Meghalaya Proposes New Open Access Rules and Storage Requirements for Rooftop Solar

The Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) has released two draft regulations within a week that together reshape how consumers in the state can source electricity and connect rooftop solar to the grid. On 5 October 2026, the Commission pre-published the draft MSERC (Terms and Conditions of Open Access) Regulations, 2026, which will replace the open access framework in force since 2012. On 1 October 2026, it also proposed a First Amendment to its rooftop solar regulations, retaining a battery storage condition while protecting projects already approved by the distribution company.

Why the Open Access Framework Is Being Replaced

According to the Commission’s public notice, the new draft aligns open access terms with the Multi Year Tariff (5 of 2026) Regulations notified on 31 July 2026 and the State Grid Code (6 of 2026) Regulations notified on 10 August 2026. It will apply to the use of intra-state transmission and distribution systems in Meghalaya, including where they are used together with the inter-state transmission system.

Access Categories and Eligibility

The draft defines long-term access as more than 12 years and up to 25 years, medium-term access as more than three months and up to three years, and short-term access as up to one month at a time. Repeated short-term access for the same source and drawal point that exceeds three months in a rolling 12-month period will be treated as medium-term access.

Consumers seeking open access must request a minimum of 1 MW, although captive generating plants supplying their own use are exempt from this threshold. Entities with a load or generating capacity of 5 MW and above may seek connectivity to the intra-state transmission system, while smaller entities will connect at the distribution level. Applicants with dues exceeding two months’ billing will not be eligible.

Timelines, Fees and Security

The State Transmission Utility or the distribution licensee must decide connectivity applications within 30 days. Where a consumer is connected to the distribution system, the licensee must give its consent within three working days and flag any deficiency within two working days, failing which consent will be deemed granted.

A non-refundable connectivity application fee of Rs 2 lakh and a bank guarantee of Rs 10,000 per MW for long-term access are proposed.

Charges and Surcharges

The cross-subsidy surcharge will be levied per unit on scheduled energy and capped at 20% of the tariff applicable to the consumer category seeking open access, with captive consumption exempt. An additional surcharge will be payable to the distribution licensee only where stranded power purchase costs or unavoidable fixed costs are conclusively demonstrated; network fixed costs are to be recovered through wheeling charges instead. Wheeling charges will follow the MYT Regulations, and short-term transactions will attract an SLDC operating charge of Rs 5,000 per day.

Scheduling, Metering and Settlement

The State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) will schedule open access consumers of 5 MW and above and all generating stations regardless of size, and will handle energy accounting for all open access customers. Consumers of 5 MW and above must install Special Energy Meters at their own cost. Deviations will be settled at 105% of the regional periphery rate for over-drawal or under-generation and 95% for under-drawal or over-generation, unless the Commission specifies otherwise. Existing open access agreements will continue but will be governed by the new terms once the regulations are notified.

Rooftop Solar: Storage Condition and Protection for Approved Projects

The Grid Interactive Distributed Renewable Energy Sources (DRES) Regulations were notified on 30 April 2026, repealing the 2015 rooftop solar net metering regulations. They cover renewable systems of up to 10 MW connected at 33 kV or below, and cap cumulative DRES capacity on a distribution transformer at 80% of its rating.

The proposed amendment restates Regulation 4.1.2, under which net metering capacity must be at least 1 kW and cannot exceed the prosumer’s sanctioned load or contract demand, or 500 kW, whichever is lower. Systems of more than 10 kW must be equipped with a hybrid inverter and a battery energy storage system with a minimum storage capacity of 20% of the plant’s daily energy generation potential.

The new element is a proviso for prosumers who received distribution company approval under the earlier rooftop solar net metering framework, as amended in 2025, before the DRES Regulations were notified. Where such approval was granted for a capacity beyond 500 kW, the approved capacity will be permitted, with or without battery storage. The capacity table under Regulation 4.7 is to be read with this proviso.

Under the principal regulations, surplus energy from net-metered systems is carried forward within the April–March settlement period, and any excess remaining at the end of the year is settled by the licensee at 75% of the reference solar tariff.

Consultation Timeline

Comments must be submitted in the prescribed format to the Secretary, MSERC, Shillong, in hard copy and by email to secretarymserc@gmail.com. The deadline is 14 October 2026 for the DRES amendment and 22 October 2026 for the open access draft. Both regulations will come into force on publication in the Official Gazette of Meghalaya.

Outlook

The two drafts give large consumers clearer timelines and charge structures for open access, while the rooftop amendment gives certainty to prosumers whose larger projects were approved before the new framework took effect.