Get paid for using Solar Energy

Maharashtra is now the 20^th state in India to introduce the solar net metering policy. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has issued guidelines which allow solar rooftop systems having capacity between 1kW and 1MW to sell power to distribution company.

A net meter is a bidirectional meter capable of recording both consumption and generation of electricity. Once installed, it will allow the solar rooftop owner to deliver excess electricity generated at their premise to the distribution licensee, after supplementing their electricity requirement. The solar rooftop owner will receive credit against such surplus electricity which will be adjusted in their monthly electricity bills supplied by distribution companies.
 

In order to avail the benefits of this policy, the capacity of solar rooftop system to be connected at the owner’s premises should not exceed their contract demand or sanctioned load as mentioned in the electricity bill. The cumulative capacity of such a system connected to the distribution transformer should not exceed 40% of rated capacity of the transformer.

Consider an example, wherein,

This new policy will have no bearing on the total solar capacity installed for self-consumption in one’s premises.

These regulations have been implemented in line with the JNNSM mission to achieve 40,000 MW of solar rooftop capacity by 2022. To know more about these regulations, please visit the MERC website.