Covering 16 to 22 May 2026. A substantial connectivity draft leads the week. Every item is checked against the issuing authority's own document.
1. CERC issues draft fourth amendment to the connectivity and GNA regulations
CERC · 20 May 2026
The draft CERC (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State Transmission System) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 proposes a new exit route: where two years or more separate the likely start date in the in-principle grant of connectivity from the start date in the final grant, the grantee may seek withdrawal of the full connectivity quantum with return of all connectivity and land bank guarantees, if the request is made within 30 days of the final grant. A second change of source would be permitted on payment of Rs 50,000/MW, and the reference point for the first source change moves from 18 months to 6 months before the firm start date.
Where a single letter of award or PPA covers projects at multiple locations, connectivity at each location would be limited to the lower of the award or PPA quantum and the installed capacity there, with land or a land bank guarantee for the balance; the draft's worked example includes a 500 MW wind project, with 400 MW on the award and 100 MW on land documents. The draft also adds a route for generating stations, including renewable stations, to seek non-solar hour access only, sets 15-day deadlines from the effective date of GNA for land and financial closure documents, and moves bank guarantee release from five equal parts over five years to within one week after expiry of one year from commercial operation. Comments are due by 22 June 2026.
Why it matters for wind: These rules set how long developers must keep connectivity bank guarantees alive, when land and finance documents fall due, and how a single award can be split across wind sites in more than one state. The non-solar hour access route also gives generators that do not need full-day access a separate path.
Source: CERC draft Connectivity and GNA (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 · MNRE Policy & Regulatory Updates, May 2026
2. CEA invites comments on Amendment-II to the transmission planning criteria manual
CEA · 19 May 2026
CEA has written to stakeholders inviting suggestions and comments on the draft of Amendment-II to the Central Electricity Authority (Manual on Transmission Planning Criteria), 2023. Comments are to be sent by 8 June 2026 so they can be considered while finalising the amendment.
Why it matters for wind: The manual sets the criteria used to plan transmission networks, and the evacuation capacity available to new wind projects depends on how those criteria treat renewable generation and resulting augmentations.