In a major decision, the Union Government has decided to grant waiver of ISTS charges to Off-Shore Wind Projects and extend the waiver to Green Hydrogen/Green Ammonia. This decision has been taken to facilitate wider execution of offshore wind energy initiatives, to promote the expansion of Green Hydrogen / Green Ammonia Projects and to encourage the offtake of renewable energy from Energy Storage System Projects.
As per the notification issued by Ministry of Power, a complete waiver of ISTS charges (Inter-State Transmission Charges) has been given for off-shore wind power projects commissioned on or before 31st December, 2032 for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the Project. The off-shore projects commissioned from 1st January, 2033 would be given graded ISTS charges. Earlier, all wind energy projects were provided waiver up to 30.06.2025. Now, offshore wind would be treated separately, and waiver to these would be granted up to 31st Dec, 2032 with graded transmission charges thereafter.
The government has also granted complete waiver of ISTS charges for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project, for Green Hydrogen/Green Ammonia production units, using Renewable Energy (commissioned after 8th March 2019), Pumped Storage System or Battery Storage Systems or any hybrid combination of these technologies. The projects commissioned on or before 31st December, 2030 shall be eligible for this waiver.
To promote development of Pump Storage Plants (PSP), the criteria for availing the complete waiver of ISTS charges for PSP projects has now been linked to the date of award of the project rather than commissioning of the project.
