Kerala Solar Gross Metering FiT Rs 3.63 Guide 2026

Gross metering is an optional KSEB billing path—not the usual net meter. Almost all solar units you generate are measured on a generation meter and paid at a fixed feed-in tariff (FiT). You still buy every unit you use from the grid at the normal domestic tariff, on a separate consumer meter.

What Kerala solar gross metering means for a home

Under Regulation 8.1, Gross Metering is an option any consumer or prosumer may select. The minimum plant capacity is 1 kW and the maximum is 3000 kW under Regulations 8.2 and 8.3. An applicant who sets up a distributed renewable plant outside the consumer’s premises can also use gross metering by taking separate connectivity. For an ordinary Kerala house, this is an alternative to net metering, not a replacement forced on every rooftop.

Chapter III Regulation 30 explains the paperwork on your bill. The distribution licensee reads the renewable generation meter and your consumer meter each billing cycle. The bill should show renewable energy exported, the amount receivable for that injection, energy you consumed from the grid, the amount payable for that consumption, and the net amount payable or receivable. Generation and household use are tracked as two streams, not as a unit-for-unit bank inside one net meter.

Feed-in tariff rates under Regulation 30.5

Regulation 30.5 fixes the feed-in tariff for gross metering at Rs 3.63 per kWh for solar and Rs 4.20 per kWh for wind. That is the rate used to value energy your generation meter records as exported to the licensee’s grid. It is not the same number as end-of-year surplus settlement under net metering, and it is not your domestic retail slab rate.

If a solar plant under gross metering uses energy storage and supplies power during peak hours, the feed-in tariff for those peak-hour injections is Rs 7.50 under Regulation 30.5 per kWh. Regulation 8.4 states the same idea at eligibility level: prosumers who install storage with the renewable plant are eligible for the higher peak feed-in tariff the Commission sets. Off-peak solar injection still follows the Rs 3.63 solar rate unless a later order changes the schedule.

How this differs from net metering and net billing

Under domestic net metering, Regulation 6.1 allows plant capacities from 1 kW to 20 kW for ordinary homes, and exported units are banked and set off against imports under Chapter III’s net-metering rules. Gross metering does not give you that unit-for-unit bank for household use. You sell generation at the feed-in tariff and buy consumption at the retail tariff. Many homes still prefer net metering when the goal is cutting the domestic bill slab by slab.

Net billing is a third option. Regulation 7.1 says all consumers and prosumers may opt for it. Energy exported after own consumption is paid at the net-billing feed-in tariff; Regulation 29.5 sets that solar rate at Rs 3.07 per kWh. Shops and other commercial connections are not listed for net metering under Regulation 6.1, so they use net billing (or another eligible system), not domestic net metering. Homes may still choose net billing if it fits their use pattern.

Gross metering can matter when the plant is large relative to your connected load, sits on a different premise, or you want a clear payment for exported units rather than banking. Regulation 8.3’s proviso says that if plant capacity is higher than connected load or contract demand, or the plant is on a separate premise, you bear the cost of augmenting the distribution system for connectivity. Ask KSEB for that cost estimate in writing before you choose gross metering over net metering.

Settlement cash and what appears on the bill

Regulation 30.4 is important for cash flow. When the licensee owes you a net amount for a cycle, that sum must be settled by the due date and cannot be rolled into a later bill as a running credit. If you owe the licensee instead, that amount appears on the bill with the usual due date under the Kerala Electricity Supply Code. Do not expect unpaid feed-in credits to behave like banked net-metering units.

Each bill should list opening and closing readings for the generation meter, the amount receivable for injected energy, opening and closing readings for your consumption, the amount payable for grid use, the net figure, and details of payments for the previous month’s transaction. If a bill is missing the generation-meter block, ask the section office to correct it before you dispute the feed-in amount. Regulation 30 is the gross-metering settlement chapter those bill lines sit under.

Capacity, phases and storage still apply

Plant capacity remains the inverter’s nominal AC kilowatts under Regulation 3(73), whether you choose gross metering or net metering. A quote that only shows panel kWp is incomplete for KSEB paperwork. Match the AC rating to Regulation 8’s 1 kW–3000 kW band and to your connection’s technical limits.

Regulation 16.5 still caps plant capacity through a single-phase inverter at 3 kW for renewable installations. Above 3 kW you need a three-phase inverter, with the same grandfathering and time-limited 5 kW exception where three-phase network is unavailable until 31 March 2027. Choosing gross metering does not waive that wiring rule.

Storage is not a mandatory ticket to enter gross metering under Regulation 8. It becomes relevant if you want the Rs 7.50 per kWh peak feed-in rate. Without storage that actually injects in peak hours, expect the general solar rate of Rs 3.63 per kWh for exported units.

Steps before you opt on the application

Say clearly on the feasibility or registration path that you are opting for gross metering under Regulation 8. Compare it with domestic net metering if you are a household inside the 1 kW–20 kW band, and with net billing under Regulation 7 if export payment matters more than unit banking. Ask for the augmentation cost estimate when plant size exceeds connected load or the array is on another premise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources and Accuracy Note

• 01KSERC (Renewable Energy and Related Matters) Regulations, 2025
  Reg 8.1 — all consumers/prosumers eligible to opt for gross metering.
  govt source · opened 2026-10-03