MNRE Seeks Feedback on Guidelines for PM-Surya Ghar Rooftop Solar Program

Apple Partners with CleanMax to Power India Operations with Renewable Energy

Explainer: Application Process for ALMM Inclusion and Renewal

EU Member States Sign Solar Charter to Boost Domestic Manufacturing

Daily News Wrap-Up: NTPC’s 1 GW Wind-Solar Hybrid Auction

Sprng Energy, AMPIN, Juniper, ReNew, Avaada Win NTPC’s 1 GW Hybrid Auction

Biofuels Firm GPS Renewables Raises $50 Million in Debt Financing

Solar Auctions Surge by 229% in Q1 2024, Tender Activity Up 122%

Global Wind Installations Reached 1 TW Milestone in 2023

Funding and M&A Roundup: Nexamp Secures $520 Million

<p>The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://www.tnerc.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TNERC</a>) has issued draft amendments to the Electricity Supply Code 2004 for bi-directional meter billing for rooftop solar systems.</p>
<p>Stakeholders can submit their comments and suggestions within 15 days of the publication of the notification on the TNERC website.</p>
<p>The Commission has added a new clause for assessing billing in cases where there is no bi-directional meter, or the bi-directional meter is defective in low tension (LT) rooftop services.</p>
<p><strong>Import of Energy</strong></p>
<p>According to the new clause, if there is no bi-directional meter or the meter is defective, the amount of electricity imported during the period will be determined by taking the average imported during the preceding four months. The conditions regarding the import of electricity during the said four months should not be different from those that prevailed during the billing period.</p>
<p>If the bi-directional meter becomes defective immediately after it is installed, the amount of electricity imported will be calculated by considering the average imported during the next four months after the installation of a new meter. The prosumer will be charged monthly minimum charges for the defective period, and the actual charges will be recovered after adjusting the amount collected provisionally.</p>
<p>If the conditions regarding the import of electricity during the billing period are different, the assessment will be made based on any consecutive four months during the last 12 months when the conditions were similar.</p>
<p>If it is not possible to select a set of four months, the electricity imported will be assessed by the distribution engineer-in-charge.</p>
<p><strong>Export of Energy</strong></p>
<p>In the case of export of energy, if the meter becomes defective after previous assessments for four months, the amount exported during the billing period will be determined by taking the average of the exported energy during the last four months.</p>
<p>If the bi-directional meter becomes defective immediately after installation, the energy exported to the grid during the billing period will be determined by taking the average exported during the successive four months after the installation of a new meter. Until that time, the prosumer will be charged as follows:</p>
<p><em>The total energy exported during the period with no bi-directional meter or the meter is defective = 2 x (defective period in days) x (installed capacity of the solar power plant in kW).</em></p>
<p>In case the prosumer does not agree with the engineer&#8217;s assessment, the matter may be referred to the next higher-level officer of the licensee.</p>
<p>Recently, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://mercomindia.com/no-net-metering-for-rooftop-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 laying down power consumers&#8217; rights to minimum quality standards. One noteworthy provision in the rules mandates net metering for loads up to 10 kW and gross metering for loads greater than 10 kW.</p>
<p>Previously, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-net-metering-rooftop-solar-tamil-nadu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that TNERC had issued new net metering guidelines for solar rooftop consumers as part of its Solar Policy 2019. The net-metering mechanism was one of the key features of the policy that was expected to help the state achieve its installation goals.</p>
<p>Net metering has been the primary <a href="https://mercomindia.com/net-metering-drag-rooftop-solar-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impediment</a> for rooftop growth in the country. Even though the net metering policy exists in most states, implementation has been rocky. Mostly, DISCOMs are vehemently opposed to net metering across states. The primary reason for this aversion to net metering is that it deprives DISCOMs of the opportunity to earn more revenue from premium consumers.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
</div>
<div class="authorboxn">
<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
</div>
</div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

Tamil Nadu Regulator Clarifies Billing Mechanism for Rooftop Solar Prosumers

bi-directional-metering

Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.

RECENT POSTS