Why in News?

• The first batch of auctioned 126 MW wind power capacity Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected wind energy projects have been commissioned in India.
• These projects were tendered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in November 2016 under Tranche I.

Key Highlights:

• Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) conducted India’s first auction of wind power projects in February 2017.
• In this the tariff of Rs. 3.46 was discovered, which was much lower than feed in tariffs in vogue those days.
• Under ISTS power generated from one state (renewable resource rich state) could be transmitted to other renewable deficient states.
• A part capacity of 126 MW, located in Bhuj (Gujarat) was Commission. The energy generated from this project is being purchased by Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and UP.
• The auction signified a major shift from the earlier regime of state-specific Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) model to a Pan-India, market-driven mechanism

ISTS:

• Grant of Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) and other related matters, Regulations, 2017 provide for interstate transmission.
• It would allow for more than one power generator to share a dedicated transmission line that connects their generating stations to the ISTS polling station.
• This will be done after all aspects of the sharing are formalized among the generators, including the sharing of transmission charges and transmission line losses among the generators.