The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has set the generic tariff for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects at `3.29 (~$0.047)/kWh for FY2019-20, reports Mercom. This order will apply from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020. According to the commission, this tariff will be applicable for projects where the cost of land and evacuation infrastructure has been included in the capital cost and not provided free by the power purchaser.

The current generic tariff for solar PV is `0.57 (~$0.008)/kWh more than the generic tariff of `2.72 (~$0.04)/kWh for solar PV that was set for FY2018-19. The current generic tariff is based on the results of competitive bidding conducted by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL).

Moreover, the commission has fixed `3.79 (~$0.054)/kWh as the generic tariff for rooftop solar projects. This tariff will not apply to rooftop solar projects covered under the MERC regulations for net metering. This generic tariff for rooftop solar PV projects for FY2019-20 is `0.57 (~$0.0081)/kWh more than the generic tariff of `3.22 (~$0.04609)/kWh that was fixed for FY2018-19.

According to the MERC, if no safeguard duty is paid by a solar PV project developer in spite of import from China or Malaysia, then `0.18 (~$0.0025)/kWh will be deducted from the generic tariff of the projects.

The MERC has also fixed the generic tariff of solar thermal projects at `11.15 (~$0.1603)/kWh with accelerated depreciation of `0.91 (~$0.0130)/kWh.