In a significant development, the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) has issued an order, revising its regulations with the aim of accelerating rooftop solar adoption in the state. Through this order, RERC has increased the net metering limit for rooftop solar systems from 500 kW to 1 MW. This new 1 MW limit will be applicable for all consumer categories across Rajasthan.
Another key highlight of the order is the removal of the cap which restricted rooftop solar capacity to 100 per cent of sanctioned load or contract demand of the consumer. The revision allows systems up to 1 MW capacity to be installed irrespective of the sanctioned load. Previously, distribution companies had requested RERC to restrict drawl of banked solar power units during peak hours and mandate storage systems. However, the new order does not impose any such restrictions or conditions as of now. The RERC has also not levied any additional charges such as grid usage charges for the present time. It has stated that such measures may be considered in future depending on rooftop solar penetration levels in the state. The order has been issued under Regulation 7 and Regulation 19 of RERC’s Grid Interactive Distributed Renewable Energy Generating Systems Regulations 2021.
The aim is to incentivise large public and private institutions, schools, hospitals, housing societies, commercial establishments that have large vacant roof spaces to deploy megawatt scale rooftop solar systems under the revised 1 MW net metering limit. The move is expected to significantly accelerate rooftop solar deployments in Rajasthan which has high solar potential but low adoption currently. This will help the state meet its ambitious target of 90 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
