Feed-in tariff extension to HT customers to spur TN’s rooftop solar capacity

After years of neglect to the solar rooftop segment, Tamil Nadu government’s provision of feed-in tariff to high tensile (HT) commercial and industrial consumers, as against net metering, will help increase the rooftop capacity by over five times in the next couple of years, according to industry experts.

Feed-in tariff allows rooftop customers to sell surplus power produced back to the grid at a predetermined price that is comparatively lower than the prevailing solar retail tariffs for industrial and commercial consumers. In contrast, net metering allows customers to sell surplus power at retail tariffs. Experts consider compensating consumers at retail tariff for surplus power as one of the biggest reasons why discoms failed to sustain or offer net metering services.