Maharashtra's tariff structure renders solar power unviable

Solar power, recognised as the most abundantly available and least environmentally harmful source of power in India, might become unviable for the well-endowed state of Maharashtra. Reason: the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (MERC) discriminatory tariff structure. Not only has MERC approved the lowest rate in the country for solar power produced by the state's power generation company, but it has also shown its bias towards privately produced wind energy by approving the highest tariff in the country for it.

Sources in Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO) say on condition of anonymity that such a discriminatory tariff structure will make solar power unviable for it.

In the name of encouraging wind power production, MERC has on its own approved a tariff of Rs 5.81 per unit, which is the highest in the country. States like Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have fixed much lower tariffs for wind power (see table).