Delhi: New framework to make use of solar energy by residents lucrative

NEW DELHI: Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, to further the deployment of renewable energy projects in Delhi, in concurrence with power minister Satyendar Jain, has notified the Group Net Metering Framework and Virtual Net Metering Framework for the city.
This will allow thousands of RWAs and lakhs of individuals to take advantage of the schemes of the Delhi government in the solar energy sector, with a particular push to agri-solar and rooftop solar energy, a Delhi government release stated on Friday.
Consumers can aggregate their demand and make investment as RWAs or CGHSs and avail GNM, whilst consumers can also collectively own solar power generating systems.
Under Group Net Metering (GNM), the surplus electricity exported into the grid through a net meter will be adjusted with other service connections of the same consumer in the same discom area. Virtual Net Metering (VNM) will allow the renewable energy generator to export electricity into the grid through a renewable energy meter or gross meter, which can be adjusted in more than one electricity service connections of participating consumers in the discom area.
As per guidelines, the renewable energy system capacity under GNM and VNM shall not be less than 5KW and more than 5,000KW. It also highlighted that a distribution licensee shall facilitate and bear the capital expenditure on account of Service Line cum Development (SLD) and network augmentation towards renewable energy projects registered under Mukhyamantri Kisaan Aay Badhotari Yojna (MKABY). The cost incurred by the distribution licensee shall be passed in Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) for the schemes implemented up to March 31, 2022.
To get the GNM or VNM connection, the applicants will have to submit an application along with a non-refundable fees of Rs 1,000 to the respective discom in order to carry out the three-tier process of feasibility analysis, registration and connection agreement.
The GNM framework would be applicable to all consumers category in Delhi, while VNM framework shall be applicable for residential consumers, group housing societies, offices of government or local authorities and renewable energy generators registered under MKABY.
“This is a big push for renewable energy in Delhi. The government has clearly outlined its energy vision for sustainability, decentralisation, and anti-corruption. In collaboration with DERC, honest politics and ethical policy decisions have been taken in the last five years, which have ensured that tariffs don’t rise in the state of Delhi, making it the only Indian city and state to do so,” said Jain.