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<p>Central and state government agencies made several important announcements in March that were designed to bolster the development of the domestic renewable energy sector.</p>
<p>The following are some of the key announcements made by the state and union governments during March in India’s renewable sector, especially solar:</p>
<p><strong>State</strong></p>
<p>The union territory of <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lakshadweep-joins-uday-program/">Lakshadweep</a> become the 32<sup>nd</sup> signatory to the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) program.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/maharashtra-deviation-charges-solar-wind/">Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC)</a> issued draft regulations for the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind power generation in the state.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/jharkhand-20-percent-subsidy-schools-rooftop/">Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA)</a> announced that it will provide an additional 20 percent subsidy for the installation of rooftop solar systems in schools.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/karnataka-banking-period-solar-renewable/">Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC)</a> reduced the banking period for renewable energy projects to six months from one year.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bihar-draft-open-access-regulation/">Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC)</a> issued draft regulations pertaining to intrastate open access for 2018.</p>
<p>The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) proposed a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/benchmark-tariff-solar-wind-tamil-nadu/">benchmark tariff</a> of ₹3.11 (~$0.047)/kWh without accelerated depreciation (AD) for solar power projects and ₹2.86 (~$0.043)/kWh without AD for wind projects.</p>
<p>The Uttar Pradesh state government released a roadmap for promoting the development of EV vehicle manufacturing capacity in the state, called the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/uttar-pradesh-ev-manufacturing-policy/">Draft Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicles (EVs) Manufacturing Policy 2018</a>.</p>
<p>The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-wind-deviation-charges-punjab/">PSERC</a>) issued draft regulations for the forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement of solar and wind power generation in the state.</p>
<p>The Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/assam-open-access-regulations/">AERC</a>) issued draft terms and conditions for open access regulations in 2018.</p>
<p>The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/derc-paper-tariff-rationalization/">DERC</a>) issued an approach paper on tariff rationalization. In the paper, DERC examined the existing regulatory framework for the electricity retail tariff and developed a strategy for creating competition in the market.</p>
<p>In its budget for the financial year (FY) for 2018-19, the Delhi government announced that <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhi-budget-ev-fleet/">1,000 electric buses</a> will soon be introduced in the national capital.</p>
<p>The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/berc-power-purchase-cost-discoms/">BERC</a>) 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.</p>
<p><strong>National</strong></p>
<p>The Office of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/dgad-terminates-withdrawn-anti-dumping-case/">DGAD</a>) officially terminated the investigation process for the anti-dumping petition that was filed by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in June 2017 and withdrawn in March 2018.</p>
<p>The office of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) extended the deadline for stakeholders to submit responses in the ongoing solar glass import case from Malaysia to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/dgad-extends-solar-glass-import-case-deadline/">April 10, 2018</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-generalized-tariff-renewables/">Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)</a> issued a set of levelized generic tariffs for the purchase of electricity from a host of renewable power generation sources during financial year (FY) 2018-19.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/e-mobility-program-launch/">National E-Mobility Program</a> was launched in India.</p>
<p>The Government of India said that it was preparing to launch the Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/government-kusum-solarize-agriculture/">KUSUM</a>) program with the goal of solarizing the agricultural sector using solar-powered water pumps and providing solar-powered electricity to rural areas.</p>
<p>The Forum of Regulators (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/recommendations-forum-of-regulators-open-access/">FOR</a>) released a report on issues affecting open access in the country. The report charts a way forward to improve the implementation of open access in India.</p>
<p>The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/cerc-iguidelines-accreditation-rec/">CERC</a>) issued model guidelines for the accreditation of renewable energy projects or distribution licensees (DISCOM) by state agencies under the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism.</p>
<p>The CERC also issued a procedure for the registration of renewable energy projects and distribution licensees (DISCOMs) by the central agency.</p>
<p>The CERC also created a set of procedures for the issuance of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to eligible entities like distribution companies and renewable energy generators.</p>
<p>The International Solar Alliance (<a href="https://mercomindia.com/isa-host-agreement-india/">ISA</a>) became a juridical personality following the signing of a Host Country Agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).</p>
<p><strong>MNRE</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-amends-cfa-guidelines-stu/">Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)</a> amended the payment guidelines for the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) provided to state and central transmission utilities (STU/CTU) that are involved in developing power evacuation infrastructure for solar parks.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-revises-enforcement-date-quality-control/">MNRE</a> revised the schedule and enforcement date for the Solar Photovoltaics, Systems, Devices, and Component Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration under BIS Act) Order 2017.</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/saumy/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Saumy Prateek</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/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Saumy Prateek</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Saumy Prateek</a></p>
</div>
<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="79" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" rel="noopener"><strong>Saumy Prateek, </strong> </a>is a senior staff reporter with MercomIndia.com covering business and energy news since 2016. Prior to Mercom, Saumy was a copy editor at Thomson Reuters. Saumy earned his Bachelors Degree in Journalism &amp; Mass Communication from the Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/">More articles from Saumy Prateek.</a></div>
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Solar Policy Roundup: Key Announcements by Government Agencies in March 2018

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