CERC (Sharing of Inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 — draft

Comments due: 27 November 2026

CERC proposes longer ISTS waivers for storage paired with RE, relief for projects delayed by transmission, and contract-wise treatment for pumped storage. A supplementary draft of 26 October 2026 rewrites the transmission-delay waiver; comments on it are due by 27 November 2026.

What changes

1. ISTS waiver for battery storage integrated with RE or hybrid plants extended from 12 to 25 years from the storage COD.
2. Storage buying power on the Green Day-Ahead Market may count that energy toward the 51% condition for the waiver.
3. Pumped storage falling below the 51% threshold gets waivers worked out contract by contract.
4. Wind, solar and hybrid projects delayed by transmission keep a graduated waiver (100% down to 25%) if connectivity falls between July 2025 and June 2028, a PPA of 7+ years is signed by December 2026, and commissioning follows within 2 months of network access.
5. Eligible contracts to be filed with CTUIL and NLDC by 31 January 2027.
6. Revised transmission deviation treatment for entities connected to both STU and CTU; implementing agencies to publish procedures within 60 days.
7. Supplementary draft (26 Oct 2026): the waiver baseline for transmission-delayed projects becomes the later of the CTU-communicated connectivity start date at PPA/PSA signing and the SCOD in the PPA/PSA.
8. Waiver runs for the PPA/PSA tenure, capped at 25 years in total, and ends if the contract is terminated early or the generator moves to a new buyer; projects already commissioned may opt in if they meet the other conditions.
9. Where power is sold through a trader or REIA, the SCOD in the back-to-back PSA with the buyer is the baseline; a PPA with the intermediary alone is not enough.

Who is affected

RE developers · BESS developers · Pumped storage · CTUIL · NLDC · Discoms

Original comment window closed 15 Sep 2026 (hearing held 28 Sep). CERC issued a supplementary draft notification on 26 Oct 2026, following Ministry of Power office memoranda of 16 Apr and 5 Oct 2026; comments on it are due by 27 Nov 2026.

Sources

• CERC supplementary draft notification, 26 Oct 2026 (official)OFFICIAL
• CERC public notice inviting comments by 27 Nov 2026 (official)OFFICIAL
• CERC explanatory memorandum to supplementary draft (official)OFFICIAL
• CERC original draft amendment (official)OFFICIAL
• Indian Infrastructure, 4 Aug 2026

Last checked 27 October 2026. Summary for information; rely on the official gazette text.