1. Short title and commencement. (a) These regulations shall be called the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Procedure, Terms and Conditions for grant of Trading Licence and other related matters) Regulations, 2004.

(b) These regulations shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions and Interpretation. (1) In these regulations unless the context or subject-matter otherwise requires,

(a) Act means the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003);

(b) Applicant means a person who has made an application to the Commission for grant of licence for inter-State trading :

Provided that such person is a resident of India, or a partnership firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), or a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or an association or body of individuals whether incorporated or not or an artificial juridical person subject to Indian laws;

(c) Agreement means the agreement entered into between the electricity trader and the seller of electricity on the one hand and the electricity trader and the buyer of electricity on the other;

(d) Commission means the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission referred to in Section 76 of the Act;

(e) Conduct of Business Regulations means the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1999, as amended from time to time and includes any statutory re-enactment thereof;

(f) Grid Code means the Grid Code specified by the Commission under clause (h) of sub-section (1) of Section 79 of the Act and includes the Indian Electricity Grid Code applicable on the date of commencement of these regulations;

(g) Inter-State trading means transfer of electricity from the territory of one State to the territory to another State by an electricity trader;

(h) Licence means a licence granted under Section 14 of the Act to undertake inter-State trading in electricity as an electricity trader;

(i) Licensee means a person who has been granted a licence under Section 14 of the Act to undertake inter-State trading in electricity as an electricity trader;

(j) Other Business means any business of the licensee other than the licensed business of inter-State trading;

(k) Year means a period of twelve months from 1st April of a calendar year to 31st March of the following calender year.

(2) Save as aforesaid and unless repugnant to the context or the subject-matter otherwise requires, words and expressions used in these regulations and not defined, but defined in the Act, and the Grid Code shall have the meanings assigned to them respectively in the Act or the Grid Code.

(3) The provisions of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) as amended from time to time shall apply for the interpretation of these regulations as they apply for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

(4) These regulations shall be applicable to trading carried out bilaterally between the generating company, including captive generating plant, distribution licensee and the electricity trader on the one hand and the electricity trader and the distribution licensee on the other :

Provided that the scope and applicability of these regulations may be reviewed from time to time to keep pace with the developments of formulation of regulations for open access in distribution by the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions or introduction of power exchange market by the Commission.

PROCEDURE FOR GRANT OF LICENCE FOR INTER-STATE TRADING

3. All proceedings under these regulations shall be governed by the Conduct of Business Regulations.

4. (1) The application for grant of licence for inter-State trading shall be made to the Commission in the manner specified under these regulations, in Form I appended to these regulations and shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed by the Central Government :

Provided that till such time the fee is prescribed by the Central Government, the application for grant of licence for inter-State trading shall be accompanied by a fee of Rs 1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) payable through Bank Draft/Pay Order drawn in favour of Assistant Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, New Delhi, and the fee so paid shall be subject to adjustment as and when the fee is prescribed by the Central Government.

(2) The application for grant of licence for inter-State trading, along with annexures and enclosures shall also be submitted to the Commission on compact disc (CD).

(3) The applicant shall post complete application along with annexures and enclosures on his own website or any other authorised website, so as to facilitate access to the application by any person through Internet.

(4) The applicant shall within 7 days after making such application, publish a notice of his application, in at least two national English daily newspapers, including one economic newspaper and two local newspapers falling within the area or areas of trading, one of which shall be in vernacular, with the following particulars, namely:

(a) Name of the applicant in bold at the top clearly bringing out whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), a private limited company or a public limited company, incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) giving full particulars of its office address and also the registered office address in case of a Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956;

(b) A statement that the applicant has made an application for grant of licence in inter-State trading under sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act, to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission;

(c) Share holding pattern, financial and technical strength and management profile of the applicant;

(d) Volume of power intended to be traded during the first year after grant of licence and the future plans for trading during the next 5 years;

(e) Details of past experience of the applicant or the persons on its management in same or similar activity;

(f) Geographical areas within which the applicant will undertake trading in electricity as stated in the application made to the Commission;

(g) A statement to the effect that the application and other documents filed before the Commission from time to time, are available for inspection with the applicant, by any person;

(h) Name and address and other relevant details of the person under the control of the applicant with whom the application and other documents can be inspected by any person;

(i) A statement to the effect that complete application is available on the website of the applicant or any other authorised website along with the details of the website where the application is made available;

(j) A statement that objections, if any, be filed before the Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, 7th Floor, Core-3, Scope Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003 or at the address where office of the Commission is situate, with a copy of the objections to the applicant, within 30 days of publication of the notice.

