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					</table>The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.derc.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DERC</a>) has proposed to amend the state&#8217;s net metering regulations for renewable energy to provide greater flexibility to prosumers and eligible consumers by enabling peer-to-peer transactions through blockchain or other technologies.
The proposed amendments seek to enhance secure and reliable electricity trading while ensuring proper accounting and billing by power distribution companies (DISCOMs).
The proposed Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Net Metering for Renewable Energy) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2023, include the addition of new definitions to the existing regulations.
Firstly, &#8220;Blockchain&#8221; is defined as a specialized technology that facilitates peer-to-peer transaction platforms by utilizing decentralized storage to record all transaction data.
Secondly, &#8220;Peer-to-Peer Transaction&#8221; is defined as a transaction based on an interconnected platform acting as a marketplace where consumers and prosumers can trade electricity using blockchain or any other suitable technology.
To promote peer-to-peer transactions, the proposed amendment will hold DISCOMs responsible for ensuring proper accounting and billing.
Additionally, it mandates that Delhi DISCOMs file a petition to determine transaction charges/fees, if necessary, to enable seamless implementation of these transactions.
To encourage the uptake of renewable energy systems, the DERC proposes exempting these systems, including those involved in peer-to-peer transactions, from wheeling, banking, cross-subsidy, and other charges until March 31, 2026.
This exemption provides a favorable environment for prosumers and eligible consumers to participate in the peer-to-peer energy market and further incentivizes the adoption of renewable energy.
The proposed amendments also include updates to references of relevant regulations. Notably, the references to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission&#8217;s (CERC) &#8220;Deviation Settlement Mechanism and related matters&#8221; regulations have been revised to reflect the 2022 version, including any subsequent amendments.
Similarly, references to the Delhi Electricity Supply Code and Performance Standards Regulations of 2007 have been updated to the 2017 version, and references to the DERC&#8217;s &#8220;Renewable Purchase Obligation and Renewable Energy Certificate Framework Implementation&#8221; regulations of 2012 have been replaced with the 2021 version.
Last December, the Delhi Government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/delhis-draft-solar-policy-targets-mw-capacity-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> 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%.
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’s Net Metering Regulations to Allow Electricity Trading Using Blockchain

Australia’s <a href="https://www.powerledger.io/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Power Ledger</a>, a blockchain-based renewable energy trader, has announced a partnership with Thai Digital Energy Development (TDED) to create a blockchain-based digital energy business developing peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading and environmental commodity trading solutions in Thailand.
Thai Digital Energy Development is a joint venture between the Thai government’s PEA ENCOM International, which is a subsidiary of Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), and BCPG Public Company Limited <a href="https://www.bcpggroup.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(BCPG</a>), a Thailand-based company engaged in the production and sale of renewable energy.
According to the company’s statement, the new partnership will expand Power Ledger’s foothold in Thailand, which aims to generate 25% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2037.
Blockchain technology, a by-product of the cryptocurrency rush, is slowly being adopted across industries to promote operational and transactional transparency, thanks to its democratized and decentralized nature. Blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently. Blockchain-based technology has been gaining increasing popularity in numerous business segments around the globe, including solar.
“Blockchain-enabled transactive energy solutions, including peer-to-peer energy trading, virtual power projects, as well as renewable energy certificates. Carbon credits trading will be the key to establishing economically viable renewable energy markets. Our partnership with TDED will allow us to accelerate our efforts to promote distributed digital energy markets in Thailand,” said Dr. Jemma Green, the co-founder of Power Ledger.
According to the company, one of the first projects that will be in focus will be on energy and carbon management at the 12 MW smart campus at Chiang Mai University in Thailand’s north.
Bundit Sapianchai, the president of BCPG and TDED, said that Power Ledger is among the very first pioneers to apply blockchain technology in peer-to-peer energy trading and trading renewable energy certificates (RECs).
“Such expertise in the state-of-the-art technology will help materialize TDED’s goal in the development of digital energy products and services, as well as making clean energy more accessible to people,” Sapianchai added.
Power Ledger has been working with BCPG in Thailand since 2018, when it launched a P2P energy trading trial in Bangkok across the T77 precinct, the company noted.
Further, the company added that Power Ledger’s TraceX REC trading capabilities would be deployed in Thailand this year. It will provide a marketplace for renewable energy certificates and carbon credits trading between generators and buyers.
Last year, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bses-rajdhani-power-ledger-launch-solar-energy-trading-platform-delhi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">partnered with</a> Power Ledger to launch trials for a peer-to-peer energy trading platform. The idea was to enable participants easier and cheaper access to renewable energy and for solar installation owners to monetize power, which would otherwise be wasted.
Previously, it was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/blockchain-renewable-energy-singapore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that Singapore’s SP Group, an energy utility group, launched one of the world’s first blockchain-powered renewable energy certificate marketplaces at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Business Forum.

