Govt waives ISTS charges on offshore wind, hydrogen, ammonia projects for 25 years

The off-shore projects commissioned from January 1, 2033, would be given graded ISTS charges. Earlier, all wind energy projects were provided waivers up to June 30, 2025.

The government on May 29 announced a complete waiver of the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charges on offshore wind, green hydrogen and ammonia projects for 25 years.

The waiver is applicable to projects commissioned till December 31, 2032, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

"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," the statement read.

A complete waiver of ISTS charges has been given for offshore wind power projects commissioned on or before December 31, 2032, for 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Power.

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The off-shore projects commissioned from January 1, 2033, would be given graded ISTS charges. Earlier, all wind energy projects were provided waivers up to June 30, 2025.

Now, offshore wind would be treated separately and waiver to these would be granted up to December 31, 2032, with graded transmission charges thereafter.

The government has also granted a complete waiver of ISTS charges for 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project for green hydrogen/green ammonia production units, using renewable energy (commissioned after March 8, 2019), pumped storage system or battery storage systems or any hybrid combination of these technologies.

"The projects commissioned on or before December 31, 2030, shall be eligible for this waiver. The projects after December 31, 2030, will attract graded transmission charges thereafter. The decision effectively extends the applicability of the waiver date from June 30, 2025, to December 31, 2030," the ministry said.

To promote the 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 the commissioning of the project. This shall be applicable in cases where construction work is awarded on or before June 30, 2025.

With PTI inputs