The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is likely to announce the rules for pricing of power transmission between states in a few months time to make possible the entry of private sector companies in the sector.

CERC chairman Pramod Deo said, "With more independent power projects and merchant power plants, the power can be sold anywhere, for which we are coming up with a new regulation. The question arises that the cost of laying transmission network is more, but who pays for that and how to recover that cost."

The commission will therefore come up with regulations to make transmission cost shared by all users and to provide open access to transmission utilities to buy power from the electricity surplus states for the medium term. CERC is likely to come up with rules on medium-term access for up to three years, since it had rules for short-term access of up to one year, and long-term access of more than 25 years, with nothing in between.

This is in response to the state load dispatch centres-responsible for monitoring generation, transmission and distribution of power in a particular state- who many a times deny open access in inter-state power transmission.

Also See:

CERC announces new tariff regulations for next five years (20-Jan-09)