The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has notified the amendments to the Renewable Power Purchase Obligation Compliance by Purchase of Renewable Energy/Renewable Energy Certificates Regulations, 2022.

As per the amendments, the purchase of renewable energy by a captive open access consumer will be counted toward fulfilling their renewable purchase obligation (RPO).

The amendments came into force on July 14, 2023.

Recently, APERC issued draft amendments to the RPO Compliance Regulations 2022, which was open for stakeholder comments.

The amendments were finalized without any objections.

Entities can now choose to purchase renewable energy up to a certain percentage of their consumption or fulfill their entire consumption through renewable sources. They must submit a request to the authority three months before the start of the financial year in which they want to procure renewable energy, except for the current year.

According to the amendments, entities with obligations can purchase additional renewable energy beyond their requirement of up to 100%. The mandated percentage of renewable energy procurement should not fall below the specified RPO set by the government or APERC, whichever is higher.

The renewable energy supplied will include a green tariff, which adds ₹0.75 (~$0.009) per unit to the regular tariff. Entities consuming energy with this tariff increase will be considered as using renewable energy supplied by the DISCOM.

Consumers can achieve a 100% renewable energy supply by paying an additional green tariff corresponding to their category, eliminating the need for an existing Green Power category.

When requesting renewable energy from distribution companies (DISCOMs), the minimum subscription duration is one year starting from the next financial year.

Any surplus renewable energy purchased from DISCOMs beyond the obligated entities’ RPO and non-obligated entities’ total procurement will contribute to the DISCOMs’ RPO compliance.

Further, the revenue generated by DISCOMs from selling renewable energy through the green tariff will be classified as power sales revenue.

Entities exceeding the RPO targets will receive Green Stars Certificates within three months after the end of the financial year. Consumers will receive green star ratings based on their renewable energy consumption levels.

Non-obligated entities, including domestic consumers at any voltage level, can procure renewable energy.

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