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Daily News Wrap-Up: APTEL Criticizes MERC for Denying Petitioner Relief

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					</table>The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.derc.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DERC</a>) has approved the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) agreement between BSES Rajdhani Power (<a href="https://www.bsesdelhi.com/web/brpl/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BRPL</a>) and Kilokari BESS for the establishment of a 20MW/40MWh energy storage project.
The Commission also adopted a single-part tariff structure, comprising capacity charges of ₹5.7million (~$68,981)/MW per year.
These charges will be billed monthly per the agreement.
Background 
BRPL filed a petition under the Electricity Act, 2003, seeking approval for the BESS agreement executed on December 12, 2023, between BRPL and Kilokari BESS and adopting a single-part tariff structure.
The agreement pertains to establishing a 20 MW/40 MWh battery energy storage project at the 33/11 kV Kilokari grid substation, intended for storing, charging, and discharging electricity for BRPL.
BRPL also sought approval for deviations from the guidelines outlined in the Ministry of Power&#8217;s notification regarding the procurement and utilization of BESS as part of generation, transmission, and distribution assets, including ancillary services.
The petitioner, formed as a joint venture between R-Infra Ltd. and Delhi Power Company (<a href="https://power.delhi.gov.in/power/about-us#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202002%2C%20Delhi,Companies%20i.e.%20BSES%20Rajdhani%20Power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DPCL</a>), holds 51% shareholding and management control by R-Infra, with the remaining 49% owned by DPCL, a government-owned entity.
Kilokari BESS is a special purpose vehicle formed by a consortium of <a href="https://www.indigrid.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IndiGrid</a> 2 and <a href="https://amperehourenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amperehour Solar Technology</a>.
On July 26, 2023, the Commission granted &#8216;in-principle&#8217; approval for the BESS project.
Further developments occurred in August 2023 when the Ministry of Power (MOP) notified the national framework for promoting energy storage systems, emphasizing renewable energy integration and grid stability through ESS deployment.
Following this, on August 24, 2023, the petitioner engaged the Energy and Resources Institute (<a href="https://www.teriin.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TERI</a>) as a bid manager. On October 23, 2023, BRPL issued the letter of intent to the successful bidder, IndiGrid 2, and on December 22, 2023, the BESS agreement was executed.
Commission&#8217;s Analysis 
The Commission noted that the bidding process conducted by BRPL aligned with the MoP guidelines, with minor deviations outlined in the request for proposal.
The petitioner justified these deviations to achieve a single-part tariff structure, with capacity charges set at ₹5.7 million (~$68,981)/MW per year. This tariff was lower than the initially proposed capacity charge of ₹10.12 million (~$121,198.3)/MW/year by the petitioner on July 7, 2023.
Considering the nature of this project, where the petitioner was not investing any capital expenditure and the approval of the BESS agreement was part of the petitioner&#8217;s power procurement process, any financial benefits derived from this project would be passed on to the petitioner&#8217;s consumers as a net offset in the power purchase cost included in the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR).
However, concerning &#8220;Section IV, Clause I: Event of Default and the Consequences thereof, 2(c)&#8221;, the Commission directed that in the event of default and if BRPL assumed control of the project, BRPL would only be entitled to the agreed tariff of ₹5.7 million (~$68,981)/MW per year.
Any payment from BRPL to Kilokari for termination would not be factored into BRPL&#8217;s ARR determination; only the agreed tariff would be considered as the power purchase cost for BRPL.
The Commission ruled that any monetary benefits accruing to BRPL from the operation of this project would be passed on to consumers in the ARR as a net offset in the power purchase cost.
In May last year, DERC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/delhi-electricity-trading-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> to amend the state&#8217;s net metering regulations for renewable energy to provide greater flexibility to prosumers and consumers by enabling peer-to-peer transactions through blockchain or other technologies.
Subscribe to our real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you never miss any critical updates from the renewable energy industry.

