Net metering policy in J&K

India’s hilly state of Jammu and Kashmir is one of the worst states in administration of electricity. The state doles out hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for power but still the state suffers from poor power. Keeping artificially low prices for power has resulted in frequent power failure and a distribution utility that is laden with massive losses. J&K also suffers from high social unstability due to the militancy problem created by Pakistan. The Indian central government pours in billions of dollars every year into the state in terms of budgetary support and most of it is siphoned off through corrupt means.

The power department is one hell of an inefficient and corrupt example. The state finally introduced a net metering policy for solar power and plans to install 450 MW of solar by 2022 as part of the central government targets. However, it is way behind in meeting its current year targets. Given that the price of electricity are so low, nobody will have much of an incentive to put up solar rooftop systems. Much better to use the dole given by the governments. The state also does not get a lot of sun apart from Ladakh. This means that the returns from solar power system will be lower, besides availability issues during winter when there is a lot of snow.

The distribution company (Discom) plans to allow discriminatory net metering arrangement on first-come-first serve basis for both self-owned and third-party owned rooftop solar PV systems so long as the total capacity (in kW) does not exceed the target capacity determined. It will give a PPA of 5 years. Jammu & Kashmir is a slow state when it comes to solar installations. The state ranks nowhere in the India solar map for the second half of 2015.