
NTPC to Curtail Power Supply to Jammu and Kashmir as Unpaid Dues Reach ₹20 Billion
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has written a letter to the Power Development Department (PDD) of Jammu and Kashmir, warning to restrict power supply and reallocate the power from ...

Ministry of Power Sets Committee to Recommend Solutions for Payment Delays by DISCOMs
The Ministry of Power (MoP) has constituted a new committee to study and submit its recommendations into the issue of delayed payments by distribution companies (DISCOMS) to power generating companies ...

Andhra Pradesh’s New Solar Policy Targets 5 GW of Projects in Five Years
Andhra Pradesh has come up with a new solar policy with the aim to promote widespread usage of solar power and targets a minimum total solar power capacity addition of ...

Bihar DISCOMs Liable to Pay Penalty in Case of Non-fulfillment of Solar RPO
The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) has revised the draft regulations pertaining to Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) compliance and Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) framework implementation. According to the new provisions, ...

15 States in India Achieve 100% Household Electrification Under SAUBHAGYA Program
According to the government, 15 states in India have achieved 100 percent household electrification under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna (SAUBHAGYA) program so far. Mercom had reported on ...

DISCOMs Should Have a Defined Timeline for Installing Grid-Tied Solar Inverters: Interview
There has been a lot of talk lately echoing the sentiment that the next big market in India at the residential level will be solar integrated with power back-up technology ...

Interview: Utilities Need to Enable Prosumers for Rooftop Solar to Flourish
Rooftop installations in India are well behind utility-scale installations. Only 2 GW of rooftop solar has been installed as of Q1 2018 out of the 40 GW by 2022 target set ...

India’s Power Utilities’ Ratings Over the Last Year Decline Slightly
The Ministry of Power (MoP) recently released its sixth annual integrated ratings for the state distribution utilities. Out of the 41 utilities that were covered in the report, five utilities ...

Top DISCOMs Achieving 100% Household Electrification Could be Rewarded ₹500 Million
The Ministry of Power (MoP) is thinking of providing incentives to distribution companies (DISCOMs) and its employees who meet the household electrification target under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar ...

R.K. Singh Asks States to Curb the Losses Incurred by DISCOMs
Emphasizing on the need to electrify each and every household across the country, the Minister of Power, R.K. Singh, has asked all the ministers and officials to work together as ...

Gujarat Retenders 500 MW of Grid-Connected Solar Projects
Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has retendered 500 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed across the state. GUVNL has announced the tender in order to ...

India’s Rooftop Solar in Dire Need of Innovative Financing Solutions
Four years ago, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India set a target to install 175 GW of renewable capacity by the year 2022. Of the targeted capacity, 100 ...

Government Likely to Amend Electricity Act to Ensure that DISCOMs Enter PPAs
The union government has proposed an amendment to the Electricity Act to ensure that the companies applying for power distribution rights also sign the requisite Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The ...

Delhi Residents May Soon be Paid for Unscheduled Power Cuts
The Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi, Anil Baijal, has approved the proposal put forward by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government regarding compensation for residents in case of unscheduled power cuts ...

Tamil Nadu Sets ₹2.86/kWh as the New Levelized Generic Tariff for Wind Projects
The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has issued a new levelized generic tariff for the procurement of wind-based power in the state for the financial year (FY) 2018-19. The ...

BERC Sets ₹4.16/kWh as Average Power Purchase Cost for Bihar DISCOMs
The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) has fixed ₹4.16 (~$0.064)/kWh as the average power purchase cost (APPC) for the state’s distribution companies (DISCOMs) during financial year 2018-19. The APPC does ...

Four States Accounted for 75 Percent of India’s Utility-Scale Solar Installations in 2017
With the addition of 9.6 GW of new solar capacity, 2017 was a banner year for solar in India. At the end of the year, India’s cumulative solar installations stood ...

Union Territory of Lakshadweep Joins Government’s UDAY Program
The union territory of Lakshadweep has become the latest signatory to the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) program which has been implemented by the government of India to assist in ...

Development Banks Loaned $1.4 Billion to Indian Solar Rooftops in 2017
Various development banks made substantial concessional loans to assist the Indian government in its plans to expand solar rooftop installations in 2017. According to a new report by the Ministry ...

MNRE Announces $3.7B in Financial Assistance to DISCOMs to Boost Rooftop Solar in India
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released a new proposal to overhaul the existing rooftop solar implementation mechanism by making it the responsibility of distribution companies (DISCOMs) ...

Indian Solar Installations Totaled a Record 2.2 GW in Q3 as Uncertainties Loom
Indian solar installations totaled 2,247 MW in Q3 2017, up 300 MW from Q2 according to the recently released India Solar Market Update by Mercom India Research. However, like in ...

CERC Releases Inter-State Transmission Connectivity Draft Regulations for Solar and Wind Projects
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has released draft regulations for granting Inter-State Transmission Connectivity to solar and wind projects. The proposal, entitled “Grant of Connectivity and General Network Access ...

PPA Still Not Signed for 250 MW Kadapa Solar Park Project
The power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 250 MW grid-connected solar project at Kadapa Solar Park has not yet been signed, adding to the increasing uncertainty in India’s solar sector ...

Karnataka Government Annuls KERC Order Requiring State to Approve Wind PPAs
The Karnataka State Government has annulled a Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) order requiring them to sign wind power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the state. The Karnataka State Government in ...

Power Ministry to Amend Laws Making PPAs & RPOs Mandatory
The Indian government is expected to soon amend laws making obligations under power purchase agreements (PPA) statutory binding, to ensure that all power distribution companies (DISCOMs) have PPAs to cover ...