The Ministry of Power (MoP) has granted a waiver of inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charges to offshore wind energy projects and extended the waiver to green hydrogen/green ammonia.As per the notification issued by the MoP, a complete waiver of ISTS charges was given for off-shore wind power projects commissioned on or before December 31, 2032 for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project. The off-shore projects commissioned from January 1, 2033 will be given graded ISTS charges. Earlier, all wind energy projects were provided a waiver upto June 30, 2025. Now, offshore wind would be treated separately, and waiver to these would be granted up to December 31,2032 with graded transmission charges thereafter.
The government has also granted complete waiver of ISTS charges for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project, for green hydrogen/green ammonia production units, using renewable energy (commissioned after March 8, 2019), pumped storage system or battery storage systems or any hybrid combination of these technologies. The projects commissioned on or before December 31, 2030 shall be eligible for this waiver. The projects after December 31, 2030 will attract graded transmission charges thereafter. The decision effectively extends the applicability of the waiver date from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2030.
To promote development of Pump Storage Plants (PSP), the criteria for availing the complete waiver of ISTS charges for PSP projects has now been linked to the date of award of the project rather than commissioning of the project. This shall be applicable in cases where construction work is awarded on or before 30th June, 2025.
Moreover, in case a project is eligible for waiver of transmission charges based on its original date of commissioning (COD), the same benefit will continue to be made available if COD is extended by competent authority. This is considered necessary to give confidence to the investors who are taking investment decisions based on the present circumstances but their COD may extend beyond the relevant applicable date for transmission charge waiver for reasons beyond their control. This decision has been taken to facilitate wider execution of offshore wind energy initiatives to promote the expansion of green hydrogen and green ammonia projects and to encourage the offtake of renewable energy from energy storage system projects.
