DERC announced RPO Regulations for Solar and other RE Sources…

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has recently announced its much awaited RPO Regulations on 1st October 2012. DERC has made to RPO applicable to Distribution Licensees, Captive Users and Open Access Consumers on similar lines as per the other states.

The RPO regulation is applicable to:

• Distribution Licensee(s) operating in the National Capital Territory of Delhi
• Any Captive user, using other than renewable energy sources exceeding 1 MW
• Any Open Access Consumer with a contract Demand exceeding 1 MW from sources other than renewable sources of energy.

The obligation till FY 2016-17 is shown in the table below:

Financial Year	Solar RPO	Total RPO
2012-13	0.15%	3.40%
2013-14	0.20%	4.80%
2014-15	0.250%	6.20%
2015-16	0.300%	7.60%
2016-17	0.350%	9.00%

Open access consumer are exempted from the cross-subsidy surcharge determined by the Commission from time to time to the extent of RPO.
However, no banking facility shall be provided for supply of electricity from renewable energy sources through open access.

Rpo Rec Framework Implementation Regulations

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More literature on this topic…
http://powerbase.in/derc-issues-regulations-rpo/
http://www.indianpowersphere.com/2012/05/derc-to-specify-minimum-quantum-of.html

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Andhra Pradesh Government’s new solar power policy…

The government of Andhra Pradesh has recently announced its State Solar Policy on 26th Sep 12. Unlike other states’ solar policies, AP Government has sot specified any policy with respect to feed-in-tariffs or competitive bidding schemes etc rather they have put emphasise on developing solar power through REC Mechanism.

Following are some of the major policy incentives…

• Banking:
  • 100% banking is permitted from January to December of the year.
  • Banked units can not be adjusted during February to June and during evening peak hours 6.30 PM to 10.30 PM.
  • The banked energy will attract banking charge of 2%.
• Exemption of Wheeling and Transmission Charges: For all the intra-state open access transactions (through 33kV system), wheeling and transmission charges are exempted.
• Exemption of Cross Subsidy Surcharge (CSS): Consumers purchasing power from solar projects are exempted from CSS. This will be a great relief for consumers as CSS remains the major cause of worry for consumers as well as develop-ers opting for third-party sale / open access.
• Exemption of Electricity Duty: E-Duty is also exempted for all the solar power projects opting for third party sale and/or captive usage.
• Refund of VAT, Stamp Duty and Registration Charges: Solar developers will be able to get the refund of the said charges.

The above incentives are applicable only if the project is commissioned by June 2014. The incentives are extended for the period of 7 years.

The major concern is for the CPPs in the state as they cannot claim RECs on availing the above benefits. It will raise conflict regarding the state and central regulation on REC mechanism.

Read the full policy document here…

Andhra Pradesh Solar Policy 2012 Abstract

 

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More Literature on this topic…

• http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/article3951691.ece
• http://news.efytimes.com/e1/91625/Andhra-Pradesh-Gets-Solar-Policy

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Rs. 6,000 Crs investment in Solar Power planned by Aditya Birla group…

The USD 40 Bn Aditya Birla group is planning INR 6,000 Crores investment in solar power projects over the next five years.

 

 

 

Some of the companies recent developments towards solar power business are:

• Acquired a minority stake in a Solar PV plant controlled by Electrotherm in Gujarat
• Signed a long-term leasing agreement with Refex Energy to operate a solar plant at Bithuja in Rajsthan
• Essel Mining & Industries Ltd, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla is already into the business of wind power generation.
• Under the same company, around 100 MW solar projects are being planned over next 1 to 1.5 years.
• The current investment of the Group is around Rs. 200 Crs to develop 20 MW of solar projects.

 

Further plan of the Group includes, a target of $1 billion over the next 5-6 years.

 

According to sources, a three-pronged strategy has been devised by Mr. Ravi Khanna, CEO of Solar Power business (joined recently from Scandanavian Advanced Technology).

 

 

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More literature on this topic…

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-05/india-s-aditya-birla-plans-solar-investments-times-says.html

http://www.adityabirla.com/our_companies/indian_companies/essel_mining.htm

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/aditya-birla-group-to-invest-rs-6k-crore-in-solar-power-business/articleshow/16677992.cms

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