Net metering with Torrent Power, step by step
A rooftop plant is only half the arrangement. The other half is the meter - and until the DISCOM replaces yours with a net meter, your plant is not earning you anything on paper. This is what that process involves.
What a net meter actually does
An ordinary energy meter counts in one direction: units flowing from the grid into your premises. A net meter is bidirectional. It records two quantities separately - units you imported from the grid, and units your plant exported back into it.
Your solar plant feeds your own loads first. Whatever your home or building is not using at that moment flows out to the grid and is recorded as export. At night, or when your consumption exceeds generation, you draw from the grid and that is recorded as import. At the end of the billing cycle, the DISCOM nets one against the other.
How your bill changes
The most important thing to understand is that your bill does not go to zero, and anybody promising that is selling rather than calculating. Here is what changes and what does not:
| Bill component | What happens after solar |
|---|---|
| Energy charges | Fall substantially - this is where the saving is. You are billed on net units consumed. |
| Fixed / demand charges | Continue as before. They are tied to your connection and sanctioned load, not your consumption. |
| Electricity duty and other levies | Continue to apply, calculated as per the tariff in force. |
| Surplus export | Carried forward or settled as per the regulations in force for your category and DISCOM. |
Netting, banking of surplus and the rate at which unadjusted export is settled are governed by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission and revised periodically. We will tell you what applies to your connection and category at the time you apply, rather than quoting a number that may be out of date.
The approval sequence
The order matters. Steps taken out of sequence are the main reason installations get stuck.
Application
Filed with the DISCOM against your consumer number, stating the proposed capacity. For most Ahmedabad households this is Torrent Power, on a single-phase or three-phase connection.
Technical feasibility
The DISCOM assesses whether your service line and the local distribution transformer can accept the proposed export, and whether the capacity is consistent with your sanctioned load. Approval or a revised permissible capacity comes back at this stage.
Installation
Only after feasibility approval. The plant is installed with an isolation arrangement and protection so that it can be safely disconnected from the network.
Net metering agreement
A formal agreement between you and the DISCOM covering the connection of your plant, executed on stamp paper with franking charges.
Inspection
The DISCOM inspects the installation - earthing, protection, isolation, wiring and the inverter's grid compliance. Anything not to standard is flagged for rectification before commissioning.
Net meter installation and commissioning
The existing meter is replaced with a bidirectional meter and the plant is commissioned. From this date your export starts counting, and the commissioning record is what unlocks the subsidy claim.
Things that slow this down
- Meter relocation. If the DISCOM requires your meter to be shifted, that is extra work, extra cost and extra time. Most quotations - ours included - price the net meter on the basis that the existing location is retained, and charge relocation at actual if it is insisted upon.
- Capacity above sanctioned load. Feasibility may come back with a lower permitted capacity than you applied for. Enhancing sanctioned load is a separate application with its own charges and timeline.
- Name mismatch on the connection. If the electricity connection is still in a previous owner's or a deceased relative's name, a name change has to be completed first. This is worth checking before you start, not after.
- Society permissions. On a shared roof, the DISCOM will expect written terrace rights or a society NOC.
Why your plant shuts off during a power cut
A grid-tied inverter is required to disconnect automatically when the grid supply fails. This is called anti-islanding protection, and it exists so that your plant cannot energise a line that a lineman believes is dead. It is not a fault and it is not something to be engineered around - if you need power through outages, the answer is a hybrid system with battery storage, designed for it from the start.
How we handle this. The DISCOM application, feasibility follow-up, net metering agreement, inspection coordination and commissioning are part of our scope, and the net meter charges are included in our price where the existing meter location is retained. You do not need to visit a DISCOM office.