The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has set the state’s renewable purchase obligation (RPO) for the financial year FY2017-2018 at nine percent, of which the solar RPO is 3 percent and the non-solar RPO is 6 percent (this excludes large hydro).

The APERC has established RPOs for consecutive financial years up to FY2021-2022, which will require the state to have 17 percent renewable energy – 7 percent solar and 10 percent non-solar, by 2022.

The APERC notification :

• Each open-access consumer in Andhra Pradesh will need to purchase from renewable energy sources, a minimum quantity of electricity expressed as a percentage of its consumption of energy, during FY2017-18 to FY2021-22.
• Consumers who own a captive generating plant of installed capacity of 1 MW and above, connected to the grid, will purchase Renewable Energy Certificates corresponding to a minimum quantity of electricity expressed as a percentage of its consumption of energy, during FY2017-18 to FY2021-22.
• Consumers will need to install, at their own cost, a solar generation meter conforming to the applicable Central Electricity Authority (CEA) regulations at an appropriate location to measure the energy generated from the rooftop solar PV system, if the consumer is an obligated entity and desires that such energy be counted towards meeting its RPO.

If an obligated entity does not fulfill its RPO commitment, the APERC can ask the obligated entity to deposit a specific amount of money into a separate fund to be created and maintained by the state agency. The amount will be determined on the basis of the shortfall in units of the RPO and the forbearance price decided by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. In addition to making the deposit, the APERC can also make the defaulter pay a penalty under section 142 of the Electricity Act.