The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) has released a fresh draft amendment aimed at updating the state’s renewable energy regulations in line with evolving national standards. The notification, issued from Shimla on May 12, 2026, is officially titled the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Promotion of Generation from the Renewable Energy Sources and Terms and Conditions for Tariff Determination) (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2026. The proposed amendment seeks to revise the principal renewable energy regulations that were originally introduced in November 2017.
According to the Commission, the latest move has been initiated to maintain consistency with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), which had earlier notified its revised regulations related to tariff determination for renewable energy projects in July 2024. HPERC stated that aligning the state framework with the central regulations is necessary for improving regulatory clarity and ensuring uniformity in renewable energy policies and tariff-related provisions.
One of the key highlights of the draft amendment is the introduction of updated definitions related to biomass-based renewable energy projects. The draft clearly defines “Biomass” to include agricultural waste, forestry residues, by-products from agricultural processing such as husks and shells, as well as wood generated from energy plantations, industrial waste, and wild bushes. The amendment also introduces a formal definition for “Biomass gasification,” describing it as a process of incomplete combustion that produces combustible gases mainly consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and traces of methane.
The draft regulations further propose a detailed classification of the “Useful Life” of different renewable energy technologies. Under the proposed norms, wind power projects, solar photovoltaic plants, floating solar projects, solar thermal systems, biogas projects, biomass gasifier-based power plants, biomass projects using Rankine cycle technology, and non-fossil fuel-based co-generation projects will have a useful life of 25 years from the date of commercial operation.
Small hydro projects have been granted the highest operational lifespan of 40 years under the proposed amendment, recognizing their long-term infrastructure viability. On the other hand, municipal solid waste and refuse-derived fuel-based projects are proposed to have a useful life of 20 years.
For hybrid renewable energy projects, the draft states that the useful life will be considered equal to the minimum lifespan among the combined technologies in cases involving composite tariffs. Similarly, renewable energy projects integrated with storage systems will have a useful life equivalent to the renewable energy project itself, assuming no storage component exists.
HPERC has invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders, developers, consumers, and other interested parties. The Commission has provided a 30-day period from the date of publication of the draft notification for submitting comments. The complete draft amendment has been uploaded on the official HPERC website, and responses are required to be submitted to the Secretary of the Commission at Vidyut Aayog Bhawan, Kasumpti, Shimla. The proposed regulations will become effective after their publication in the Rajpatra of Himachal Pradesh.
Discover more from SolarQuarter
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
