Visakhaptnam:Indian News Times:B Vishwaprasad, president of Andhra Pradesh Solar Integrators Welfare Association, said that commercial solar consumers are suffering financially due to the implementation of TOD (Time of Day) tariff system. Speaking to the media on Thursday, he said that solar panels generate maximum electricity from 9 am to 5 pm, and there is no solar generation from 6 pm to 10 pm (peak hours). He said that traders have to use grid electricity during this time, for which the government is charging heavy TOD charges. The value of electricity given to the grid due to the surplus solar energy generated during the day is low, and the value of electricity they take from the grid at night (due to TOD charges) is high, due to which the TOD billing system does not adjust during peak hours, and despite the provision of net metering, the bills have not come down as expected. He said that the main reason for the difficulties faced by commercial solar consumers,
especially in Andhra Pradesh, is the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Board rules. According to the AP electricity tariff rules, the commercial category is considered to have peak hours from 6 pm to 10 pm, and during these 4 hours, commercial consumers are charged an additional TOD (ToD) penalty of 1.00 to 2.00 per unit over the normal rate on electricity consumed. Since solar production is zero during this time, they have to pay huge bills completely depending on grid electricity, said Vishwa Prasad. He opined that the Indian government, which has recognized the importance of electricity, has given a big push to solar energy as part of the self-reliance program it is implementing with pride, and it would be good if the state government takes decisions to respect it. Many experts say that the problem can be solved if commercial solar consumers are exempted from ToD and the solar units produced in any billing cycle are adjusted in the same billing cycle. They say that they are making announcements that zero electricity bills will be received through the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, but in reality, the electricity bill has decreased with the rules implemented by the Electricity Regulatory Board, but the bill has increased. He said that these problems are arising due to delay in installation of net meters, errors in DISCOM billing, incorrect calculation, and insufficient solar capacity. He said that consumers who are not aware of this matter are blaming the vendors. He said that they will soon meet Power Minister Gottipati Ravikumar to explain their problems. Vishwaprasad requested the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Board to respond positively to the problems faced by solar consumers and do due justice to the Andhra Pradesh solar energy sector.
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