General Manager Regulatory Affairs

Job description

This role is for one of Weekday’s clients Salary range: Rs 5000000 - Rs 7000000 (ie INR 50 - 70 LPA)

JobType: full-time

Industry: Power & Renewable Energy Location: Mumbai / Noida Experience: 12–18 Years Key Geographies: Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and strategic General Manager – Regulatory Affairs to lead regulatory strategy, policy advocacy, statutory approvals, and compliance management for renewable energy projects in India. The role will focus primarily on project development and regulatory operations in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, requiring strong knowledge of state and central electricity regulations, power markets, renewable energy policies, and statutory frameworks.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience navigating regulatory environments, engaging with government authorities and electricity regulatory commissions, securing project approvals, and protecting commercial interests across renewable energy developments. This position will play a critical role in enabling solar, wind, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, supporting power procurement and sales arrangements, and ensuring regulatory readiness as the renewable energy portfolio expands.

Requirements

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Regulatory Strategy and Policy Advocacy - Monitor, interpret, and assess state and central electricity regulations, policies, tariff orders, and regulatory developments affecting renewable energy projects. - Maintain strong working knowledge of Tamil Nadu's regulatory ecosystem, including TNERC, TANTRANSCO, and TANGEDCO, and Maharashtra's ecosystem, including MERC, MSETCL, and MSEDCL. - Represent the organization before State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), government authorities, and relevant nodal agencies. - Advocate for commercially favorable regulatory frameworks relating to open access, wheeling, banking, grid connectivity, and renewable power procurement. - Evaluate the impact of regulatory changes on project feasibility, operating costs, power sale arrangements, and long-term business strategy. - Develop regulatory strategies to support renewable energy development, captive power consumption, group captive structures, and third-party power sales.

2. Project Approvals and Statutory Clearances - Lead end-to-end regulatory approvals and statutory clearances for greenfield and brownfield renewable energy projects. - Oversee approval processes for solar, wind, and BESS projects, with a primary focus on Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. - Coordinate land-related approvals, environmental and forest clearances, grid connectivity, power evacuation, and transmission approvals. - Engage with State Transmission Utilities (STUs), Central Transmission Utilities (CTUs), distribution companies, and other relevant authorities. - Track approval milestones, identify regulatory bottlenecks, and implement strategies to minimize project delays. - Work closely with project development, engineering, legal, and commercial teams to ensure regulatory requirements are incorporated into project planning and execution.

3. Compliance and Regulatory Risk Management - Establish and maintain a comprehensive regulatory and statutory compliance management framework across renewable energy projects and operating assets. - Ensure adherence to applicable electricity laws, renewable energy policies, environmental regulations, grid codes, and statutory requirements. - Conduct periodic compliance reviews and audits to identify gaps and mitigate legal, financial, operational, and regulatory risks. - Develop compliance trackers, reporting mechanisms, and internal controls to monitor obligations, approvals, renewals, and filing deadlines. - Assess emerging regulatory risks and recommend corrective actions to protect business continuity and project economics. - Maintain accurate documentation and ensure timely submission of regulatory filings, reports, and statutory records.

4. Commercial and Contractual Support - Collaborate with legal, finance, project development, and commercial teams on the preparation, review, and negotiation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Power Sale Agreements (PSAs), implementation agreements, and transmission service agreements. - Ensure that contractual structures comply with applicable regulatory provisions and electricity market requirements. - Provide regulatory inputs for captive and group captive consumption models, open-access arrangements, and third-party power sales. - Evaluate the commercial implications of tariff orders, transmission charges, wheeling charges, banking provisions, and other regulatory levies. - Support commercial decision-making by assessing regulatory feasibility, risks, and potential financial implications of proposed transactions.

5. Stakeholder Management and Cross-Functional Leadership - Build and maintain strong relationships with electricity regulatory commissions, government departments, DISCOMs, transmission utilities, nodal agencies, and industry associations. - Lead regulatory discussions and represent organizational interests in consultations, hearings, and policy-related engagements. - Coordinate with internal legal, engineering, finance, commercial, compliance, and project execution teams. - Provide regulatory guidance to senior management and project teams on policy changes, approval requirements, and compliance priorities. - Develop effective stakeholder engagement strategies to resolve regulatory issues and facilitate project execution.

Must-Have Skills - Regulatory Affairs: Extensive experience in regulatory strategy, policy interpretation, statutory approvals, and regulatory engagement within the power or renewable energy sector. - Strong understanding of Indian electricity laws, regulatory frameworks, tariff orders, grid codes, and renewable energy policies. - Hands-on knowledge of regulatory processes and power market operations in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. - Experience engaging with SERCs, government authorities, DISCOMs, transmission utilities, and other regulatory stakeholders. - Expertise in open access, wheeling, banking, grid connectivity, power evacuation, and captive/group captive arrangements. - Strong knowledge of statutory compliance, regulatory risk management, and project approval processes. - Excellent negotiation, stakeholder management, analytical, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Qualifications and Experience - Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Law (LLB), or a related discipline. - An MBA, postgraduate management qualification, or specialization in energy or regulatory law will be an advantage. - 12–18 years of relevant experience in regulatory affairs, policy advocacy, statutory compliance, or regulatory management within India's power or renewable energy sector. - Demonstrated experience supporting renewable energy projects, including solar and wind developments; exposure to BESS projects is beneficial. - Proven ability to manage complex regulatory matters, influence stakeholders, secure approvals, and align regulatory strategy with commercial objectives.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a strategic, commercially aware regulatory professional with a strong understanding of India's power sector and renewable energy landscape. They should be capable of navigating complex regulatory environments, building productive relationships with government and industry stakeholders, and translating policy developments into actionable business strategies.

The successful candidate will combine technical and regulatory expertise with strong leadership, negotiation, and problem-solving capabilities to support project execution, manage compliance risks, and enable the sustainable growth of renewable energy assets.