The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has issued an Interim Order on Petition No. 80/TT/2025 related to the determination of transmission tariff for several assets under the Transmission System Strengthening Scheme for the evacuation of power from Solar Energy Zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW) under Phase-II-Part B1. The petition was filed by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), a deemed transmission licensee, seeking approval for tariff from the Commercial Operation Date (COD) up to March 31, 2024. The approval request was made under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions of Tariff) Regulations, 2019.

The Interim Order, dated December 5, 2025, was issued by a Coram comprising Chairperson Shri Jishnu Barua and Members Shri Ramesh Babu V., Shri Harish Dudani, and Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon. The petition listed multiple Respondents, including state electricity distribution companies such as Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, and major private distribution utilities, including BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited. Central Transmission Utility of India Limited (CTUIL) was also included as a respondent in the case.

The petition primarily dealt with tariff determination for various transmission assets, including 400/220 kV and 765/400 kV Inter-Connecting Transformers (ICTs), and STATCOM (Static Synchronous Compensator) installations located at the Fatehgarh-II and Bhadla-II substations in Rajasthan. These assets consist of multiple high-capacity transformers, such as the 400/220 kV, 500 MVA ICTs and the 765/400 kV, 1500 MVA ICTs. Additionally, the petition includes key reactive power management systems like the ±600 MVAr STATCOM at Bhadla-II and two ±300 MVAr STATCOM units at Fatehgarh-II.

During the hearing held on November 20, 2025, representatives of PGCIL requested the Commission to approve an interim tariff of 80 percent of the Annual Fixed Charges (AFC) claimed for the assets under the petition. Taking the submissions into account, the Commission decided to allow only 70 percent of the AFC as an interim tariff for most of the transmission assets. This approval was granted under Regulation 10(3) of both the 2019 and 2024 Tariff Regulations after carrying out a preliminary prudence check of the AFC claimed and considering the time overrun encountered in commissioning the assets. The Commission noted that a detailed examination of time delay and cost components will be undertaken during the final tariff determination.

For instance, Asset-1, which includes the 400/220 kV 500 MVA 9th ICT, had a claimed AFC of ₹210.10 lakh for FY 2022–23 (for 120 days on a pro-rata basis) and ₹668.15 lakh for FY 2023–24. Against this claim, the Commission approved interim tariffs of ₹147.07 lakh for 2022–23 and ₹467.71 lakh for 2023–24, based on the 70 percent allocation rule.

However, the Commission declined to grant interim tariff approval for Asset-10, Asset-11, Asset-12, Asset-13, Asset-14, Asset-15, and Asset-16B. These assets fall under Regulation 5(2) of the 2019 Tariff Regulations and Regulation 5(1) of the 2024 Tariff Regulations, which require more detailed scrutiny before any decision can be made. The final tariff for these assets will be addressed in the subsequent detailed order.

The interim tariff allowed will apply from the respective CODs of the assets, and the charges are subject to adjustment as per Regulation 10 of both the 2019 and 2024 Tariff Regulations.

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