(5) The applicant shall within 7 days from the date of publication of the notice as aforesaid submit to the Commission on affidavit the details of the notice published and shall also file relevant copies of the newspapers in which the notice is published.

(6) The applicant may file his comments on the objections or suggestions received in response to the notice within 45 days of its publication in the newspapers.

(7) The Commission may consider the application for grant of licence for inter-State trading through a hearing or without any hearing, as considered appropriate :

Provided that the Commission may issue a licence for inter-State trading on being satisfied that the applicant qualifies for issue of such licence under the provisions of the Act and the rules and the regulations :

Provided further that before granting the licence, the Commission shall publish a notice of its proposal to grant the licence in two daily newspapers, as the Commission may consider necessary, stating the name and address of the person to whom it proposes to issue the licence, with such other details as the Commission considers appropriate.

(8) As far as practicable the licence shall be granted in accordance with format prescribed in Form 2 appended to these regulations.

REQUIREMENTS OF BEING AN ELECTRICITY TRADER

5. Technical requirements. (1) The applicant shall have at least one full-time professional having experience in each of the following disciplines, namely:

(i) Power System Operations and commercial aspects of power transfer; and

(ii) Finance, commerce and accounts.

(2) The technical requirement of staff shall be complied with before undertaking trading activities, notwithstanding the fact that the Commission has granted the licence for inter-State trading.

(3) The applicant shall furnish to the Commission the details of the professional and the supporting staff engaged by him on full-time basis before undertaking inter-State trading.

6. Capital adequacy Requirement and Creditworthiness. Considering the volume of inter-State trading proposed to be undertaken, the net worth of the electricity trader at the time of application shall not be less than the amounts specified hereunder:

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE LICENCE

7. Obligations of the Licensee. The licensee shall be subject to the following obligations, namely:

(a) The licensee shall comply with the requirements of laws in force and, in particular, the Act, the rules and the regulations, Grid Code, orders and directions issued by the Commission and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission(s) from time to time;

(b) The licensee shall increase his net worth if the volume of trade moves from a lower category to a higher category and the change of category shall be decided based on the volume of electricity traded as on 31st March of each year, and of which the licensee shall keep the Commission informed of his moving from one category to the other and subsequent changes in the net worth;

(c) The licensee shall be subject to the trading margins for the inter-State trading as fixed by the Commission, from time to time;

(d) The licensee shall be governed by the technical requirements, capital adequacy requirements and creditworthiness specified by the Commission in these regulations, for being an electricity trader and shall upgrade these technical and capital adequacy requirements, including staff, when the volume of trading increases;

(e) The licensee shall establish adequate communication facilities like telephone, fax, computer, internet facilities, before undertaking trading;

(f) The licensee shall coordinate with Regional Electricity Boards or Regional Power Committees, as the case may be, the Regional Load Despatch Centres/ State Load Despatch Centres, and Central Transmission Utility/State Transmission Utilities with regard to all trading related activities;

(g) The licensee shall render all assistance to any person authorised by the Commission for carrying out his duties relating to the licence;

(h) Trading shall be carried out bilaterally between the parties by entering into appropriate contracts. Necessary safeguards with regard to supply of electricity through trading, or payment for the electricity traded shall be included in the agreements between the parties. All trading arrangements shall be done through the letters of credit or with any other superior instrument;

(i) The licensee shall pay the licence fee specified under these regulations in accordance with the time-schedule specified hereunder;

(j) The licensee shall not omit or neglect to undertake trading activity for four consecutive quarters;

(k) The licensee shall not enter into any agreement leading to abuse of his dominant position or enter into a combination which is likely to cause or causes an adverse effect on competition in electricity industry;

(l) The licensee shall maintain up-to-date record of his customers and the transactions undertaken by him with other parties.

8. Prohibited activities. (1) The licensee shall not, without prior approval of the Commission:

(i) Acquire by purchase or takeover or otherwise the utility of any other licensee; or

(ii) Merge his utility with the utility of any other licensee; or

(iii) Assign or transfer his licence to any person, by sale, lease, exchange or otherwise.

(2) The licensee shall not engage in the business of transmission of electricity.

(3) Wherever prior approval of the Commission is required, the licensee shall file an appropriate application before the Commission, in accordance with the Conduct of Business Regulations.

9. Payment of Licence Fee. (1) The licensee shall pay to the Commission the annual licence fee of the amount specified hereunder, payable by means of a demand draft or pay order drawn in favour of Assistant Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, New Delhi:

Provided that for a part of the year, the licence fee shall be payable pro rata on number of days basis :

Provided further that the licence fee calculated on pro rata basis for a part of the year shall be rounded off to nearest hundred rupees.

