The Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) has withdrawn 65 suo motu petitions initiated against various obligated entities for non-compliance with renewable purchase obligation (RPO) targets.

This move follows a notification issued by the Ministry of Power introducing the renewable consumption obligation (RCO) framework that replaces state-level RPO mechanisms across India.

Previously, MPERC had taken suo motu cognizance of several obligated entities ranging from distribution companies to open access consumers for failure to meet their RPO obligations under the existing Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation and Compliance) Regulations.

In August, the Commission issued show-cause notices to 65 such entities, seeking explanations and evidence of compliance for renewable energy procurement shortfalls. The entities were directed to respond within a stipulated time or face potential regulatory penalties.

However, the Ministry of Power’s RCO notification marked a major policy transformation, harmonizing renewable consumption targets across all states and mandating that national RCO norms will henceforth govern RPO targets and compliance.

This effectively eliminates the need for state-level RPO enforcement proceedings, as central compliance will be tracked uniformly across India.

In its final order, MPERC observed that with the RCO framework now in effect, its earlier show-cause notices issued under the state’s RPO regulations had become redundant. The Commission therefore dropped all suo motu petitions, withdrew the notices, and clarified that any future renewable compliance will fall under the scope of the Ministry of Power’s RCO mechanism.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission recently proposed that designated entities, including electricity distribution companies, open access consumers, and captive consumers, can fulfill their RCO by paying a buyout price of ₹245 (~$2.79)/MWh.

The buyout price will reflect the green attribute cost and the electricity component cost separately, unbundled. The obligated entity seeking to adopt a buyout price would pay this price, which would represent a green attribute equivalent to the REC price.

The buyout price is the newly proposed means by the CERC to meet RCO, along with the existing method of consuming renewable electricity directly or through an energy storage system and purchasing or self-generating renewable energy certificates.

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