Delhi Regulator Greenlights BSES Rajdhani’s Battery Energy Storage Project

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					</table>The <a href="https://portal.delhi.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Delhi Government</a> has released a draft solar policy that targets 6,000 MW of installed solar capacity in the next three years and envisages a three-fold jump in solar energy share in annual electricity demand to 25% by 2025 from 9% currently.
The operative period of the policy will be three years.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said that the new policy will address the issue of pollution and generate over 12,000 new green jobs.
Monetary incentives 
The policy will create a unified single-window portal managed by the Delhi Solar Cell, which will provide information on the benefits of solar PV systems, process-related guidelines, and timelines.
Monthly generation-based incentives (GBI) will be provided for residential, group housing societies (GHS), and residential welfare associations (RWAs), along with the commercial and industrial (C&amp;I) consumers for five years from the date of commissioning of the system, provided that it is commissioned within the operative period of the policy.
The GBI will be provided at the rate of ₹3 ($0.036)/kWh for residential solar systems up to 3 kW, ₹2 ($0.024)/kWh for residential solar systems above 3 kW, and up to 10kW.
For system capacity in the 10 kW-500 kW range, the GBI offered by the Delhi government stands at ₹2 ($0.024)/kWh for GHS and RWAs.
An early-bird GBI of ₹1 ($0.012)/kWh will be offered for the first time for C&amp;I consumers for the first 200 MW of solar deployment.
Further, residential consumers will be provided subsidy at the rate of ₹ 2,000 ($24.16)/kW up to a maximum of ₹10,000 ($120.82) per consumer.
Additionally, taxes and duties will not be levied on generation from rooftop solar, whether for self-consumption or supplied to the grid.
More options for consumers
To increase the uptake of rooftop solar, the policy also encourages new deployment models such as Hybrid RESCO (renewable energy service company), community solar, and peer-to-peer trading.
The Hybrid RESCO model enables consumers to access the net metering benefits of solar without making any upfront capital investment by simply signing an agreement with their distribution company.
Further, the Community Solar program will allow consumers, who do not have a suitable roof for installing a solar system, to own a part of a larger system set by a developer within an available land parcel in Delhi.
Peer-to-Peer trading will promote owners of solar energy systems to sell their excess generated electricity in real-time via a P2P energy trading platform.
Sisodia pointed out that the deployment of solar plants on all state government properties with a rooftop area of 500 square meters or above is now mandatory. It will be carried out in a phased manner and be completed within the operative period of this policy.
The policy will now be put in the public domain for 30 days for comments from stakeholders, following which it will be taken to Cabinet for .
Recently, the Odisha government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/odisha-incentives-consumers-renewable-energy-policy-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> its renewable energy policy, which aims to provide the necessary impetus to the solar sector and accelerate its adoption in the state.
The Uttar Pradesh Government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-wrap-up-uttar-pradesh-22-gw-solar-fy27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the ‘Solar Energy Policy, 2022,‘ revising its proposed target upwards to 22 GW of solar capacity by FY 2026-27. The government had proposed a 16 GW solar capacity target in its draft policy earlier this year.

Delhi’s Draft Solar Policy Targets 6,000 MW Capacity by 2025

The Delhi Government announced that it would soon introduce a subsidiary plan under its recently launched electric vehicle (EVs) policy for buyers of electric vehicles, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report.  The subsidy program is likely to be launched in a week.
In August 2020, the Delhi government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-new-ev-incentives-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, 2020, to speed up the pace of EV adoption, primarily in the category of two-wheelers, public transport vehicles, and goods carriers. It also planned to boost the adoption of battery electric vehicles, so they contribute to 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024.
The policy, steered by an ‘EV Cell,’ presented a five-year roadmap that will see 500,00 EVs on roads of the national capital.
Under the policy, the Delhi government will provide purchase incentives of ₹30,000 (~$ 408.09) to electric two-wheelers, e-rickshaws, and goods carriers, while purchase incentives ranging from ₹10,000 (~$ 136.03) to ₹150,000 (~$ 2040.47) will be provided for electric cars. To be eligible for these incentives, EVs must fulfill the same performance and efficiency eligibility criteria as specified in the central government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) policy.
The government plans to pay the subsidies within two days to eligible EV buyers in Delhi through a software developed by the <a href="https://www.icicibank.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ICICI Bank</a>.
A software demonstration for disbursal of the subsidy under the policy was recently made by executives of a private bank in a meeting with Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.
The EV sellers have to register themselves with the Transport Department of the Delhi Government to process incentives on EVs.The EV sellers will have to add details about consumers on the software on the sale of EVs. The government will credit the incentives in the bank account of EV buyers after the authentication of the motor licensing officer.
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-discoms-take-precautions-new-ev-charging-stations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently wrote</a> a letter to distribution licensees in the city asking them to implement necessary safety measures before providing power to newly installed electric vehicle charging stations.
Last year, Delhi <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-tariffs-ev-charging-electric-mobility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cut down</a> the rates of charging stations for e-rickshaws and other electric vehicles. This has further incentivized the pace of the EV adoption process, which in turn is likely to push consumers toward electric mobility.
Read Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-ev-startups-continue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest report</a> on the EV segment’s performance during the pandemic.