(2) The licence fee shall be paid by 15th April of each year, and in case the licensee has moved from a lower category to a higher category, the balance of licence fee shall be paid before 30th April of each year :

Provided that the first instalment of the licence fee shall be paid within a period of one month from the date of issue of licence :

Provided further that in case the licensee fails to pay the licence fee or a part thereof, the licensee shall be liable to pay late payment surcharge on the outstanding amount at the rate of 1% of the licence fee payable per month or a part of the month, for the period the licence fee or any part thereof remains unpaid.

(3) Notwithstanding the liability of the licensee to pay the late payment surcharge as aforesaid, the delay in payment of licence fee or a part thereof, shall be construed as breach of the terms and conditions of the licence and the licence shall be liable to be revoked.

10. Accounts of the Licensee. (1) The licensee shall

(a) Maintain separate information and statement of accounts for the business of inter-State trading covered by the licence;

(b) Maintain the statement of accounts in such form and contain such particulars as may be specified by the Commission and till such time these are specified by the Commission, the accounts shall be maintained in accordance with the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) as amended from time to time;

(c) Keep the accounts of the business of inter-State trading separate from other business, whether licensed or otherwise;

(d) Prepare on a consistent basis from such records accounting statements for each financial year comprising a profit and loss account, a balance sheet and a statement of source and application of funds together with notes thereto and showing separately the amount of any revenue, cost, asset, liability, reserve, or provision which has been either:

(i) Charged from or to any other business together with a description of the basis of that charge; or

(ii) Determined by apportionment or allocation between the various business activities together with a description of the basis of the apportionment or allocation;

(e) Provide in respect of the accounting statements prepared in accordance with foregoing clauses, a report by the Auditors in respect of each year, stating whether in their opinion the statements have been properly prepared and give a true and fair view of the revenue, costs, assets, and liabilities, reserves reasonably attributable to the business to which the statements relate; and

(f) Submit to the Commission copies of the accounting statements and Auditor's report not later than nine months after the close of the year to which they relate.

(2) Any person authorised by the Commission shall be entitled to inspect and verify the accounts of the licensee and the licensee shall render all necessary assistance to such person.

11. Submission of Information. The licensee shall,

(a) Supply such information, as may be called for by the Commission from time to time;

(b) Furnish the information as may be required from time to time, to monitor the licensee's performance and compliance of the terms and conditions of the licence and any other legislative or regulatory requirement in Form III appended to these regulations for submission of information :

Provided that the information in the prescribed form shall be furnished to the Regional Load Despatch Centre and Regional Electricity Board or Regional Power Committee, as the case may be with a copy to the Commission, on a quarterly basis on 10th day of April, July, October and January for the quarters January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December respectively and the format for submission of information shall be filled up complete in all respects and no column shall be left blank :

Provided further that the report sent to the Regional Load Despatch Centre and the Regional Electricity Board or the Regional Power Committee, as the case may be, shall be posted on the website of the electricity trader or any other authorised website :

Provided also that the Regional Load Despatch Centre and Regional Electricity Board or Regional Power Committee, as the case may be, shall verify the quantum of energy traded, as indicated in the reports and submit a report to the Commission.

12. Standards of performance. (1) The Commission may, after consultation with the licensee specify the standards of performance of a licensee or a class of licensees.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) above, the licensee shall furnish the performance details for each year to the Commission on quarterly basis for the quarter ending 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December in the format prescribed in Form IV appended to these regulations, by 15th day of the first month of the following quarter.

13. Prudential Reporting. The licensee shall, as soon as practicable, report to the Commission:

(a) Any significant change in his circumstances which may affect the licensee's ability to meet his obligations under the Act, the rules and the regulations, directions and orders issued by the Commission, the Grid Code, agreement or the licence;

(b) Any material breach of the provisions of the Act, the rules and the regulations, directives and orders issued by the Commission, the Grid Code, agreement or the licence; and

(c) Any major change in shareholding pattern, ownership or management of the licensee.

14. Amendment of Licence. (1) The terms and conditions of the licence may be modified by the Commission in public interest or on an application made by the licensee.

(2) The procedure specified in Regulation 4 hereinabove shall mutatis mutandis be applicable in case the licensee makes an application for any alteration of or modification to the terms and conditions of the licence.

