NSEFI seeks extension of ISTS waiver till June 2026 for qualifying green energy projects
New Delhi: The
National Solar Energy Federation of India
(NSEFI) has written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) requesting a one-year extension in the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charges waiver, from the current deadline of June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2026, for
renewable energy projects
that have met specified development milestones. The federation has flagged multiple delays faced by developers despite early investments and timely actions, and proposed a milestone-based mechanism to ensure targeted relief.
In its letter dated June 3, 2025, NSEFI highlighted that the waiver of ISTS charges had been a key enabler in attracting large-scale private sector participation in renewable energy, following the Ministry of Power's announcement in November 2021. However, regulatory support through the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) only came in February 2023, delaying the effectiveness of the scheme.
The federation said that developers who had made significant financial commitments based on the initial announcement are now impacted by delays in grid connectivity, pending statutory approvals, and unavailability of transmission infrastructure. It cited several instances, including the delay in Section 68(1) approvals linked to ongoing litigation over the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard. It also mentioned the delay in operationalisation of connectivity for many developers who had applied on time, and the non-readiness of key transmission lines like Narendra–Pune, Khetri–Narela, and Koppal–Gadag.
In the letter, NSEFI argued that despite securing connectivity through applications submitted before June 30, 2023, many projects are facing setbacks beyond the developers' control. These include law and order challenges and delays in obtaining permissions at the state level. The federation urged the PMO to provide targeted relief to developers that had followed the rules and made progress on their projects but are now at risk of missing the waiver deadline due to extraneous reasons.
NSEFI proposed that the ISTS waiver be extended by one year for projects that had applied for connectivity on or before June 30, 2023, and had achieved certain measurable milestones. These include reaching financial closure, acquiring at least 50 per cent of the required land, and placing purchase orders for wind turbine generators or solar inverters.
The letter also mentioned that such milestone-based relief would not significantly impact the overall transmission pool or increase the burden on distribution companies, since it would only apply to a specific subset of projects that were originally planned to be commissioned before June 2025.
According to the federation, this proposal aligns with the intent of the Green Open Access Rules and recent Ministry of Power notifications for Battery Energy Storage and Pumped Hydro Storage projects, which also follow milestone-based eligibility criteria.
Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, Chief Executive Officer of NSEFI, stated in the letter that this approach would ensure that projects already in an advanced stage of development do not suffer due to procedural and infrastructure-related delays. He emphasised that the requested extension would help maintain investor confidence, provide continued access to affordable renewable power for consumers, and support India's goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Standard
38 minutes ago
- Business Standard
H.G. Infra Engg emerges as lowest bidder for ISTS project in Odisha
H.G. Infra Engineering has announced that it has been declared the lowest (L1) bidder for the role of Transmission Service Provider (TSP) for the development of an Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) in the state of Odisha. The project falls under the Eastern Region Generation SchemeI (ERGS-I) and was awarded through a tariff-based competitive bidding process. It includes the operation and maintenance of the transmission system for a period of 35 years. The contract will be executed on a Build, Own, Operate & Transfer (BOOT) basis, with project completion scheduled for 28 March 2028. The approved transmission charges for the project are set at Rs 431.11 million tariff per year. H.G. Infra Engineering is primarily involved in the construction of roads and highways in Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. HGIEL is accredited AA class by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Government of Rajasthan (GoR) and is registered as an SS class contractor by the Military Engineer Services (MES). The company reported a 22.65% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 146.98 crore in Q4 FY25 as against Rs 190.03 crore posted in Q4 FY24. Revenue from operations fell 20.33% YoY to Rs 1,360.89 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2025. The scrip rose 0.58% to Rs 1,109 on the BSE.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
UPI payments above Rs 3,000 may attract charges: Report
