Payment for excess solar power delayed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Payments due from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to rooftop solar power producers for excess electricity supplied to the grid are being delayed, prompting solar producers to prepare for protest programmes. The delay is due to the regulatory commission not announcing the Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC), which determines the value of the excess electricity, or net-banked energy, supplied to the grid.

Under Regulation 85(10) of the regulatory commission's 2021 regulations concerning solar power, the rate for excess electricity for the following year has to be determined and announced by July 31 after the end of each financial year.

The Regulatory Commission and KSEB say a case pending before the High Court in connection with the new regulations is the reason for the delay. Solar power producers, however, demand that action be taken under the existing Regulation-2020, as the High Court has stayed the new regulations introduced by the commission.

March to Secretariat

The Prosumer Collective has warned that it will launch protest programmes, including marches to the Secretariat and the KSEB headquarters, if the commission and the government fail to announce the APPC rate for 2025-26 and protect the rights of solar investors.

The collective alleges that attempts are being made to impose several restrictions on prosumers under the pretext of the new regulations. It says the uncertainty over the payment of the amount due for excess electricity has come on top of these restrictions.