Delhi to Disburse Subsidies Within Two Days of Electric Vehicle Purchase

As a send-off to the year 2019, the Delhi government has approved a policy for electric vehicles (EVs) with an intent to make the city “the EV capital of India.”
The policy mainly focuses on electric two-wheelers, shared transport vehicles such as three-wheelers and buses, and goods carriers or freight vehicles. These vehicles contribute to most of the vehicular pollution in the capital.
The policy will be valid for three years from the date of the notification.
Within a year, the Delhi government is targeting 35,000 electric vehicles (2/3/4 wheelers and buses), 1,000 EVs, and 250 public charging or swapping stations in Delhi.
According to the policy, the government is targeting 500,000 new EV registrations in Delhi. These EVs are estimated to cut down approximately ₹60 billion (~$842.08 million) in oil and liquid gas imports and 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
As per the policy, all new residential and workplace parking will need to be ‘EV ready’ with 20% of all vehicle parking required to be EV ready.
Delhi government will provide a 100% subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to ₹6,000 (~$84) per charging point for the first 30,000 charging points at homes or workplaces. The subsidy will be routed through distribution companies responsible for the charger installations.
A dedicated EV cell will be established within the transport department for the effective day-to-day implementation of the Delhi State EV Policy. Further, funding for various incentives under Delhi EV Policy will be obtained from multiple sources such as pollution, diesel cess, road tax, or environment compensation charge (ECC).
The state EV board will be constituted as the apex body for the effective implementation of the Delhi EV Policy 2019. According to the new policy, road tax and registration fees will be waived for all the electric vehicles during the implementation of the policy.
For e-cars, a purchase incentive of ₹10,000 (~$140)/kWh of battery capacity for the first 1,000 cars will be provided, subject to a ceiling cap of ₹150,000 (~$2,105)/vehicle.
All leased or hired, cars used for the commute of government officers will be transitioned to electric within a year.
For an average electric two-wheeler with 2 kWh battery, the applicable incentive would be approximately ₹10,000 (~$140.35) as compared to ₹5,500 (~$77.19) that is being offered by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
For the first time in Delhi, ride-hailing service providers will be allowed to operate electric two-wheeler taxis.
A <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-tariffs-ev-charging-electric-mobility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">few months ago</a>, Delhi cut down the rates of charging stations for e-rickshaws and other electric vehicles.
In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-draft-ev-policy-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">November of 2018</a>, the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy was launched to improve Delhi’s air quality by reducing emissions in the transport sector. The policy brought about the rapid adoption of EVs, where they would contribute to 25% of new vehicle registrations by 2023. The policy also aims at job creation in driving, selling, financing, servicing, and charging EVs.
Image credit: By Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) &#8211; Own work, CC BY-SA <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77527737" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4.0</a>

