The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for the state of Goa and Union Territories has determined the levelized tariff for ground-mounted and rooftop solar projects in the Union Territories of Daman & Diu.

For rooftop solar projects installed from July 2019 to March 2020, a levelized tariff of ₹4.73 ($0.06)/kWh was approved. For rooftop solar projects installed in the financial year 2020-21, ₹4.72 ($0.06)/kWh is set. For ground-mount solar projects of 1-3 MW, a tariff of ₹6.31 ($0.08)/kWh is determined and the tariff of a ground-mount solar project of 6 MW capacity is set as ₹5.97 ($0.08)/kWh.

A petition was filed by the Electricity Department, Daman & Diu, which stated that the total installed solar capacity in the union territory is about 14 MW. Of the total capacity, 10 MW is ground-mounted and the remaining is rooftop solar installations.

The Commission is of the view that had the petitioner filed the petition in time, then the problem of determining the tariff from the date of the commercial operation would not have arisen. But since they failed to do so, the Commission calculated year-wise tariff and averaged it.

A similar case was with the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The state distribution company had failed to file the petition to determine the levelized tariff in time and submitted the petition late.

The petition further stated that as per the Renewable Energy Policy, 2017, all high-tension/extra-high-tension (HT/EHT) consumers were directed to install solar rooftop units at 5% of the contract demand. As of now, about 20.6 MW of rooftop solar systems have been installed by HT/EHT consumers.

The petition covers the basis, assumptions, and projections of individual elements constituting the determination of levelized tariff for power from ground-mounted solar PV projects and rooftop solar systems.

The petitioners have stated that the tariff for the power generated from 10,000 kW ground-mounted solar PV plants, 4,137 kW rooftop solar systems along with an additional 279 kW rooftop solar systems, which were commissioned before March 31, 2019, was required to be determined as per JERC Regulation, 2015.

The Commission has observed that the petitioner has failed to file the petition for determining the levelized tariff in time and submitted the petition for these systems at a later stage. Therefore, the tariff for these systems cannot be determined retrospectively and the consumers were burdened for no fault of theirs.

The following tariffs were determined by the Commission based on the merits of the petition:

The tariff of these plants would be applicable from April 1, 2021, onwards.

The Commission reiterated that the petitioner did not file this petition immediately after commissioning of the said projects and delayed the filing of the petition, which they failed to explain. The Commission has taken a serious view regarding the casual approach of the petitioner and directed them to avoid repeating the lapse in the future.

The petitioner cannot be allowed the power purchase cost on these projects up to FY 2020-21 but will be entitled to recover the power purchase cost from April 01, 2021.

The project life of each solar plant shall be considered for 25 years from the date of commissioning of the respective solar plant.

The Commission also directed the petitioner to segregate the solar assets considered in this order from the ‘Fixed Assets Register’ of the electricity department and while filing annual performance review of FY 2021-22 along with the aggregate revenue requirements petition of FY 2022-23.

In 2018, the Diu Smart City became the first in the country to run on 100% renewable energy during daytime hours.

Meanwhile, in 2019, the JERC, in its order, directed the Electricity Department, Daman & Diu to bid sensibly and purchase renewable energy certificates in the remaining months of the financial year 2019-20 to meet its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) targets.

The Commission made it clear that it was unhappy with the electricity department of Daman & Diu as it had failed to exhibit any seriousness about meeting the shortfall in its RPO target.

Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.