Power Ledger to Help Thailand Increase Digital Renewable Business Through Blockchain

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://uperc.org/Default2.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UPERC</a>) has approved a pilot project for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions of power from rooftop solar systems using blockchain-based technology.
Under this pilot project, government buildings or consumers will carry out peer-to-peer transactions for the trading of rooftop solar power. The fees for the blockchain technology will be recovered in the account rate of return (ARR) of the concerned distribution licensee.
By using blockchain technology, participants can transfer funds, settle trades, or vote without seeking the approval of the central certifying authority.
The commission has directed the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (<a href="http://upneda.org.in/">UPNEDA</a>) and Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to submit the detailed report on the outcome of the pilot so as to fine tune the contour of the regulations and trading rules and then replicate this arrangement on a broad level within the state.
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, along with Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency, had sought permission to carry out the pilot for peer-to-peer transactions of renewable energy-based electricity.
For implementing this project, India Smart Grid Forum (<a href="http://www.indiasmartgrid.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ISGF</a>) has offered to advise the UPPCL with an advisory fee of ₹5 million (~$69,793). The ISGF has also agreed to waive off the transaction fee.
To promote innovations and peer-to-peer energy transactions using blockchain technology between the rooftop solar prosumers, the state had earlier introduced the concept in its <a href="http://www.uperc.org/App_File/UPERCRSPVDraftRegulations2019-pdf116201865502PM.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive Systems Gross/Net Metering) Regulations 2019</a> issued in January 2019.
According to the <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-truth-about-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harvard Business Review</a>, “…blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way…”
Blockchain-based technology has been gaining increasing popularity in numerous business segments around the globe, including solar.
Last year, Singapore’s <a href="https://www.spgroup.com.sg/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SP Group</a>, an energy utility group, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/blockchain-renewable-energy-singapore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">launched</a> one of the world’s first blockchain-powered renewable energy certificate marketplaces at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (<a href="https://asean.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ASEAN</a>) Energy Business Forum (<a href="http://aebf.leverageinternational.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AEBF</a>).
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/swytch-partner-south-korean-city-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earlier,</a> Mercom reported that Swytch, another U.S.-based blockchain-driven clean energy company, signed a deal with Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea, to reduce carbon emissions in the city.
Image credit: Sunsenz

Uttar Pradesh Approves Blockchain Technology for Trading Power from Rooftop Solar

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (<a href="https://www.bsesdelhi.com/web/bses" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BRPL</a>) has partnered with Power Ledger, a blockchain-based renewable energy trader, and launched trials for a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform.
The platform will allow residents with rooftop solar installations to sell excess energy to their neighbors instead of letting it flow back to the power grid. The idea is to enable participants easier and cheaper access to renewable energy and for solar installation owners to monetize power, which would otherwise be wasted.
When implemented, this would be the first of its kind venture in the country. The trial will comprise 5-6 MW of existing solar infrastructure and will be conducted in a group of gated communities in the Dwarka region of Delhi.
“With the exponential growth in our economy and production, the ability to generate clean energy and utilize it across India without the need for a fully centralized grid is critical. Realizing the importance of distributed generation, we have already built an extensive renewables infrastructure, and this trial with Power Ledger will help us fully utilize that energy,” said BRPL CEO Amal Sinha.
Power Ledger said this completely transparent, decentralized platform could set a precedent for all distributed energy resource trading across the state. It added that no additional hardware or investments are required to sign up to the Power Ledger platform as it uses real-time data and smart meters to enable the consumer-to-consumer trading.
The platform has already been deployed across the globe, including countries like Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Austria. Over time, the trial will be expanded to include blockchain-enabled solutions for group net metering, virtual net metering, electric vehicle charging, and virtual power project applications, Power Ledger said.
Blockchain technology, a by-product of the cryptocurrency rush, is slowly being adopted across industries to promote operational and transactional transparency, thanks to its democratized and decentralized nature. The energy industry is one of the more recent adopters of blockchain-powered infrastructure.
Recently, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/blockchain-renewable-energy-singapore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that Singapore’s SP Group, an energy utility group, launched one of the world’s first blockchain-powered renewable energy certificate marketplaces at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Business Forum.

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