Delhi Cabinet Approves Electric Vehicle Policy

In line with the union government’s endeavor to expand the use of green energy, Delhi’s major distribution company (DISCOM), <a href="http://www.bsesdelhi.com/HTML/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BSES</a> Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL), has launched an initiative called Solar City in the national capital.
The initiative is designed to increase solar rooftop installations in the city. Hailed as the country&#8217;s first solar rooftop consumer aggregation program for residential buildings, the Solar City initiative will provide installations for entire apartment complexes at a single point.
According to news agency Press Trust of India, BRPL launched the initiative in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) &#8211; PACE-D and the Indo-German Collaboration (GIZ).
Listing the benefits for consumers, the DISCOM said in a statement that a single-point delivery consumer utilizing solar rooftops could save an average of about ₹750 (~$12) per month for 25 years. &#8220;Moreover, to set up the solar plant, a 30 percent capital subsidy will be provided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) along with a ₹2 (~$0.032) per unit generation-based incentive allotted to a limited number of early projects by the Delhi government,&#8221; PTI reported the BRPL’s statement as saying.
The Solar City announcement comes less than a month after MNRE released a proposal to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-financial-discoms-rooftop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overhaul </a> India’s rooftop solar implementation mechanism by making it the responsibility of DISCOMs. The proposal is designed to accelerate the new rooftop solar installations. Under it, DISCOMs would be eligible to receive financial assistance to the tune of ₹234.5 billion (~$3.66 billion) based on their performance in facilitating rooftop solar deployment. The concept, if approved, would serve as the basis for MNRE’s revised Phase-II rooftop solar program.
The Solar City announcement also represents a step forward in BRPL’s efforts to meet its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). It will also provide some relief to overburdened power distribution companies.
The new program comes as stiff financial penalties are being planned for agencies that fail to meet their RPO requirements.
In July 2017, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-electricity-regulatory-commission-issues-draft-regulations-rpos-recs-financial-years-2017-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the draft regulations put forth by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) for RPOs and RECs for the financial years 2017-2020.
In the draft order, DERC specified that any obligated entity that fails to fulfill its specified RPO during a financial year will be liable to pay a penalty to the area distribution licensee. The penalty will be computed by multiplying the RPO shortfall by the floor price of the solar REC for the shortfall of the relevant year.
According to MNRE, Delhi had rooftop solar installations totaling 55 MW in November 2017.
Image credit: AAP Delhi

Delhi’s BSES Launches Solar City Initiative to Boost Rooftop Installations

The state government of Delhi has released the Delhi Solar Policy 2016, which is applicable for the four-year period 2016-2020. This policy will be applicable for any solar energy generating system with a capacity of 1 kW or more.
The <a href="http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/7209b9804dab8f74a5e2ef998ec321bd/Solar+Policy+Notification+Final+English.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&amp;lmod=-276071204" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">policy</a> focuses on promoting an investment climate that enables multiple financial models, from self-owned (CAPEX) to third-party owned (RESCO) models. The promotion of solar rooftop through a combination of generation targets, regulations, mandates, and incentives is at the heart of the new Delhi Solar Policy 2016. This policy applies to all electricity consumers and all entities who construct and operate power projects in Delhi. To achieve Delhi’s solar generation targets, the policy mandates solar installations to be complete within five years on all government-owned rooftops.
Policy Highlights:
<ul>
<li>It will be mandatory for all government buildings with a rooftop area of 500 m2 or above to install a solar PV project as far as possible with a minimum capacity (kW) computed as follows: Capacity in kW = (total shadow free rooftop area x 75 percent) ÷ 12.</li>
<li>A generation- based incentive (GBI) of Rs.2.00/kWh of gross solar energy generated is being offered for three years to domestic and residential consumers.</li>
<li>The minimum eligibility criteria for GBI will be 1,100 solar energy units (kWh) generated per annum per kW. For solar projects that generate less than 1,100 units (kWh) per kW a year, the GBI will not apply. The annual solar energy generation that is eligible for GBI will be capped at 1,500 kWh per kW, irrespective of the readings of the solar generation meter.</li>
<li>All solar projects will be treated as ‘Must Run’ projects and will not be subject to Merit Order Rating (MOR)/Merit Order Dispatch (MOD) principles.</li>
<li>Evacuation infrastructure will be developed and augmented, wherever necessary, by the state transmission Licensee or state DISCOM (distribution company).</li>
<li>Developers of all solar projects above 1 MW will have to install necessary equipment to monitor solar irradiance, wind speed, ambient air temperature, and electricity generated and injected into the system or self-consumed from the solar project.</li>
<li>The Delhi state government will work with Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to develop virtual net-metering (in which consumers can be beneficial owners of a part of a collectively owned solar project) framework for all consumers not later than April 1, 2017.</li>
</ul>
The state DISCOM will give preference to sourcing 75 percent of the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target from within the state.

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