TNERC Floats Draft Banking Rules to Enable Green-Power Open Access

TNERC Floats Draft Banking Rules to Enable Green-Power Open Access

September 29, 2025

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission has released a draft of its 2025 regulations for Green Energy Open Access, proposing new norms to govern how surplus renewable energy is banked and utilized by open-access customers. Banking charges are pegged at 8% of the energy banked, and such banked energy must be consumed within the same billing cycle.

The proposed framework seeks to streamline access to renewable energy through the state’s intra-state transmission and distribution system (InSTS) and related networks. Banking of green energy shall be allowed only on a billing-cycle basis for open-access consumers; any surplus energy must be drawn within that cycle. For legacy wind-energy generators commissioned on or before 31 March 2018 under past schemes, a 12-month banking window from April 1 to March 31 will remain valid under earlier banking charge terms of 14% in kind. It makes this clear in the draft that generation and consumption data shall be accounted for in 15-minute time blocks for all RE generators, irrespective of their commissioning date, to enable appropriate energy accounting and grid management. Any surplus left after adjustment in each time block shall be credited as banked energy, subject to the banking charge. Similarly, any excess consumption beyond actual injection shall be billed as per the applicable consumer tariff.

As per the new regulations, open access for green energy has been divided into three tenures : long-term (over 12 years and up to 25 years), medium-term (over 3 months to 3 years), and short-term (up to one month at a time). Short-term access will be valid for only the approved period, and fresh applications will have to be made if a consumer wants to extend his/her access. The draft also provides for a national single-window system for applications under open access. It seeks to accelerate the process of approvals to reduce bureaucratic barriers. The regulations accord non-discriminatory open access to eligible RE generators, traders, licensees of distribution, and HT/EHT consumers with a minimum contracted demand criteria as specified in the draft.