A number of Indian domestic steel producers have sought relaxations of Renewable Consumption Obligations (RCO), seeking a downward revision of the mandatory share of renewable energy consumption and exclusion of electricity generated from waste heat gases from the ambit of RCOs, SteelOrbis has learned from several industry officials.
In a communication to the government, the steel companies have asked that norms should exclude transmission losses from RCO calculators to improve optimization and reduce financial burdens.
Indian steel companies are mandated to meet 33.01 percent of their total captive electricity consumption from renewable energy in 2025-26, up from 29.91 percent in 2024-25, with a target of 43.33 percent by 2030.
The government has asked the ministries of steel and power to examine the requests from the steel industry and whether there exists any rationale and/or justification for relaxations of RCOs, officials said.
The RCOs are calculated based on the total captive electricity generated and self-consumed, and excluding waste heat recovery (WHR) from their scope would bring down the RCO obligations.