Renewable energy industry representatives have sought the waiving of a cross subsidy surcharge (CSS) levied by States on transmission.
In a letter to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal, the Renewable Energy Welfare Society (REWS) has said thatCSS is the main inhibitor for small investors to play their role in India’s clean energy vision. The letter noted that CSS is more than ₹3 per unit in some States and the cost per unit becomes even higher with the transmission and wheeling charges.
According to The Business Line, the letter said that different state have different provisions of relaxation for RE but hardly any State has full exemption on both on wind and solar. The CSS is an inhibitor to third party sale under open access from renewable energy projects. Due to higher CSS, the industry finds it difficult to buy power under open access from RE generators and is forced to buy it from the discoms at a relatively higher price.
The letter also said reverse auctions in solar and wind have brought down the cost of electricity and constrained margins.
