The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in its order has clarified that solar power generators cannot use both open access and net-metering facilities simultaneously for a project. The commission also ruled that the net-metering benefits will be limited to rooftop solar installations of up to 1 MW only. For generators having project capacities of 1 MW and above, net-metering will not be provided and open access rules will apply.
The MERC order came in response to a petition filed by CleanMax Solar to grant net metering permission for a 991 kW rooftop solar PV project at Asahi India Glass Limited situated at MIDC- Taloja, Maharashtra. The commission rejected the petition stating that net metering and open access were two different sets of arrangements for different eligible consumers and required separate the regulatory framework.