Section 2 in Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Goa and Union Territories (Solar PV Grid Interactive System based on Net Metering) Regulations, 2019" (hereinafter referred to as "Net Metering Regulations, 2019")
2. Definitions, Abbreviations and Interpretations.
- 2.1. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:(1)"Act" means the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003), and subsequent amendments thereof;(2)"Average Power Purchase Cost" (APPC) means the Weighted Average Pooled Price of power purchase at Distribution Licensee's periphery, as approved by the Commission in the Tariff Order of the respective year in which solar energy is generated, from all the energy suppliers on long-term, medium-term and short-term basis, but excluding energy purchased from Renewable Energy sources;(3)"Authority" means the Central Electricity Authority referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 70 of the Act;(4)"Billing cycle" means the period for which regular electricity bills as specified by the Commission, are prepared for different categories of consumers by the Licensee;(5)"COD" or "Commercial Operation Date" or "Date of commercial operation" mean the date on which generating plant is synchronised with the grid system;(6)"Check Meter" means a meter, which shall be connected to the same core of the current transformer (CT) and voltage transformer (VT) to which Solar Energy Meter is connected and shall be used for accounting and billing of electricity in case of failure of main meter or Solar Energy Meter;(7)"Commission" or "Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission" or "JERC" means the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Goa and Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 82 of the Act and constituted under the Act;(8)"Connection Agreement" means the net-metering inter-connection Agreement entered into between the Distribution Licensee and the Consumer;(9)"Consumer" means any person who is connected to the electricity distribution system of the Distribution Licensee or any other person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public, as per the Act or any other law in force as of now and includes any person whose premises are used for receiving power;(10)"Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF in brief)" means the forum for redressal of grievance of Consumers, established under section 42(5) of the Act;(11)"Contracted Load" or "Contract Demand" means the maximum demand in kW, kVA or HP, agreed to be supplied by the Distribution Licensee and as indicated in the Agreement executed between the Licensee and the Consumer;(12)"Credit Note" means number of units (kWh) as credit in the account as surplus power exported to the grid or the banked solar units accounted at the end of financial year by the Consumer for which the Distribution Licensee shall make the payment to the Consumer as per these Regulations;(13)"Distribution Licensee" means a person granted a Licence under Section 14 (b) of the Act authorizing him to operate and maintain a distribution system and supply electricity to the consumers in his area of supply;(14)"Electricity Supply Code" means the Electricity Supply Code specified by the Commission under Section 50 of the Act and subsequent amendments thereof;(15)"Eligible Consumer" means a consumer of electricity in the area of supply of the Distribution Licensee, who uses a self-owned or third party owned solar power project, to offset part or all of the consumer's own electricity requirements;(16)"Feed-in-Tariff" means the Generic Tariff determined by the Commission for generation from Solar Photovoltaic projects for Gross Metering in accordance with the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Goa and UTs (Terms and Conditions for Tariff determination from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2019 or as amended from time to time;(17)"Grid" means the low voltage electrical network, the distribution and transmission network or the high voltage backbone system of inter-connected transmission lines, sub-stations and generating plants for sale of energy or wheeling of energy as defined in these Regulations;(18)"Group Net Metering" means an arrangement whereby surplus energy is generated and injected from a Renewable Energy System through Net Meter and the exported energy is adjusted in more than one electricity service connection(s) of the same consumer either at the same or different premise located within the same Distribution Licensee's area of supply;(19)"Installed Capacity" means the summation of the name plate capacities expressed in kWp of all the units of the Solar Project or the capacity of the Solar Project reckoned at the output terminals, approved by the Commission;(20)"Interconnection Point" means the interface point of a Solar Project with the distribution network of the Distribution Licensee at appropriate voltage level as defined in the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Goa and UTs (Electricity Supply Code) Regulations, 2018 or as amended from time to time;(21)"Invoice" means a periodical Bill/Supplementary Bill or an Invoice/ Supplementary Invoice by the Distribution Licensee to the Consumer;(22)"Month" means English calendar month starting with 1st day/date of the month and ending with last day/date of the month. Part Month will be applicable for number of days in proportion to total number of days in the specific month;(23)"Net Metering" means an arrangement under which Solar PV System installed at Eligible Consumer's premises is delivering surplus electricity, if any, to the grid of the Distribution Licensee after off-setting the electricity supplied by the Distribution Licensee to such Eligible Consumer during the applicable billing period;(24)"Net Meter" means an appropriate bi-directional energy meter capable of recording both import from the grid and export of electricity generated at Solar Project;(25)"Obligated Entity" means the licensed Supplier of Power, Distribution Licensee(s), Captive user(s) and Open Access Consumer(s), identified under Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the State of Goa and Union Territories (Procurement of