The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for the state of Goa and union territories has issued draft regulations for determining tariffs from renewable sources including solar, wind and small hydro.

The JERC has proposed the generic tariff for solar (for gross metering), wind energy projects, and small hydro projects.

For solar PV (gross metering), the JERC has considered a useful life of 25 years, an interest rate of 10.52% in mainland areas and of 11.52% in island areas. The commission has considered a discount factor of 9.42% for mainland areas and 10.42% for island areas for the levelization of the tariff.

The JERC has proposed a tariff of ₹4.98 (~$0.0700)/kWh without accelerated depreciation (AD) for solar PV (gross metering) for Goa, Daman, Puducherry, Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and ₹4.61 (~$0.0648)/kWh if AD is availed. For Chandigarh, the proposed generic tariff is ₹5.27 (~$0.0741)/kWh without AD and ₹4.88 (~$0.0686)/kWh with AD, for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep ₹7.16 (~$0.1004)/kWh is the generic tariff without AD and ₹6.63 (~$0.0930)/kWh with AD.

The commission has proposed a generic tariff for wind energy of ₹5.21 (~$0.0731)/kWh without AD for Goa, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and ₹4.80 (~$0.0673)/kWh if the AD is availed. For Daman the proposed generic tariff is ₹4.94 (~$0.0693)/kWh without AD and ₹4.53 (~$0.0635)/kWh with AD, for Puducherry tariff without AD is ₹4.47 (~$0.0627)/kWh and with AD is ₹4.06 (~$0.0569)/kWh. For Diu, the tariff is ₹3.61 (~$0.0506)/kWh without AD and ₹3.20 (~$0.0449)/kWh with AD. Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep ₹7.02 (~$0.0985)/kWh is the generic tariff without AD and ₹6.53 (~$0.0916)/kWh with AD.

The JERC has proposed two tariff categories for small hydro projects in mainland areas and island areas. For small hydro projects of capacity, lower than or equal to 5 MW in mainland areas, the proposed generic tariff without AD is ₹4.77 (~$0.0669)/kWh, and with AD it is ₹4.45 (~$0.0624)/kWh. For small hydro projects (mainland areas) of capacity more than 5 MW and up to 25 MW, the generic tariff without AD is ₹4.33 (~$0.0607)/kWh, and with AD it is ₹4.04 (~$0.0567)/kWh.

For small hydro projects in island areas of capacity up to 5 MW, the tariff without AD is ₹7.29 (~$0.1023)/kWh, and with AD it is ₹6.80 (~$0.0954)/kWh. For small hydro projects in island areas of capacity above 5 MW and up to 25 MW, the tariff without AD is ₹6.25 (~$0.0877)/kWh and ₹5.82 (~$0.0817)/kWh with AD.

This week, JERC also finalized the net metering regulations. The new rules have been in effect since July 24, 2019. These regulations will apply to grid-connected rooftop-mounted, ground-mounted and floating solar PV power projects in Goa and the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.

In January 2019, the JERC extended the control period of JERC’s 2015 regulations for grid-connected solar power by three years up to May 14, 2019.

Image Credit: Rays Experts