Madhya Pradesh Aligns Renewable Purchase Obligations with National Framework: The Fifth Amendment to the MPERC (Revision-II) Regulations, 2021

The Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) has notified the Fifth Amendment to the MPERC (Cogeneration and Generation of Electricity from Renewable Sources of Energy) (Revision-II) Regulations, 2021. This regulatory update establishes a revised trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) and significantly restructures the monitoring and enforcement framework by aligning state mandates with the national Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

The New RPO Trajectory (FY 2024-25 to FY 2029-30)

The amendment prescribes a mandatory year-on-year escalation in the percentage of total energy consumption that obligated entities—including distribution licensees, captive users, and open access consumers—must derive from renewable sources. This trajectory is designed to ensure consistent growth in non-fossil fuel consumption through the end of the decade.

MPERC RPO Compliance Trajectory

Revised RPO Categories and Fungibility Rules

The Fifth Amendment redefines the categorization of renewable energy sources and establishes specific rules regarding the fungibility of surpluses across these categories.

• Wind Energy: Procurement must be sourced from wind power projects commissioned after March 31, 2024.
• Hydro Energy: Procurement must be sourced from hydro power projects commissioned after March 31, 2024. This includes free power provided to the State or distribution licensees and energy from approved hydro projects located outside India, as sanctioned by the Central Government.
• Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE): This category comprises renewable energy projects not exceeding 10 MW in capacity. It encompasses all solar configurations, including net metering, gross metering, virtual net metering, group net metering, and behind-the-meter installations.
  • Technical Fallback: In instances where an obligated entity cannot provide actual generation data for DRE installations, the reported capacity shall be converted into energy terms using a multiplier of 4 kilowatt-hour per kilowatt per day (kWh/kW/day).
• Other Renewable Energy: This includes energy from wind, solar, and hydro projects commissioned before April 1, 2024. It also covers electrical energy generated from the co-firing of biomass pellets and charcoal produced from Municipal Solid Waste.

Fungibility Rules The regulations specify that the Wind Energy, Hydro Energy, and “Other Renewable Energy” categories are fully fungible; surpluses in one may be utilized to offset shortfalls in the others. However, Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) is governed by a one-way fungibility rule: shortfalls in the DRE category cannot be met by surpluses from other categories, though DRE surpluses may be used to satisfy deficits in other RPO components.

Monitoring and Compliance Mechanism: Transition to BEE

The amendment introduces a major shift in oversight, transferring the primary responsibility for monitoring RPO compliance to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

1. Compliance Agency: All monitoring and periodic reporting of RPO compliance is now centralized under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
2. Certification Protocols: Obligated entities are required to furnish compliance data on the BEE’s designated web portal. All submitted information must be certified by a “Bureau accredited energy auditing firm.” For distribution licensees, the data must also be certified by the State Load Dispatch Center or the MP Power Management Co. Ltd.
3. Reporting Deadlines:
   • Annual Submission: Certified energy accounts must be submitted to the BEE by July 31 of each year.
   • FY 2024-25 Compliance: The final compliance report for the initial period of FY 2024-25 is due by March 31, 2026.
   • Subsequent Cycles: For all subsequent financial years, the final compliance report must be submitted by December 31.

Penalty Framework and Legal Enforcement

To ensure adherence to the new trajectory, the MPERC has introduced a more rigorous enforcement regime that integrates state mandates with federal energy conservation laws.

• Enforcement Authority: The Adjudicating Officer shall impose penalties for non-compliance in accordance with the provisions of Section 26(3) of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• Legal Standing of Shortfalls: Any shortfall in meeting Renewable Purchase Obligations shall be treated as a formal non-compliance under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, moving enforcement beyond the traditional scope of the Electricity Act, 2003.
• Reporting Violations: Penalties are applicable not only for energy shortfalls but also for the non-submission of required information or the provision of incorrect data to the BEE.
• Open Access Restriction: Under the revised regulatory framework, intra-state open access for the transmission or wheeling of electricity shall not be granted to obligated entities that have failed to fulfill their RPO targets for the previous financial year.

National Alignment and Applicability

The Fifth Amendment ensures that Madhya Pradesh’s regulatory environment remains consistent with the Ministry of Power’s notification dated September 27, 2025. This alignment clarifies that state-level RPO targets are now subsumed within the national Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) targets. Consequently, designated consumers under the Energy Conservation Act are not subject to additional renewable purchase obligations under the Electricity Act, 2003, ensuring a unified compliance standard across the state and the country.