electricity. However, certain distribution feeders may be facing overloading at the same time and could send a signal to the same EV owners participating in the V2G programme to stop consuming electricity. In absence of coordination, participants in a VGI programme could receive conflicting signals from the DISCOM and the wholesale market, with the wholesale market encouraging additional load and the DISCOM discouraging it. It is unclear how the resource would respond to these competing requests. Necessary rules need to be established to reconcile such competing needs. Safety The regulator should ensure that EVs operate in accordance with all applicable safety and electrical standards when operating in the V2G mode. To this end, the regulator has to work with other departments to ensure that codes and standards for equipment and facilities maintain the safety of customers and DISCOM operations. Interconnection requirements This is especially important for the application of EVs in grid storage. Based on the implementation model, the regulator and utility have to determine what interconnection requirements would be necessary for EV storage resources. Due to bidirectional energy flow in the case of V2G, the interconnection requirements are different from those of resources with unidirectional energy flow. Net metering rules may be used to simplify these requirements. Communication standards
VGI INVOLVES TWO TYPES OF COMMUNICATION FUNCTIONS: RECEIVING WHOLESALE MARKET SIGNALS FOR THE RESOURCE AND SENDING METER PERFORMANCE DATA TO THE WHOLESALE MARKET.
VGI involves two types of communication functions: receiving wholesale market signals for the resource and sending meter performance data to the wholesale market. A communication standard is essential to sending messages between the aggregator (either the DISCOM or non-DISCOM third party) and the wholesale market. Standards will also likely be required for downstream communication to ensure that each element of the VGI programme is equipped to respond to the message. Such downstream communication can use existing smart grid communication standards, such as OpenADR or SEP 2.0, or new standards, including ISO 15118. Understanding these regulatory aspects is crucial to developing the necessary regulations or reforms in a market to enable VGI implementation. However, contextualising these regulatory requirements in the local regulatory ecosystem is also critical; otherwise, identifying and addressing the regulatory gaps would be a serious challenge. The following section covers the regulatory landscape in the e-mobility sector in India.
6.3 Indian regulatory landscape The e-mobility market in India is still in its infancy. Guidelines are being introduced, and technical, safety, and performance standards and protocols being developed, for charging infrastructure. However, VGI is yet to prominently feature in the Indian policy and regulatory discourse around EVs. Consequently, there is a lack of specific VGI regulations. To initiate the discussion on VGI and the required regulations, it is important to identify the existing policy, legislative, and regulatory provisions that can be effectively leveraged to create the building blocks for VGI implementation. These key provisions are described below.
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