In exercise of powers conferred under sub section 1 of Section 178 and Section 66 read with clause y of sub section 2 of Section 178 of the Electricity Act

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-04042026-271576 EXTRAORDINARY PART III—Section 4 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 235] NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2026/ CHAITRA 11, 1948 CENTRAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION AMENDMENT New Delhi, the 24th March, 2026 F. No. RA-14026(11)/1/2022-CERC.—In exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 178 and Section 66 read with clause (y) of sub-section (2) of Section 178 of the Electricity Act, 2003 and all other powers enabling it in this behalf, and after previous publication, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission hereby makes the following regulations to amend the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the "Principal Regulations") as under: - 1. Short Title and Comments 1.1 These regulations may be called the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026. 1.2 These Regulations shall come into force from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. 2. Amendment to Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations: 2.1 A new sub-clause (g-i) shall be inserted after sub-clause (g) under clause (1) of Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations as under: "(g-i) 'Designated Consumer' shall have the same meaning as assigned to it under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, as amended from time to time or any reenactment thereof;" 2.2 A new sub-clause (o-i) shall be inserted after sub-clause (o) under clause (1) of Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations as under: "(o-i) 'Renewable Consumption Obligation' or‘RCO’means the requirement specified by the Central Government under clauses (n) and (x) of Section 14 of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, as amended from time to time or any reenactment thereof, for the minimum share of consumption of non-fossil sources (renewable energy);" 2.3 A new sub-clause (u-i) shall be inserted after sub-clause (u) under clause (1) of Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations as under: "(u-i) 'Virtual Power Purchase Agreement' or 'VPPA' shall have the same meaning as assigned to it under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2021, as amended from time to time or any reenactment thereof;" 3. Amendment to Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations: 3.1 In clause (3) of Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations, the words and expression "including renewable energy generating plant not fulfilling the conditions of captive generating plant as prescribed in the Electricity Rules, 2005 but having self-consumption," shall be inserted after the words and expression "A captive generating station based on renewable energy sources". 4. Amendment to Regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations: 4.1 Clause (3) of Regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations shall be substituted as under: “(3) Application for issuance of Certificates shall be made by an eligible entity, being a distribution licensee or an open access consumer, within three months from the date of certification by the concerned State Commission about the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources in excess of the renewable purchase obligations as determined by the concerned State Commission. Provided that no Certificate shall be issued in case the application is made beyond the period of three months from the date of certification by the concerned State Commission." 5. Amendment to Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations: 5.1 Clause (2) of Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations shall be substituted by the following: "(2) The Certificate Multiplier for different renewable energy sources shall be governed by the following provisions: (a) The eligible generating stations or captive generating stations based on renewable energy sources, commissioned after 05.12.2022 and before the date of effect of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026, shall be entitled to the Certificate Multiplier as indicated in the following table: +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ | Renewable Energy Sources | Certificate Multiplier | +===================================================+====================+ | On-shore Wind and Solar | 1 | +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ | Hydro | 1.5 | +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ | Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and | 2 | | non-fossil fuel-based cogeneration | | +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ | Biomass and Biofuel | 2.5 | +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ (b) The eligible generating stations or captive generating stations based on renewable energy sources, commissioned after the date of effect of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026, shall be entitled to the Certificate Multiplier as indicated in Appendix-1." 5.2 Clause (3) of Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations shall be substituted by the following: “(3) The Certificate Multiplier for other renewable energy sources, not covered under sub-clause (b) of clause (2) of this Regulation, shall be determined by the Commission, on a case-by-case basis through a separate order based on the principles stipulated in Appendix-1." 5.3 Clause (4) of Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations shall be substituted by the following: "(4) The Certificate Multiplier, once assigned to an eligible generating station or a captive generating station based on renewable energy sources, shall remain valid for a period of fifteen years from the date of commissioning of such generating station or captive generating station: Provided that for the period of validity of their Registration beyond fifteen years from the date of commissioning of such eligible generating station or captive generating station, one Certificate shall be issued for one Megawatt hour of electricity generated and injected or deemed to be injected into the grid." 6. Insertion of a new Regulation after Regulation 14 of the Principal Regulations: 6.1 A new Regulation shall be inserted after Regulation 14 of the Principal Regulations, as under: "14A. Treatment of Certificates under the Virtual Power Purchase Agreement: Notwithstanding anything contained in these regulations, the Certificates issued to an eligible generating station that has