Mumbai, July 15 -- The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has ordered state utilities to grant full open access clearance for Jindal Stainless Limited to procure 100 Megawatt (MW) of round-the-clock renewable energy for its manufacturing facility in Hisar. The order dated 23 June 2026 held that refusal to issue a full No Objection Certificate was not legally justified once operational formalities were satisfied. The commission said long-term open access has priority over temporary arrangements.

The dispute began when the State Transmission Utility, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited and the Grid Co-ordination Committee declined a full NOC for transfers from captive interstate wind?solar hybrid projects in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Jindal Stainless had sought approval to source 100 MW to meet plant demand in Hisar. Utilities cited peak summer demand of around 16,500 MW and transmission constraints, and argued that allowing long-term transfers could limit the ability to import emergency power through Temporary General Network Access (T-GNA) and raise Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) charges.

Jindal Stainless challenged the partial denial before HERC, arguing that it violated the Electricity Act, 2003 and the principle of non-discriminatory open access because the procurement would replace existing grid consumption rather than increase net demand. The company offered voluntary measures to accept complete curtailment of up to 100 MW during severe grid constraints without compensation and to bear all DSM costs and related risks. It estimated annual savings of Rs 650 mn to Rs one bn for distribution companies as a result of reduced short-term purchases.

HERC directed Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited to finalise the operational procedures, undertakings and mechanisms within two weeks and to issue the full NOC once arrangements were completed. The commission warned that denying long-term open access could discourage investment and hamper progress towards India's target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. The order requires the utility to complete formalities so the company can commence procurement of the approved 100 MW.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.