15. Revocation of Licence. (1) The Commission may revoke the licence in accordance with Section 19 of the Act, in any of the following circumstances, namely:

(i) Where the licensee in the opinion of the Commission, makes wilful and prolonged default in doing anything required of him by or under the Act, or the rules or the regulations;

(ii) Where the licensee breaches any of the terms and conditions of his licence, the breach of which is expressly declared by such licence to render it liable to revocation;

(iii) Where the licensee fails, within the period fixed in this behalf by his licence, or any longer period which the Commission may allow therefor, to show to the satisfaction of the Commission, that he is in a position fully and efficiently to discharge the duties and obligations imposed on him by his licence;

(iv) Where in the opinion of the Commission the financial position of the licensee is such that he is unable to fully and efficiently discharge the duties and obligations imposed on him by his licence;

(v) Where licensee has failed or neglected to undertake trading in electricity for four consequent quarters :

Provided that the licence shall not be revoked except after an enquiry by the adjudicating officer appointed by the Commission under Section 143 of the Act in the manner prescribed by the Central Government :

Provided further that the Commission may, instead of revoking a licence under clause (1) above, permit the licence to remain in force subject to such further terms and conditions as it thinks fit to impose, and any further terms and conditions so imposed shall be binding upon and be observed by the licensee and shall be of like force and effect as if they were contained in the licence.

(2) When the licensee makes an application for revocation of the licence and the Commission is satisfied that public interest so requires, the Commission may revoke his licence, on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.

(3) The Commission shall serve a notice of revocation upon the licensee and fix a date on which the revocation shall take effect.

16. Communication. (1) All communications relating to the licence shall be in writing and shall be delivered either in person to the addressee or his authorized agent, or sent by registered or speed post at the place of business of the addressee.

(2) All communications shall be regarded to have been given by the sender and received by the addressee,

(i) when delivered in person to the addressee or to his authorised agent;

(ii) on expiry of 15 days from the date of sending by registered or speed post at the address of the addressee.

17. Power to relax. The Commission may in appropriate cases and for reasons to be recorded in writing relax any of the provisions of these regulations.

FORM I

FORM II

1. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission ), in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ), hereby grants this licence as a Category trader to ., (hereinafter referred to as the licensee ) to trade in electricity as an electricity trader in the area subject to the terms and conditions contained in the Act (in particular, Sections 17 to 22 thereof, both inclusive), the rules made by the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the rules ) and the regulations specified by the Commission (hereinafter referred to as the regulations ), including statutory amendments, alterations, modifications, re-enactments thereof, which shall be read as part and parcel of this licence.

2. This licence is not transferable, except in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the rules and the regulations.

3.(1) The licensee shall not without prior approval of the Commission

(a) undertake any transaction to acquire by purchase or takeover or otherwise, the utility of any other licensee; or

(b) merge its utility with utility of any other licensee.

(2) The licensee shall not at any time assign its licence, or transfer its utility, or any part thereof, by sale, lease, exchange or otherwise without the prior approval of the Commission.

(3) Any agreement relating to any transaction referred to in sub-clause (1) and sub-clause (2) unless made with the approval of the Commission, shall be void.

4. The grant of this licence to the licensee shall not in any way hinder or restrict the right of the Commission to grant a licence to any other person within the same area for trading in electricity as an electricity trader. The licensee shall not claim any exclusivity.

5. This licence shall commence on the date of its issue and unless revoked earlier, shall continue to be in force for a period of 25 (twenty-five) years.

6. The licensee may with prior intimation to the Commission, engage in any business for optimum utilisation of its assets :

Provided that the licensee shall not engage in the business of transmission of electricity.

7. Unless otherwise specified by the Commission, the licensee shall pay annual license fee of Rs . lakh, and license fee for a part of the year shall be paid on pro rata basis rounded off to the nearest hundred rupees.

For the purpose of this clause, the year means a period of twelve months from 1st April of a calendar year to 31st March of the following calendar year.

8. The provisions contained in Sections 19 to 22, both inclusive, of the Act shall apply to the licensee with regard to revocation of licence and sale of his utility.

FORM III

Name of the Trader :

License details (No. and Date):

Note. All the transactions shall be reported transactionwise on real time basis and should not be aggregated.

* Besides the name of the seller/buyer, indicate the category of the seller/buyer namely generator, captive power plant, distribution licensee, Government, consumer (when applicable) etc.

** Strike out whichever is not applicable.

FORM IV

(To be submitted to the Commission and RLDC)

Name of the Trader:

License details (No. and date):

Note: (i) A separate copy of duly filled Form IV shall also be submitted to the Commission directly.

(ii) RLDC shall verify the volume of trading and pass on the Form IV to the Commission.