entered into a virtual power purchase agreement shall be governed by the following provisions: (a) The Certificates issued to the renewable energy generating station shall stand transferred to the consumer or the designated consumer with whom such generating station has entered into a virtual power purchase agreement. (b) The consumer or the designated consumer under the virtual power purchase agreement shall be eligible to meet its renewable purchase obligation or renewable consumption obligation, as the case may be, by way of such Certificates. (c) The Certificates, once transferred to the consumer or the designated consumer, shall stand extinguished: Provided that the certificates to the credit of the consumer or the designated consumer over and above the RPO or RCO can be carried forward for compliance in future years, but shall not be available for sale in the power exchanges or through traders. (d) An eligible generating station shall inform the Central Agency about the Project that has entered into a virtual power purchase agreement. (e) The Central Agency shall extinguish such Certificates after they are used for compliance with the Renewable Purchase Obligation or Renewable Consumption Obligation by the consumers or the designated consumers, and update its record." 7. Amendment to Appendix-1 of the Principal Regulations: 7.1 Appendix-1 of the Principal Regulations shall be substituted by the following; "Principles for Determination of Certificate Multiplier A) Certificate Multiplier has been determined based on the Tariff Range, Technology Maturity, and level of Capacity Credit / Peal Support of various renewable energy sources, by taking into account the following: (i) Tariff Range: Tariff range based on a. Tariffs of renewable energy projects discovered through the bidding process under Section 63 of the Act; b. Tariff Orders issued by the Commission for projects based on various Renewable Energy Sources; c. Tariff Orders issued by State Electricity Regulatory Commissions for Renewable Energy Projects; d. Renewable Energy Project Specific Tariffs determined by the Appropriate Commission, if any. e. Scores have been assigned for the Tariff Factor in the following manner: +-------------+-------+ | Tariff Range| Score | +=============+=======+ | <=4 | 0 | +-------------+-------+ | 4-6 | 20 | +-------------+-------+ | 6-8 | 40 | +-------------+-------+ | 8-10 | 60 | +-------------+-------+ | 10-12 | 80 | +-------------+-------+ | Above 12 | 100 | +-------------+-------+ (ii) Technology Maturity: a. Technology maturity is categorised from fully commercialised (with or without support) to those with limited or site-specific commercialisation, as well as technologies at the nascent or R&D stage. b. Scores have been assigned for Technology Maturity in the following manner: +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | Technology Maturity | Score | +===================================================+=======+ | Fully commercialised without any promotional measures | 0 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | Fully commercialised but potential still to be harnessed | 20 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | Limited commercialisation in India | 40 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | Site Specific Potential Exists | 60 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | Nascent stage, but potential exists | 80 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ | R & D Stage | 100 | +---------------------------------------------------+-------+ (iii) Capacity Credit/ Peak Support: a. The level of Capacity Credit/ Peak Support has been considered, with levels ranging from "Nil" to "Very High", depending on the capability of the technology to respond to grid requirements. b. Scores have been assigned for Capacity Credit / Peak Support in the following manner: +---------------------------+-------+ | Capacity Credit/ Peak Support | Score | +===========================+=======+ | Nil | 0 | +---------------------------+-------+ | Very Low | 20 | +---------------------------+-------+ | Low | 40 | +---------------------------+-------+ | Medium | 60 | +---------------------------+-------+ | High | 80 | +---------------------------+-------+ | Very High | 100 | +---------------------------+-------+ B) Further, weightage has been assigned against the aforesaid three factors as under: +-------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+ | Tariff Range| Technology Maturity | Capacity Credit / Peak Support| +=============+=======================+===========================+ | 40% | 30% | 30% | +-------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+ C) Based on the principles specified under clauses (A) and (B) of this Appendix, the Certificate Multiplier assigned to various renewable energy sources, is as follows: +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Technology | Tariff | Technology | Capacity | SUM | REC Multiplier | | | Factor | Maturity | Credit/Peak | | (Normalised based on | | | | | Support | | Minimum tech. score and | | | | | | | rounded off) | +=========================+=============+=====================+===========================+=======+=========================+ | Weightage >> | 40% | 30% | 30% | | | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Solar | 0 | 40 | 20 | 18 | 1.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Wind | 0 | 20 | 40 | 18 | 1.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Biomass / Biofuel | 80 | 40 | 40 | 56 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | SHP | 40 | 60 | 40 | 46 | 2.5 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Pumped Hydro | 60 | 40 | 80 | 60 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Cogen | 80 | 40 | 40 | 56 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Large Hydro | 40 | 60 | 60 | 52 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Offshore Wind | 100 | 60 | 60 | 76 | 4.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | MSW | 80 | 40 | 40 | 56 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | BESS* | 40 | 60 | 80 | 58 | 3.0 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ | Hybrid RE | 0 | 40 | 40 | 24 | 1.5 | +-------------------------+-------------+---------------------+---------------------------+-------+-------------------------+ Note: * BESS charged by Renewable Energy Sources only. HARPREET SINGH PRUTHI, Secy. [ADVT.-III/4/Exty./03/2026-27] Note: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates for Renewable Energy Generation) Regulations, 2022, were published in Part III, Section 4, No. 272 of the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) dated 24.05.2022.