Renewable Energy) Regulations, 2010 as amended from time to time and mandated under clause (e) of subsection (1) of Section 86 of the Act to fulfil the Renewable Purchase Obligations as determined by the Commission from time to time;(26)"Ombudsman" means the person appointed in accordance with Section 42 (6) read with Section 181 of the Act;(27)"Open Access Consumer" means a person permitted to use Intra-State Transmission System and / or Distribution System to receive supply of electricity from a person other than the Distribution Licensee of his area of supply, and the expression includes a Generating Company and a Licensee, who has availed of or intends to avail of Open Access;(28)"Project Developer" means the developer of the Solar Project, who shall develop such a project on his own premises or on premises taken on lease or rent;(29)"Prosumer" means a Consumer who is also a Producer of Solar Power;(30)"Producer of Solar Power" means an individual or an entity or a group of people intending to set up or who has/have set up a Solar Project for the purpose of generation of Solar power for own consumption and sale of surplus power to the Distribution Licensee;(31)"Premises" means Rooftop of a house / factory/ Ware house / Government building/ Panchayat Bhavan / Community Centre/ School/ dispensary / hospital / parking place / Bus Stand / Group Housing Society/ Market Society / market roof top / Canals / Water Reservoir/ any such place/ or vacant space and elevated area on the land, building or the Infrastructure or part or combination thereof, or the area taken on rent or on lease, or the area for the common facility in the premises of any multi-storeyed building, Group Housing Society / Residential Welfare Association / Market Welfare Association/ Industrial Welfare Group and in respect of which a separate meter or metering arrangements have been made by the Licensee for supply of electricity. The premises exclude the structures of historic significance (unless permission is taken from appropriate authority);(32)"Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)" means the certificate issued in accordance with the Regulations and the procedures approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission;(33)"Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO)" means renewable power purchase obligations;(34)"Sanctioned Load" means the load in kW, kVA or HP, which the Licensee has agreed to supply from time to time subject to the governing terms and conditions in the absence of an Agreement between the Distribution Licensee and the consumer;(35)"Settlement Period" means the period beginning from first day of April as per the English calendar year and ending with the thirty first day of March of the next year;(36)"Solar Energy Meter" means the meter used for measuring the gross solar power units generated by the Solar Project for the purpose of accounting and billing;(37)"Solar Grid Inverter" means equipment that converts the DC (direct current) power from Solar Power modules to Grid-compatible AC (alternating current) power;(38)"Solar Photovoltaic Power" means a solar photo voltaic power project that uses sunlight for direct conversion into electricity through Photo Voltaic technology based on technologies such as crystalline Silicon or thin film, etc., as approved by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) from time to time;(39)"Solar Project" means a Rooftop or ground mounted or floating Photovoltaic and other small Solar Power generating station, installed that uses sunlight for its direct conversion into electricity;(40)"Solar Project Developer (SPD)" means a Consumer or an entity whose Solar Project has been granted connectivity by the Distribution Licensee;(41)"Solar Power Generator (SPG)" means anyone who has started generating solar power from the approved project;(42)"State Nodal Agency" means the agency in the concerned State or Union Territory as may be designated by the Commission to act as the agency for accreditation and recommending the renewable energy projects for registration and to undertake such functions as may be specified under clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 86 of the Act;(43)"Supplier of Power" means a person or an entity having licence to supply electricity to the Consumer;(44)"Tariff Order" in respect of a Licensee means the last retail Tariff Order issued by the Commission for that Licensee indicating the tariff to be charged by the Licensee from various categories of Consumers for supply of electrical energy and services;(45)"Third Party Owned" means a Solar Project owned by a Solar Project Developer that is installed on the roof or elevated structure or the Premises as defined in 1(31) above for which a commercial lease or revenue share agreement has been entered into by the Solar Project Developer with the owner;(46)"Virtual Net Metering" means an arrangement whereby entire energy generated from a Solar Project installed at Consumer premise or any other location is injected through Solar Energy Meter and the energy exported is adjusted in either one or more than one electricity service connection(s) of participating Consumer(s) located within the same Distribution Licensee's area of supply;(47)"Year" or "Financial Year" means a period commencing on 1st April of an English calendar year and ending on 31st March of the subsequent calendar year.2.2Abbreviations. - In these Regulations the following shall be interpreted as:i. "EPC" means Engineering Procurement & Construction Contractor authorized by the Distribution Licensee;ii. "kWp" means kilo Watt peak, term used as a rating of the Solar Plant;iii. "MNRE" means the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of Government of India;2.3All other words and expressions used in these Regulations if not specifically defined herein above, but defined in the Act, shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Act. The other words and expressions used herein but not specifically defined in these Regulations or in the Act but defined under any other law passed by the Parliament applicable to the electricity industry in the State or Union Territory shall have the meaning assigned to them in such law.
