Grant of a Category 'I' inter-State trading licence is contingent upon the applicant meeting specific financial thresholds (net worth, current and liquidity ratios) and possessing qualified full-time professionals as prescribed under the Electricity Act, 2003 and CERC Trading Licence Regulations, 2020.

ORDER

The Petitioner, REMC Limited, a PSU incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, is a joint venture of Indian Railways and RITES Limited, and has made the present Application under Sections 14 and 15 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) read with Regulation 6 of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Procedure, Terms and Conditions for the Grant of Trading Licence and other related matters) Regulations, 2020 (hereinafter referred to as “the Trading Licence Regulations”), amended from time to time, for the grant of a Category ‘I’ trading licence for inter-State trading in electricity across India.

2. In accordance with sub-section (2) of Section 15 of the Act read with Clause (4) of Regulation 6 of the Trading Licence Regulations, notices were published by the Petitioner on 25.3.2026 in all India edition of the ‘Financial Express’ (Chennai/Kochi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chandigarh), “Assam Tribune” (Dibrugarh and Guwahati), “Business Standard” (Ahmedabad, Bangaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune). The Petitioner has submitted that no objections have been received in response to the public notices.

3. In accordance with Regulation 3(3) of the Trading Licence Regulations, a person applying for a Category 'I' trading licence should have a net worth of Rs. Fifty crore and should have maintained a minimum current ratio and liquidity ratio of 1:1 as on the date of the Audited Special Balance Sheet accompanying the application. As per the Audited Balance Sheet submitted by the Petitioner as on 31.3.2026, the Petitioner possesses the required net worth, current ratio and liquidity ratio for the grant of a Category 'I' trading licence. The Commission, vide its order dated 17.6.2026, concluded that the Petitioner is prima facie qualified for the grant of a Category ‘I’ licence for inter-State trading in electricity.

4. On the above consideration, the Commission, vide its order dated 17.6.2026, had proposed to grant a Category 'I' inter-State trading licence to the Petitioner. The relevant portions of the said order dated 17.6.2026 are extracted as under:

“14. In accordance with Clause (2) of Regulation 3 of the Trading Licence Regulations, the Petitioner should have at least one full-time professional possessing qualifications and experience in power system operation and the commercial aspects of power transfer, including finance, commerce and accounts. With regard to full-time professionals, the Petitioner has submitted that Shri Neelesh Kumar Jain (CA), Manager Finance, has more than 5 years of experience in Finance, Accounts and Taxation and Shri Vikash Kumar (B.Tech. in Electrical and Electronics), Sr. Manager, has more than 5 years of experience in power procurement and power planning for Indian Railways, monitoring of scheduling, actual drawal and Exchange trading of Indian Railways 13 portfolios, assisting compliance, Managing management center, monitoring costing of Indian railways under open access and application for grant of ISTS/In-STS connectivity cum GNA allocation and STOA NOC's for IR. Accordingly, as per the information submitted by the Petitioner, it fulfils the requirements of Clause (2) of Regulation 3 of the Trading Licence Regulations.

15. On consideration of the above facts, after a preliminary examination, we find that the Petitioner meets the requirements as specified in the Trading Licence Regulations for the grant of a Ca