BERC announces draft tariff regulations for renewable energy

The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) has issued draft Terms and Conditions for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources Regulations, 2020. Once finalised, the regulations will remain in effect for a period of three years from the date of enforcement. Under the proposed regulations, project-specific tariffs will be determined for biogas-based, hybrid solar thermal power, small-hydro and other hybrid projects as well as for any new renewable energy technologies approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. A useful life of 40 years has been fixed for small-hydro projects, whereas for all other renewable energy sources the useful life has been fixed at 25 years. Project-specific tariffs will also be determined for wind and solar projects including rooftop solar and solar thermal projects with a capacity exceeding 5 MW. The draft is open for comments from stakeholders and interested parties up to September 25, 2020.