Industry laments lack of green reforms in GED business plan

PANAJI

Industry in Goa has expressed dissatisfaction over the lack  of reforms and initiatives to tap alternative renewable energy  sources to generate power in the five-year business plan of the Goa Electricity Department which underwent  public scrutiny at a hearing conducted by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission on Friday in Panaji.

In a written submission to the Commission, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry has suggested that Goa must explore setting up mini and small hydro units.

The State's most prominent industry body also made a strong case for "rationalising" the green energy tariff.

It said, the Union power ministry notified Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules 2022 and Green Energy should be made available at affordable tariffs. 

"The current tariff proposed at Rs 7.21/Kwh for FY 25-26 is at a rate which is not in line with the purpose of promoting green energy," the GCCI said in its written   submission to the Commission.

It said, when the landed cost is Rs 4.21/ kwh, addition of distribution service charge, backing down cost and cross subsidy surcharge, increases the cost by over 70%.

"It is not making green energy tariff attractive for consumers who want to opt for it," the GCCI said, adding that it be rationalised to make it viable.

CII Goa's Anish Souza told the Commission that the changes made to how consumers who set up units of renewable energy are billed via a notification in June last year has disincentivised green energy production in the State.

"Earlier the billing regime was metering based. The notification in June last year changed it to net billing," Souza said.

He explained that before the June 2024 notification an industrial consumer which had set up solar units used to be either billed or given credit depending on whether number of solar units produced is greater or less than the regular power consumed by it.

"What the notification says is that you will be billed for the regular power you consume and the department would pay you for the solar energy you produce and feed to the grid at the average rates at which it purchases green power which is much lower," Souza said in his oral submissions at the public hearing.

He warned that this would be a serious hurdle in Goa's quest to meet the green energy production targets set by the centre by 2030.