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					</table>The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://rerc.rajasthan.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RERC</a>) has approved the detailed procedure for granting green energy open access (GEOA) in the state in line with the RERC (Terms and Conditions for Green Energy Open Access) Regulations, 2025.
RERC had issued the Green Energy Open Access (GEOA) Regulations, 2025, in July 2025, to promote the use of renewable energy through open access.
Under these regulations, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RVPNL) prepared a detailed procedure for processing applications for green energy open access.
Applicability
The procedures will apply to the registration and applications for long, medium, and short-term green energy open access for using intra-state transmission and distribution systems of the state’s licensees, received by the state transmission utility (STU) or the state load dispatch center (SLDC).
These will also apply to the registration and applications for the grant of GEOA by availing general network access (GNA) or temporary general network access (TGNA).
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants for GEOA must have a valid grid connectivity approval from the STU or the distribution company (DISCOM) for injection and drawal points before commencing power supply. Conditional open access for newer projects can be granted based on feasibility approvals for connectivity. These approvals will be subject to achieving physical connectivity before the power flow.
Consumers with a contract demand or sanctioned load of at least 100 kW are eligible for GEOA. Captive consumers have no minimum load requirement. Further, captive renewable energy projects can be set up to meet up to 200% of the contract demand, subject to compliance with applicable GEOA regulations and technical requirements.
The Commission also directed the procedures to ensure a unified mechanism for applications or fee issues for multi-connection consumers.
The Commission stated that terms not defined in the procedures will be governed by the Electricity Act, 2003, the GEOA Rules, 2022, and the RERC Regulations, 2025, for legal precision and uniform interpretation.
Transparency Requirements
Information on approvals, rejections, revisions, and curtailments must be made available through a web-based portal for green energy open access.
Transactions already scheduled must be curtailed in a manner that would relieve transmission constraints or enhance grid security.
In cases of curtailment or cancellation of transactions, short-term transactions will be cancelled first, followed by medium and long-term transactions. Short-term open access bilateral transactions will be curtailed first, followed by collective transactions. Open access to DISCOMs will be curtailed last.
Open access for intrastate transactions will be curtailed before interstate transactions.
SLDC, STU, DISCOM Roles
SLDCs will be the nodal agency for registering the intra-state entities intending to avail interstate or intrastate GEOA. They will provide standing clearance or concurrence for the intrastate entities to avail short-term GEOA on interstate networks in conjunction with intrastate networks.
Additionally, SLDCs will process bilateral short-term GEOA applications at the intrastate level. They will also update all the information on application processing and registration on the GEOA portal.
STUs will be the nodal agencies for processing bilateral long- and medium-term intrastate-level GEOA applications. The Central Nodal Agency will exchange registration and application information with the STU for registered participants via the green open access registry (GOAR) portal.
While processing the applications, STUs will collect additional information on the application for grid-connected intra-state entities intending to avail of intra-state GEOA under long and medium-term open access. These applications will be processed in line with existing rules and the state electricity regulatory commission regulations.
STUs will furnish any information sought by the Central Transmission Utility for processing interstate GNA of an intra-state entity.
DISCOMs will facilitate non-discriminatory open access to embedded entities per the RERC (Terms and Conditions for Green Energy Open Access) Regulations, 2025. They will examine the technical feasibility of open access and ensure compliance with the eligibility criteria. They will also ensure compliance with the eligibility criteria for applying for GEO under the relevant procedures before the NOC is issued.
DISCOM NOC 
RERC also decided that registration as a captive project and an undertaking to consume 51% of the energy is sufficient at the pre-no-objection certificate (NOC) stage for an NOC from the DISCOMs. It directed that DISCOM approval for NOC will be deemed accepted if no response to the application is received within seven days. The Commission accepted the suggestion to place the consumers connected at voltage levels up to 33 kV under the DISCOMs’ purview.
Long, Medium-Term Open Access
The STU will process the long- or medium-term GEOA applications in coordination with the SLDC and the DISCOMs. They must approve or reject the applications within 15 days.
Energy Banking
The Commission modified the procedure to clarify that energy banking will be allowed for captive consumption within the state, with a 30% monthly consumption ceiling for projects with contract demand over 100% and up to 200%, on a billing cycle basis, with pro-rata treatment.
Interstate Transactions
The Commission added a provision for cases in which a GEOA transaction involves intrastate transmission/distribution systems that are incidental to interstate transmission. The provision states that for transactions involving interstate transmission (where the state network is incidental to it), the procedure will also apply to registration and applications for GEOA using general network access or temporary-general network access.
NOAR Interoperability
The Commission allowed the stakeholders’ suggestion that applicants registered with the National Open Access Registry (NOAR) must not be required to register with the GOAR or state portals. It added a provision stating that for interstate open access consumers already registered on NOAR, the nodal agency must ensure interoperability between NOAR, the GOAR, and the state portal. It added that data already available on NOAR/GOAR will be treated as valid for the State portal.
Conditional Open Access Approval
RERC granted conditional open access approval based on feasibility approval and a notarized undertaking regarding the expected commercial operation date (COD). The open access will only become operational after the final COD certificate is submitted.
CSS and Security Deposit
The Commission directed that the cross-subsidy surcharge or additional security deposit for captive users must not be included in the three-month advance security, provided that if the captive criteria are not met at the end of the financial year, the consumer must top up the deposit to include the surcharge or deposit with interest within 30 days.
Application Cancellation
Applications of consumers violating the RERC regulations or the STU projects, or not paying the applicable charges, will be cancelled. The STU can stop open access after giving a 15-days’ notice and still receive its dues. SLDCs can refuse scheduling and ask for disconnection, and DISCOMs can request disconnection for non-payment of charges.
Access can be restored after the 15-day notice period, upon payment of dues, with a fee of ₹25,000 (~$277.73). Continued default will result in permanent cancellation of the open access request and deemed relinquishment with relinquishment charges.
Recently, RERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rajasthan-regulator-adopts-tariff-for-nvvns-500-mw-1000-mwh-bess-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> tariffs ranging from ₹216,000 (~$2,514.36) to ₹219,000 (~$2,469.37)/MW/month for NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam’s 500 MW/1,000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems in Rajasthan.
Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.

