KERC Draft Aims To Achieve 1.5% Distributed RE Mandate Till 25

KERC Draft Aims To Achieve 1.5% Distributed RE Mandate Till 25

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has released a draft proposal aimed at encouraging the expedited procurement of renewable energy. It has invited comments from the stakeholders concerned on the proposal until November 27, 2024.

Currently, the state has 8930.10 MW of solar, 6564.36 MW of wind energy, and 22378.34 MW of total renewable energy capacity till the end of September 2024. The draft proposes amendments to increase the minimum share of electricity from renewable sources. The updated targets raise the required contributions from wind (0.67%), hydro (0.38%), distributed renewable energy (1.50%), and other renewable sources (27.35%), bringing the total renewable energy share to 29.91% for the fiscal year 2024-25. This regulation applies to projects commissioned after March 31, 2024.

The draft also elaborated on the provision of hydro renewable energy, which included energy produced from hydropower project, including pumped storage projects (PSP) and small hydro projects (SHP).

The draft included a provision to balance out the excess energy consumption under the wind, renewable or hydro-renewable energy in that year. For any excess energy produced other than renewable energy, the draft laid down a provision to use that energy to meet the shortfall in achievement of stipulated wind energy or hydro renewable energy.

For consumers who are, a single entity, but located in more than one location, the combined RPO of all such units within Karnataka state will be used to meet the RPO target.

To help achieve these targets, the draft specifies that a portion of the renewable energy requirement should be met through wind energy, including energy produced by projects commissioned after March 31, 2024. The regulation also supports decentralized renewable energy projects of less than 10 MW and includes all solar configurations, such as net, gross, virtual, and group metering, as well as behind-the-meter installations. Additionally, it specifies that distributed energy generation should be calculated as multiples of 3.5 units per kilowatt.