Indian Power Ministry to bring in time of day tariff arrangement from April 2024 to better use solar power & other renewables; MNRE extends timeline for solar program by 2 years; Indian solar technology start-up SafEarth raises INR 35 million for expansion.
ToD to be introduced in India: The Ministry of Power (MoP) has introduced a 'win-win' situation with the time of day (ToD) tariff arrangement. Come April 1, 2024, the electricity tariff during the 8 hours of daytime or solar hours will be 10% to 20% less than the normal tariff, but during peak hours of evening, it will be 10% to 20% higher. It will be applicable to the commercial & industrial (C&I) segment with a maximum demand of 10 kW and above. The same rule will come into force for all other consumers, barring agricultural consumers, from April 1, 2025.
"Since solar power is cheaper, the tariff during the solar hours will be less, so the consumer benefits. During non-solar hours thermal and hydro power as well as gas based capacity is used – their costs are higher than that of solar power – this will be reflected in Time of Day Tariff. Now consumers can plan their consumption in order to reduce their power costs – planning more activities during solar hours when power costs are less," said MoP and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Head, RK Singh.
The ToD will be made effective immediately after installation of smart meters, for the consumers with smart meters. "The ToD tariff will improve the management of renewable generation fluctuations, incentivize demand increase during the periods of high RE generation hours and thereby increase grid integration of larger quantity of renewable power," said Singh.
Solar program gets lifeline: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has extended the timeline for the Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects by 2 years, till FY 2025-26. As against the previous deadline of FY 2023-24, it will now end on March 31, 2026 without any additional financial implication, according to an office memorandum issued. Under this program previously, the country was aiming to add 20 GW PV capacity which was later raised to 40 GW to be installed in the form of at least 50 solar parks with a minimum capacity of 500 MW or more (see India Doubles Solar Park Capacity Target To 40 GW).
The government says a little over 10 GW has been commissioned out of 40 GW targeted as a few solar parks have been cancelled due to their slow progress. Till November 30, 2022, it had sanctioned a total of 57 solar parks with an aggregate capacity of 39.28 GW under the scheme. Challenges faced in its implementation include acquisition of clear land; mismatch in timelines between solar projects and power evacuation infrastructure; environmental issues like the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) issue in Rajasthan and Gujarat; deceleration of pace of implementation to a considerable extent due to COVID pandemic, etc, according to Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh.
INR 35 million for SafEarth: Solar technology company catering to commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, SafEarth has raised INR 35 million ($0.43 million) from a host of investors to use for product development and expansion into new industrial belts in India. SafEarth works by using its technology to engineer a customized solar power plant for which it then holds an online auction to select a suitable vendor at the best price. SafEarth provides project management and system monitoring for the facilities. It counts to have completed 171 MW in more than 100 industrial solar projects to date, which it aims to now expand further. Funding round was led by Anthill Ventures, Third Derivative and Mumbai Angels.