The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday issued an amendment to the solar policy it brought out on September 27. The amendment clarifies that the solar project developers will be eligible for ‘renewable energy certificates’ “subject to applicable CERC/APERC guidelines”.
The developers may choose between availing themselves of “eligible incentives” under the AP solar policy or “only the incentives permissible under the CERC/APERC guidelines.”
The ‘amendment’ brought in effectively cautions solar power producers that they might get market tradable RECs only if the guidelines of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission permit. By doing so, it address a lacuna in the policy.
The AP policy essentially sought to encourage solar projects in the state by offering them exemptions from a number of charges such as wheeling and banking, cross-subsidy and electricity duty. These exemptions of course applied only to power sold within the state.