The government is considering a proposal to bring back merchant charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based transactions above Rs 3,000, as reported by NDTV Profit on Wednesday. ET in March had reported on banks sending a formal proposal to the Union government to bring back Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) on UPI payments for large merchants. In the earlier proposal sent by the lenders, it was suggested that the fee could be brought back for merchants with Goods and Services Tax (GST)-based annual turnover of more than Rs 40 lakh. However, the latest report revealed that larger transactions via UPI are likely to carry a merchant fee, exempting small-ticket transactions. MDR is the fee charged by banks to merchants for providing digital payment services. At present, RuPay debit cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments are exempted from this fee. According to the NDTV report, a meeting in this regard was held involving the PMO, Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Financial Services to examine the current policy framework for MDR. The broader picture Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The removal of MDR boosted UPI adoption but also cut off a key revenue stream for banks, fintech firms and payment service providers. By 2024, UPI's transaction volume rose to 17,221 crore, while the country's total digital payment volume reached 20,787 crore. The total value of UPI transactions grew from Rs 5.86 lakh crore in 2018 to Rs 246.83 lakh crore in 2024, making it the most dominant payment method in India. Senior bankers and analysts had told ET earlier that a large retail merchant usually gets more than 50% of its transactions via cards. They are already paying charges for other payments. Thus, a similar arrangement can support banks and payment providers in handling high-value digital transactions. The Payments Council of India, an industry body representing digital payments companies, had said in a letter to the PMO on March 24 that banks, startups and payment companies collectively spend approximately Rs 10,000 crore per year and that around 20% of Indian startups are serviced via UPI. ET has also reported that approximately 60 million merchants in the country accept digital payments, mainly UPI, and 'out of this, 90% are being categorised as small merchants.' Therefore, the zero-MDR regime is not viable in the current scenario, and the charges on high-volume UPI transactions can help recover these costs without hurting small merchants or everyday users. Also Read: ETtech Explainer: Government mulls bringing back MDR on UPI, RuPay for large merchants—what does it mean?
Economic Times
20 hours ago
- Economic Times
UPI payments above Rs 3,000 may attract charges: Report
The government is considering a proposal to bring back merchant charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based transactions above Rs 3,000, as reported by NDTV Profit on Wednesday. ET in March had reported on banks sending a formal proposal to the Union government to bring back Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) on UPI payments for large merchants. In the earlier proposal sent by the lenders, it was suggested that the fee could be brought back for merchants with Goods and Services Tax (GST)-based annual turnover of more than Rs 40 lakh. However, the latest report revealed that larger transactions via UPI are likely to carry a merchant fee, exempting small-ticket transactions. MDR is the fee charged by banks to merchants for providing digital payment services. At present, RuPay debit cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments are exempted from this to the NDTV report, a meeting in this regard was held involving the PMO, Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Financial Services to examine the current policy framework for MDR. The broader picture The removal of MDR boosted UPI adoption but also cut off a key revenue stream for banks, fintech firms and payment service providers. By 2024, UPI's transaction volume rose to 17,221 crore, while the country's total digital payment volume reached 20,787 crore. The total value of UPI transactions grew from Rs 5.86 lakh crore in 2018 to Rs 246.83 lakh crore in 2024, making it the most dominant payment method in bankers and analysts had told ET earlier that a large retail merchant usually gets more than 50% of its transactions via cards. They are already paying charges for other payments. Thus, a similar arrangement can support banks and payment providers in handling high-value digital Payments Council of India, an industry body representing digital payments companies, had said in a letter to the PMO on March 24 that banks, startups and payment companies collectively spend approximately Rs 10,000 crore per year and that around 20% of Indian startups are serviced via UPI. ET has also reported that approximately 60 million merchants in the country accept digital payments, mainly UPI, and 'out of this, 90% are being categorised as small merchants.' Therefore, the zero-MDR regime is not viable in the current scenario, and the charges on high-volume UPI transactions can help recover these costs without hurting small merchants or everyday users. Also Read: ETtech Explainer: Government mulls bringing back MDR on UPI, RuPay for large merchants—what does it mean?
