The Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) has issued new regulations for the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement for solar and wind energy generation in the state.

The commercial arrangements specified in these regulations and the related provisions regarding deviation charges and penalties will come into effect six months after the publication of the regulations in the official gazette.

According to the new regulations, MSERC would impose the deviation charges on project developers and procurers for under as well as over injection of power into the grid. The regulations would apply to all the wind and solar energy generators having a minimum capacity of 1 MW connected to the intra-state transmission system. This would also apply to those who are connected through pooling sub-stations and are using the power generated for self-consumption or sale within or outside the state of Meghalaya.

Every pooling station and stand-alone generator with installed capacity of 5 MW or above will have a special energy meter (SEM) capable of recording the energy in 15- minute time blocks (see chart below).

According to the regulations, wind and solar project developers will be required to appoint a qualified coordinating agency (QCA) for meter reading, data collection, and communication. The QCA would also ensure coordination with the distribution companies (DISCOMs), the state load dispatch centers (SLDCs) and other agencies, as well oversee the settlement of deviation charges.

For the sale or self-consumption of power within the state of Meghalaya, if the actual injected generation of a stand-alone generator or the aggregate of such generation at a pooling sub-station differs from the scheduled generation, the deviation charge for the excess or shortfall will be payable by the QCA to the state deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) pool.

Deviations with respect to interstate and intrastate transactions will be accounted separately at each pooling substation. The SLDC will provide separate energy and DSM accounts for interstate and intrastate transactions to the QCA. The QCA will settle the deviation charges with the concerned generators.

With this, Meghalaya has joined Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu in issuing regulations for the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind generation.

The sudden surge in planned renewable capacity of the country has many in the industry wondering if India’s transmission infrastructure is equipped to handle the influx of renewable sources of power generation.

An increasing number of states are announcing the addition of deviation charges, as they anticipate challenges in the integration of new intermittent energy sources to the grid. It will eventually depend on solar and wind companies to improve their forecasting capabilities to avoid incurring additional costs by under or over production.

Recently, the MSERC issued new regulations for Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation (RPO) and its compliance. This shows that the state is looking at ambitiously enhancing its renewable energy capacity with policies that will pave a way for a smoother transition of the state’s energy mix.