Covering 4 to 10 July 2026. Two CERC orders, one with consequences for tens of gigawatts of awarded capacity. Every item is checked against the issuing authority's own document.
1. CERC lets LoA-based projects without PPAs keep, convert or surrender their connectivity
CERC · 10 July 2026 (Petition 11/SM/2026)
Final order, following the draft of 6 May 2026 (see the 8 May edition), on connectivity granted on the basis of a renewable energy implementing agency (REIA) letter of award (LoA) where no power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed 12 months later. LoAs issued by SECI, NHPC, SJVN and NTPC from 2019 to June 2025 total 40,420 MW, with PPAs signed for only 2,338 MW. Connectivity taken using LoAs without a PPA totals 22,054.1 MW, of which about 6,346.8 MW has transmission planning issues, leaving about 15.7 GW that may be released or reused. The order is optional and covers LoAs issued from 1 January 2019 to 31 May 2025 without a PPA for full or part capacity.
REIAs give the central transmission utility (CTUIL) the list within 7 days; CTUIL publishes it and each entity has 60 days from the final list to choose, failing which it stays under the general network access (GNA) Regulations as usual. REIAs must decide on a No Objection Certificate within 15 days of an application. Option-I: exit the LoA route but keep connectivity, with a performance bank guarantee of Rs 8 lakh/MW and a fresh scheduled commercial operation date (SCOD) not later than 24 months from CTUIL's acceptance or the firm start of connectivity, whichever is later. Option-II: substitute the LoA with a PPA signed under another LoA, with SCOD within 30 months of conversion. Option-III: surrender the connectivity and get Conn-BG1, Conn-BG2 and Conn-BG3 back. Missing land, financial closure or commercial operation date (COD) milestones under Option-I means revocation and encashment of the guarantees, and the LoA becomes invalid for any other connectivity. A part surrender must leave at least 50 MW under Option-I or II.
Why it matters for wind: Wind projects awarded in central tenders often stalled without a PPA while still holding connectivity. The order sets who keeps that capacity, on what dates and guarantees, and frees about 15.7 GW for reuse by projects that can build.
Source: CERC suo motu order in 11/SM/2026
2. CERC rules that each entity sharing an ISTS terminal bay must furnish its own Conn-BG2
CERC · 7 July 2026 (Petition 21/MP/2026)
Enfinity Global Clean Energy (lead generator), EG Solaire Power and EG Pavan Surya Power each hold in-principle connectivity of 100 MW at the Kalyanpur (Jamkhambaliya-II) pooling station for proposed 100 MW wind projects, sharing one 220 kV terminal bay. On 5 December 2025 CTUIL asked EG Pavan and EG Solaire for Rs 3 crore each as Conn-BG2 under Regulation 37.10(b) of the GNA Regulations, which they furnished under protest on 5 January 2026. They asked CERC to declare the demand inapplicable, since the lead generator's Conn-BG2 already secures the bay.
CERC rejected all prayers. It held that each entity granted separate connectivity under Regulation 5.6 or 5.7 and covered by Regulation 8.2(a) must furnish Conn-BG2 for the terminal bay if the bay is on the inter-state transmission system (ISTS), and that the amount in the regulation is indicative of cost. Regulation 37.10(b) makes it mandatory for each entity sharing the bay to submit the applicable bank guarantees if they had not been furnished earlier. CERC saw no reason to use its powers to relax or remove difficulty.
Why it matters for wind: Groups aggregating a pooling-station bay across several project companies must budget a full Conn-BG2 for each entity, not rely on the lead generator's guarantee. Shared-bay structures need this cost and timing built in.
Source: CERC order in 21/MP/2026