How industrial consumers procure electricity — and at what price.
The Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022 reduced the open access threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW. The CERC First Amendment introduced the VPPA framework, a 4× multiplier for offshore wind RECs, and a 3× multiplier for pumped hydro. For energy-intensive industries, the ability to procure renewable electricity is simultaneously a cost lever, a CCTS Scope 2 reduction tool, and a CBAM embedded emission management mechanism.
How industrial consumers procure electricity — and at what price — is one of the most consequential operational decisions in energy-intensive manufacturing. These regulations govern it. India’s electricity market was fundamentally restructured by the Electricity Act in 2003, which introduced competition in generation and created the legal basis for open access. The Green Energy Open Access Rules of 2022 substantially simplified this process, lowering the procurement threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW. CERC amendments have further strengthened the framework with the VPPA structure under Regulation 14A, a 4× multiplier for offshore wind RECs, and a 3× multiplier for pumped hydro RECs.
For energy-intensive industries — aluminium smelters, steel plants, cement kilns, and fertiliser units — the ability to procure cheap renewable electricity through open access has become simultaneously a cost management tool, a CCTS Scope 2 GEI reduction lever, and a CBAM embedded emission reduction mechanism. A state that implements the Green Energy Open Access Rules faithfully creates an entirely different investment case for industrial decarbonisation than one that imposes high cross-subsidy surcharges or slow approval timelines.
Electricity Act, 2003
The foundational legislation for India’s power sector. It introduced competition into generation and supply, unbundled transmission from distribution, created independent regulatory bodies at the central and state level, and established the legal framework for open access. The open access provisions are the legal gateway for industrial consumers to procure cheaper electricity — including renewable power — directly from generators.
Read the official Act →Green Energy Open Access Rules, 2022
The most significant liberalisation of industrial electricity procurement in years. Reduced the minimum open access threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW, making green power procurement accessible to mid-sized industrial consumers for the first time. Mandated state regulators to process applications within defined timelines and prohibited arbitrary denial on grounds of grid stability without evidence.
Ministry of Power notification →Green Energy Open Access (Amendment) Rules, 2024
Notified by the Ministry of Power, this critical amendment allows industrial entities with multiple smaller connections (such as distributed cement grinding units or ancillary facilities) to aggregate their load to meet the 100 kW minimum threshold. Crucially, it also exempted electricity generated from offshore wind projects from cross-subsidy surcharges and additional surcharges, materially improving the commercial viability of round-the-clock (RTC) green power.
Ministry of Power website →CERC Policy Amendments
CERC amendments have introduced significant structural shifts, including a 4× multiplier for offshore wind RECs, reflecting their higher capacity utilisation, and a 3× multiplier for pumped hydro storage RECs. Additionally, the introduction of the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) framework allows industrial consumers to access renewable energy attributes without physical wheeling — materially expanding the scale of procurement.
CERC official website →Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) Waiver
The ISTS waiver removes transmission charges for renewable energy transported across state boundaries on the national grid. Without the waiver, transmission charges add Rs 0.40 to 0.60 per unit to delivered electricity cost. The waiver has made it economically viable for industrial consumers in one state to procure renewable energy from generators in another — a cement plant in Rajasthan procuring offshore wind from Gujarat, for example.
Ministry of Power website →CERC Open Access Regulations
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s open access regulations govern how non-utility entities access the transmission grid for power purchase transactions. They cover short-term, medium-term, and long-term open access, set rules for power exchange operations, and administer the Renewable Energy Certificate mechanism. CERC orders are legally binding and set precedents that influence how state regulators interpret their own rules.
CERC official website →