Net Metering Progress in Delhi

• Delhi based utility BSES has announced that it has installed 206 net metering connections in the state with a total load of 7 MW
• Part of Reliance Group, BSES claims to have become the first utility in the country to have scored a double century in net metering
• At least 40 leading educational institutions have started net metering
• BSES claims it has the largest number of domestic rooftop connections in India
• Around 50 connections with a load of over 1.5 MW are right now under various stages of commissioning at the consumer's end, according to BSES

BSES, a New Delhi based solar distribution company (discom) announced that it has installed 206 rooftop solar net metering connections in the state. All these have a combined capacity of 7 MW. With this, the Reliance Group owned discom claims to have become the first utility in the country to have reached the level of 200 solar net metering systems

Net metering allows consumers to see how much electricity is generated from the solar energy system installed on their premises and depending on own consumption also decide how much they are sending back to the grid. The discom then adjusts the amount of generation based incentives (GBI) against the electricity bills of the consumers.

Rooftop solar has had a very slow start in India. The government is targeting 40 GW of rooftop PV capacity by 2022, but at the end of March 2016, the cumulative capacity stood only at 740 MW. The central government is trying to push rooftop PV by providing subsidies and offering net metering, but in particular residential rooftop solar still has a long way to go in India. However, the government has made solar-rooftop PV mandatory for state-owned and run buildings (see Solar For Indian Government Buildings).

Now, it is mostly educational and commercial institutions that have started to warm up to rooftop solar. In a tweet, the BSES stated that 40 leading educational institutions have taken to net metering, and it has the 'largest number of domestic rooftop connections'. While it did not give separate figures in the tweet, it released an official statement. Local media reported that the utility has almost 50 connections with a sanctioned load of over 1.5 MW under various stages of commissioning at the consumer's end.

BSES serves the electricity needs of Delhi through BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL). Under the state's solar power policy announced in June 2016, Delhi wants to generate 1,000 MW capacity by 2020 and 2,000 MW by 2025 . The government has promised to pay GBI or feed-in-tariff of 2.00 INR per unit ($0.03) for next three years from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018.

Nevertheless, the rooftop PV market is poised to grow in the long run given the government's focus and the economical sense it makes. In a recent webinar, global business advisory and auditing consultancy KPMG's Santosh Kamath said that by 2020 India will be able to install only 10 GW of rooftop PV, but it is expected to grow at a faster pace beyond 2022.