Net metering in India, explained properly
Net metering is the mechanism that makes grid-connected rooftop solar pay — the grid becomes your battery, and exported units become bill credits. How it works, how it differs from gross metering and net billing, what the DISCOM inspection checks, and how to read your first net-metered bill.
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The problem net metering solves
A rooftop solar system produces most of its energy in the middle of the day. A household consumes most of its energy in the mornings and evenings. Without some mechanism to bridge that mismatch, your panels would over-produce at noon for nobody and under-produce at 8 pm for everybody — and rooftop solar would only make sense with expensive batteries.
Net metering is that mechanism. Your ordinary meter is replaced with a bidirectional meter that records energy flow in both directions: units you import from the grid, and units your system exports to it. At billing time, the DISCOM computes your bill on the net position per your state's regulations. Functionally, the grid behaves like a giant battery you didn't have to buy: your noon surplus goes out, your evening demand comes back in, and you pay for the difference.
Net metering vs gross metering vs net billing
Three arrangements exist across Indian states, and the vocabulary matters when you read your DISCOM's rules:
| Arrangement | How it works | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Net metering | Generation first serves your own load; only surplus exports, credited unit-for-unit against imports (settlement rules vary). | Homes and businesses that consume much of what they generate. |
| Gross metering | All generation is exported at a fixed feed-in tariff; you buy all consumption at retail rates separately. | Situations where the feed-in tariff is attractive or self-consumption is impractical. |
| Net billing | Exports and imports are valued at different rates — exports at a (usually lower) set rate, imports at retail. | The middle path some regulators mandate, especially for larger systems. |
Which arrangements are available to you — and up to what system size — is set by your state electricity regulator and implemented by your DISCOM. This is the single most state-dependent part of going solar: the CFA subsidy is national and uniform, the metering rules are not. Check your DISCOM's current regulations (or ask us) before assuming unit-for-unit credit.
What happens during a power cut
Here is the counterintuitive fact every new solar owner should know: a standard grid-tied system switches off when the grid goes down, even at high noon.
This is deliberate. Inverters implement anti-islanding protection: if the grid fails, the inverter stops exporting within moments. The reason is safety — a lineman repairing what he believes is a dead line must not encounter your rooftop's back-feed. Every legitimate DISCOM inspection verifies this behaviour.
If you need power through outages, you need a hybrid system: a hybrid inverter plus battery storage that can island your home safely while the grid is down. That is a different (and costlier) design from the standard subsidised grid-tied setup — worth it in outage-prone areas, unnecessary where the grid is reliable.
The net-metering process, start to finish
- Application. After installation, the net-meter application goes to your DISCOM (for PM Surya Ghar homes, via the national portal flow). Complete documentation — connection details, installation records, test reports — starts the clock cleanly.
- Meter procurement and installation. The DISCOM installs the bidirectional meter. Meter stock and scheduling are the most common waiting point; unchased files wait longest.
- Inspection. The DISCOM verifies capacity-as-approved, earthing and surge protection, isolation switching, anti-islanding compliance, and metering wiring. Deficiencies return as a punch list for the installer.
- Connection agreement. You sign the net-metering/grid-connection agreement — the document defining how exports are credited, how settlement works across billing cycles, and both parties' obligations. Read it (or have it read) before signing; it governs years of billing.
- Commissioning. With the meter live and inspection passed, the system is commissioned. For subsidy applicants, this is also the trigger for CFA disbursement.
Reading your first net-metered bill
Your first post-commissioning bill deserves ten careful minutes. It should show, at minimum: units imported, units exported, and the net computation per your state's rules — plus unchanged fixed charges. Three things to check:
- Exports are actually being recorded. A zero-export month on a working system usually means a metering or paperwork error, not a solar failure.
- The netting matches your agreement. Settlement periods (monthly vs annual carry-forward), credit rates and any caps should match what you signed.
- Fixed charges remain. Net metering reduces the energy portion of the bill; fixed/demand charges continue. A "zero bill" claim that ignores this is salesmanship.
Billing errors are far easier to fix in cycle one than in cycle nine — raise discrepancies immediately, in writing.
Common questions
Do unused credits expire? State rules differ: some carry surplus forward monthly and settle annually (often at a nominal rate for the residual), others handle it differently. Your connection agreement states the rule that applies to you.
Can I oversize my system to farm export credits? Generally a poor idea: DISCOMs cap system size relative to sanctioned load, several states settle surplus at low rates, and the subsidy caps at 3 kW anyway. Size to your consumption; treat exports as a buffer, not a business.
Does net metering apply to societies and businesses? Yes, with their own size classes and rules — common-area society systems and C&I installations both connect under the state's framework, which may push larger systems toward net billing or gross metering. The principle is identical; the arithmetic differs.
We manage the net-metering stage end to end — application, pre-inspection checks, the inspection itself, and the paperwork through to subsidy release. If your installed system is stuck at this stage, that's our most common rescue brief. This guide is general information; your state's regulations and your connection agreement govern your actual terms.