Featured picture: Staff carry a broken photovoltaic panel inside a solar energy plant in Gujarat, July 2, 2015. Photograph: Reuters/Amit Dave/Recordsdata
The federal government of India has proposed a brand new algorithm for electrical energy customers within the nation. Among the many notable ones proposed are fixing automated compensation to customers for delayed service and laws for grid-interactive photo voltaic rooftop programs – a proposal that has raised issues for the photo voltaic rooftop sector within the nation.
The draft Electrical energy (Rights of Shoppers) Guidelines, 2020 which had been unveiled by Union Ministry of Energy on September 9 acknowledged that the State Electrical energy Regulatory Commissions (SERC) shall come out with “regulations on grid-interactive rooftop solar PV (photovoltaic) system” and its associated issues with timelines inside six months of notification of those guidelines in case the identical has not been notified.
The draft guidelines mentioned these laws shall present for “net metering for loads up to five kW (kilowatt) and for gross metering for loads above five KW.” The ministry has sought feedback and views from all stakeholders by September 30.
Beneath the online metering mechanism, the payments of electrical energy customers, who even have photo voltaic rooftop energy programs, are adjusted in opposition to the solar energy they add to the grid. Whereas within the gross metering mechanism, a shopper is compensated at a set feed-in-tariff for the overall variety of models of photo voltaic vitality generated and exported to the grid and has to pay the facility distribution firm at retail provide tariff for the electrical energy consumed from the grid. The feed-in-tariff and retail provide tariff are usually totally different charges.
Nevertheless, this might turn into problematic.
Shantanu Dixit of Prayas, a Pune-based non-governmental organisation engaged on vitality points, emphasised that if these draft guidelines come into implementation as they’re, they are going to have a extreme influence on the photo voltaic rooftop sector.
“There needs to be a wider debate about provisions for the solar rooftop sector in these rules. If they are accepted as it is then effectively the solar rooftop sector will come to a grinding halt. They are talking about net metering of only upto five KW whereas the central government’s intention (in many other plans) and many state governments’ focus is to have a larger solar rooftop sector. These rules in present form could have a serious negative impact on the growth of the solar rooftop sector,” Dixit advised Mongabay-India.
India has a goal of 100,000 megawatts (MW) of solar energy by 2022 and of that 40,000 MW is focused from the photo voltaic rooftop. At current (until June 30), in response to a Bridge to India report, India’s put in photo voltaic rooftop capability is about 5,953 MW.
Vibhuti Garg, vitality economist with the Institute of Vitality Economics and Monetary Evaluation (IEEFA), welcomed the deal with the photo voltaic rooftop. “Promotion of solar rooftop is also very positive. However, the issue of the net and gross metering needs to be properly evaluated,” Garg advised Mongabay-India.
In the meantime, the draft guidelines mentioned that renewable vitality models may even be arrange on different elements of the premises of the prosumers, aside from the roof. Nevertheless, the overall technology capability of the renewable unit shall not exceed the restrict as prescribed by the SERCs. Prosumer means an individual which consumes electrical energy from the grid and may inject electrical energy into the grid utilizing the identical level of connection. It additionally mentioned the facility distribution corporations shall cross on the monetary incentives to the prosumers as may be offered below numerous schemes and programmes of the central and state authorities.
Compensation for poor service
Other than the photo voltaic rooftop sector, the draft guidelines additionally specify the main points relating to the companies and compensation {that a} shopper is entitled to. As an example, the draft guidelines mentioned SERCs shall specify the utmost time interval not exceeding seven days in metro cities, 15 days in different municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas, inside which the facility distribution corporations shall present new connections and modify an current connection.
It additionally mentioned that no connection shall be given and not using a meter which shall be the sensible prepayment meter or prepayment meter. It clarified that any exception to this shall be duly accredited by the SERCs which shall document correct justification for permitting so.
The draft guidelines additional mentioned that if any invoice is served with a delay of a interval of 60 days or extra, the customers shall be given a rebate of 2-5% as specified by the state commissions. Nevertheless, it famous {that a} invoice quantity of greater than Rs 1,000 or an quantity specified by the fee shall mandatorily be paid on-line and SERCs shall specify an appropriate incentive rebate for cost by way of a web-based system.
It additionally mentioned the distribution licensee shall provide 24X7 energy to all customers. Nevertheless, the Fee may specify decrease hours of provide for some classes of customers like agriculture.
On these proposals, Prayas’s Shantanu Dixit mentioned that the draft guidelines are a welcome step however most of the provisions talked about in them exist already in guidelines and laws framed by numerous states.
“There is an urgent need to focus on the quality of the services given to electricity consumers. Many of the provisions proposed in these draft rules already exist … so, what is required is the proper implementation of these provisions in letter and spirit. Secondly, what is important to know is how these rules will be binding on states or not. There needs to be clarity on the legal status of these rules,” Dixit advised Mongabay-India.
He additional defined that there are some helpful provisions as effectively within the draft guidelines like automated compensation for distributing corporations not following fundamental service requirements however “to implement them significant infrastructure and technology integration” can be required.
The draft guidelines proposed that the SERCs shall additionally notify the requirements of efficiency for the facility distribution corporations and shall specify the compensation quantity to be paid to the customers for violations of these requirements. The requirements of efficiency for which compensation can be required to the paid to the patron might embody components like no provide to a shopper past a specific period (to be specified by the state Commissions), the variety of interruptions in provide past the boundaries as specified by the commissions, time taken for connection, disconnection, reconnection, shifting, change within the shopper class, load, time taken for adjustments in shopper particulars, alternative of faulty meters, the time interval inside which payments are to be served, time interval of resolving voltage-related and bill-related complaints and many others.
Karthik Ganesan, who’s a analysis fellow on the Council on Vitality, Setting and Water (CEEW), mentioned the draft of those new rights for customers, is akin to previous wine in a brand new bottle however hopefully the packaging will attract those that have abstained from exercising their rights.
“Much of the content in this new draft is covered under the electricity supply codes that various state regulators have notified early in the last decade. Electricity is a commodity that is either priced too high that it deters consumption and payments or well below the value it provides to its consumers. Either case is not conducive to get consumers to exercise these rights or for utilities to actually make the effort to fulfil their obligations. The poor will continue to face poor levels of service and the rich (relatively) will turn to options beyond the discoms (distribution companies) when they see services floundering. In finding the right value for electricity lies the success of any effort to enforce accountability on part of both consumers and utilities,” Ganesan advised Mongabay-India.
Vibhuti Garg echoed related views. “The Electricity Act mandates a reliable and quality supply of power to consumers. However, their rights have been ignored and no compensation is provided to them in case of non-compliance of standards. The proposed consumer rules recognise this fact and have put consumer rights at the centre. It will help push distribution companies to provide quality supply as else it will attract penalties, which will further increase pressure on their financial health. The consumers need to be made aware of their rights and start demanding it,” mentioned Garg whereas including {that a} shift to on-line funds will assist in attaining authorities’s objective of digitalisation and ease the stress of discoms on assortment.
Atul Goyal, who’s President of the United Residents Joint Motion, a community of about 2,500 resident welfare associations in Delhi and non-governmental organisations, acknowledged that by limiting cash cost deposits for payments to Rs 1,000, which isn’t in good style, it seems that center and lower-middle-class customers are pushed in direction of adopting the digital mode of cost solely assuming that everybody is supplied with an e mail and a smartphone in hand.
“Although renewable solar energy net metering is welcome the document does not speak of the accountability of executives and the citizen charter applicability fixing timelines for action on various aspects by state agencies,” Goyal advised Mongabay-India.
This text was initially revealed on Mongabay.
