UPERC issues draft regulations for solar rooftop & net metering

 

Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has issued draft regulations for solar rooftop and net metering called as UPERC (Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive System Gross / Net Metering) Regulations, 2015.

As per the draft regulations, the eligible consumers can install rooftop solar systems under both gross & net metering schemes.

Further, the consumers who are availing Accelerated Depreciation (AD) Benefits for their rooftop solar projects will be eligible only for the net metering scheme.

The maximum peak capacity of the grid connected rooftop solar system to be installed by any eligible consumer shall not exceed 90% of the contract demand of the consumer.

Brief of the Regulations:

• Minimum Capacity: 1 kWp
• Ownership Arrangements: Both self owned & third party owned allowed.
• Metering Arrangements: Gross & Net metering. If the consumer installs solar rooftop under the gross net metering scheme he will have to inject entire power generated into the grid, while in other case if the consumer opts for Net Metering scheme he will be entitles to use the power generated at his premises and will be allowed to inject the surplus power into the grid.
• Charges: Wheeling & Cross Subsidy charges are exempted
• Solar RPO: In case the consumer is not an eligibility entity then such quantum of energy consumed by the consumer will qualify towards the RPO of the distribution utility.

UPERC has invited comments and suggestions through a public notice, by 1st March 2015. Click here to access the notification.

The Draft Can be accessed here.

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UPERC invites objections on extension to power plants...

 

With the state cabinet giving nod to 18-month extension to nine power projects, proposed to be set up through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) route, the ball is now in the court of Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) which will hear the case on December 26. The commission has invited objections from interested parties and stakeholders by December 18 when a hearing will be held.

On Monday, the commission started receiving petitions and objections into granting of extension to nine power projects. The UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhogta Parishad in its petition has challenged the extension given to the projects for the second time.

The parishad said even though the commission is scrutinising the first extension given in June 2012, the state government went ahead to give the second extension. "This proves that the state government has nothing to do with the commission. The second extension is contempt of commission,'' said parishad president AK Verma.

In January 2011, the Centre had stopped setting up of power plants under the MoU route saying that the cost of power from these plants would be high as compared to those proposed to be set up through competitive bidding.

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Isolux gets more time for laying transmission lines in Uttar Pradesh...

 

The Energy Task Force headed by UP chief secretary Jawed Usmani on Monday extended the time limit to Isolux Corsan for laying transmission lines. The company is involved in laying transmission lines and construction of power sub-stations.

The final approval in this matter will be given by the Cabinet. Recently the UPPCL had extended the deadline till December 31, 2014, for the first phase of laying the transmission line, and August 31, 2015, for the second phase.

The Energy Task Force on this occasion reserved its decision on giving further extension to the agreement with nine companies. Hence, no decision on the nine power projects could be taken on Monday. The UPPCL had recently in a proposal gave an extension of 18 months to nine power projects signed through the MoU route during the Mayawati regime.

Awadhesh Varma of UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhogta Parishad said Isolux was assigned the task of laying transmission lines in 2011, and it was asked to complete it by January 2014. But, owing to usage of sub-standard conductors, the company came under the scanner and the process of laying transmission lines was delayed. Varma also said that the Parishad will approach the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission against the decision to grant more time to Isolux.

He also claimed that on earlier occasion too the Upbhogta Parishad had raised the issue with the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission on the proposal of Isolux to change the configuration of the transmission lines in the Rs 10,000 transmission project. It was only after the UPERC cracked the whip on Spanish Transmission Company that the company agreed to the conditions that it agreed to during the bid process.

Isolux Corsan has been showing interest in installing wires made out of aluminum, termed as All Aluminum Alloy Conductors (AAAC). The company, though, had bid for installation of ACSR conductors instead. Interestingly, in July last year, the Uttar Pradesh Transmission Corporation (UPTCL) had told the commission that the AAAC conductors' line losses will increase by 7% to 11%.

The letter issued by the UPTCL said by using AAAC conductors the company will be saving significantly in the capital cost due to lighter towers, lighter foundation and longer span, which will have a commercial implication on project cost and also on the tariff. The UPPTCL said such post contract changes are not possible as per Central Vigilance Commission guidelines.

The UPERC, in its order dated April 8, said since the conductor type to be used in the transmission line has been associated with ACSR conductor under the scope of work in the bid document, the panel has decided that only ACSR conductors shall be used in the construction of line. The commission also asked the corporation to submit its acceptance of conductors within two weeks from the date of the order under intimation to the commission.

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UPERC issues notice to 'insensitive' Lucknow Electricity Regulatory Authority...

 

The UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has issued a show cause notice to Lucknow Electricity Regulatory Authority (Lesa) chief engineer, Shamim Ahmad, for not being sensitive towards consumers who could not pay their bills because of repeated tripping of online server.

Ahmad, instead, in a reply sent to UPERC said consumers need to furnish details of the attempts to make payment of their electricity bills. The commission, however, viewed this as a matter of serious concern since no such arrangements were put in place at the billing stations for the consumers.

The commission, in its notice, asked Ahmad why no action be initiated against him under section 142 of the Electricity Act under which fine is slapped. "From your reply, it is obvious that consumers have not been properly facilitated for making payments after failure of the server. In spite of this, the due date was not extended, nor any proper/adequate alternative arrangements were made to make payments," the notice issued by commission secretary A K Srivastava said. On the contrary, the onus was put on consumers to furnish proof of the efforts made for payment, whereas, no arrangement for recording the attendance of consumers coming to pay their bills, was made by Lesa.

Terming it a "casual" attitude on the part of Lesa, the commission observed that relief could have been provided by a general order and specific proof was not required for consumers.

Online billing has gone for a toss following repeated tripping of the Lesa server. This eventually delayed the bill payment for consumers who were, ironically, slapped with a fine. In fact, there were also reports of Lesa not providing detailed bills to consumers. Even online payment facility using the Internet remained affected.

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UPERC asks Discoms not to impose late payment surcharge to the consumers...

 

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has ordered all Discoms not to impose late payment surcharge upon those consumers who have been unable to settle their dues because of slow internet connections at billing counters.

The order, issued by the commission a day ago, comes as great relief for thousands of consumers in Noida and Ghaziabad who had been complaining of difficulties in paying bills for the past one month.

Residents had complained that they were unable to make payments despite standing in serpentine queues at billing centres for hours.

They said that though they were not at fault for being unable to make bill payments, the discom, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), was imposing penalties on them. "It's very unfair to expect consumers to pay penalties when they have to return without making payments despite standing at the queues for hours," said OP Sharma, a resident of Sector 16 in Noida. The discom had told consumers that bill payments were affected due to a state-wide malfunction of the internet system of the power corporation.

The commission has directed discoms to extend the last dates for payment of dues. The orders were issued after a petition was filed by UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad, a state-level electricity consumers' body. The petition had been filed after similar problems were experienced by power consumers in Lucknow.

Discom officials said that work is on to fix the problem of internet connectivity. "Consumers will be intimated about the revisions done to their due dates of payments," said a senior discom official.

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