility supply, at least for the time being.