The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has provided guidelines concerning the setup of rooftop solar systems for sugar factories that possess energy/power purchase agreements (EPA/PPA) with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) for their bagasse-based cogeneration ventures.
The directives, designed to enforce the MERC ruling dated July 21, 2022, specify that sugar mills holding EPA/PPA contracts with MSEDCL for bagasse-based cogeneration projects are required to submit requests to the Chief Engineer (renewable energy) for the installation of grid-connected rooftop solar setups. The cogeneration meter and the solar generation meter will be installed at the same voltage level. The generating meters will be tested at MSEDCL testing labs prior to installation. The sugar factory runs in two different modes: operating during the bagasse project’s generation and not operating during that same phase. Following commissioning, the solar project should be regarded as a hybrid project during the operational phase of the sugar factory and operated under a net metering or net-billing arrangement during the non-operational phase.