Rajasthan Electricity Regulator Approves Green Energy Open Access Procedure

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					</table>Rajasthan has an estimated spare transmission capacity of up to 13 GW in the financial year (FY) 2026 for future renewable energy projects, according to the state’s load dispatch center, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (<a href="https://energy.rajasthan.gov.in/rrvpn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RVPNL</a>).
Rajasthan will have up to 1.4 GW of spare transmission capacity in FY 2027 and up to 3.9 GW of capacity in FY 2028. The available transmission capacity will drop to 1.9 GW by FY 2029.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87567 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2.png" alt="" width="847" height="260" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2.png 847w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-300x92.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-768x236.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-650x200.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-844x260.png 844w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-624x192.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/RVPNL-1-2-600x184.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 847px) 100vw, 847px" /></a>
The state has approved transmission capacity for renewable energy projects of more than 1 GW, comprising 997.21 MW for solar/biomass projects, and 105.7 MW for wind projects.
According to RVPNL, at the existing and newly approved 400 kV grid substations, the state will have spare grid capacity of only 1,900 MW in FY 2029. Currently, it has no approved capacity.
At the existing and newly approved 220 kV grid substations, the state will have capacity available until FY 2028. As per RVPNL estimates, the state will have spare transmission capacity of 4,375 MW in FY 2026, 200 MW in FY 2027, and 3,330 MW in FY 2028.
At the 220 kV level, the state has approved transmission capacity for renewables of up to 706 MW, comprising 653 MW for solar/biomass projects and 53 MW for wind projects.
At the existing and newly approved 132 kV grid substations, transmission capacity will be available until FY 2028. At the 132 kV level, Rajasthan will have 8,965 MW of spare transmission capacity in FY 2026, 1,155 MW in FY 2027, and 600 MW in FY 2028.
The state has approved a total transmission capacity of up to 396.9 MW for renewable projects, comprising 344.2 MW for solar projects and 52.7 MW for wind projects at the 132 kV level.
Between March and August 2025, Rajasthan <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rajasthan-curtails-4-gw-of-renewables-as-transmission-delays-mount" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experienced</a> significant curtailments of up to 4 GW of solar and wind generation due to inadequate transmission infrastructure.
According to Grid-India’s ‘Operational Feedback on Transmission Constraints (April-June 2025)’ report, a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/transmission-system-delay-stalls-evacuation-of-8-1-gw-renewables-in-rajasthan">delay</a> of over 18 months in commissioning a transmission system strengthening program has created bottlenecks for evacuating 8.1 GW of power from a renewable energy zone in solar-rich Rajasthan.

