The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission put out the draft (Grid Interactive Rooftop Renewable Energy Generating Systems) Regulations, 2019 and the Explanatory Memorandum on 26th October, 2019 for public comments. The draft regulations propose to allow net-metering only to residential consumers, that too with a cap of 300 kWh/month, while mandating net-billing framework for all other consumer categories.  

We welcome the publication of this draft regulation as it is key for the growth of the distributed small scale rooftop solar sector in the state. There was a long felt need to make various changes in the existing net-metering regulations to make them more balanced for all stakeholders but which would also support the growth of the rooftop solar sector given its various benefits.

We propose that the Commission should continue to allow the choice of net-metering or net-billing to the consumer. However, we also suggest several changes in the net-metering framework to make it conducive for more equitable risk sharing going ahead. Our detailed submission on these draft regulations is attached below.