Rajasthan May Have 13 GW of Spare Grid Capacity for Renewables in FY 2026

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://rerc.rajasthan.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RERC</a>) has declined the plea made by the Railway Energy Management Company Limited (<a href="http://remcl.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">REMCL</a>) seeking credit of energy generated from a captive wind power project.
<a href="http://energy.rajasthan.gov.in/content/raj/energy-department/jaipur-vidyut-vitran-nigam-ltd-/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.</a> (JVVNL) and <a href="http://energy.rajasthan.gov.in/content/raj/energy-department/rajasthan-rajya-vidyut-prasaran-limited/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rajasthan Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd.</a> were the respondents to this petition.
Case in a Capsule:
REMCL had contracted INOX Renewable Limited to develop a wind power project having a capacity of 26 MW on October 16, 2015, in Jaisalmer district for the captive use of West Central Railway (WCR).
Power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed between REMCL and West Central Railways, per which energy generated by the wind projects was to be supplied to WCR for its captive use in Rajasthan to three Traction Sub Stations (TSSs) namely: Bharatpur, Hindaun City, and Ramganj Mandi. The wind generated from the project was to partly meet the requirements of these stations.
A wheeling and banking agreement (WBA) was signed between REMCL, INOX Renewable Limited, and JVVNL, for a period of 25 years. A wheeling agreement was also signed between REMCL and RVPNL for the transmission of 26 MW power to the three traction sub stations on RVPNL’s system.
Railways is a deemed licensee under the third provision of Section 14 of Electricity Act, 2003. Later, REMCL on behalf of Northern Railway and WCR, invited bids for the procurement of 220 MW of power and Jindal India Thermal Power Limited (JITPL) was awarded the capacity.
After getting the status of deemed licensee, REMCL requested JVVNL to consider the deemed termination of the existing wheeling and banking agreement. This was requested considering that the West Central Railways was no longer a consumer of JVVNL for the three traction sub stations.
Consequently, JVVNL effected the disconnection of the three sub stations and terminated the agreement in January 2017.
However, JVVNL refused to account for the energy generated from the wind power project and that was consumed at other traction sub stations. Later, REMCL requested RERC to direct JVVNL to account for the energy generated from the captive wind power project.
After examining the submissions made by parties, the RERC opined, “After the termination of WBA and disconnection as H.T. consumer, no contract/agreement exists between REMCCL and JVVNL. After the termination of agreement, there is no privity of contract between the parties during the disputed period and therefore, JVVNL is not under any obligation for payment of electricity injected into the system.
The commission was of the view that REMCL had no reason to claim payment for the electricity supplied to the grid after the termination of their agreement.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/remcl-tenders-54-mw-wind-maharashtra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In July 2018</a>, REMCL tendered 54 MW of wind projects to be developed in the state Maharashtra.

Railways’ Request for Energy Credit from Captive Wind Project Rejected

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