What Is Net Metering?
Verified against official sources · Last checked 24 July 2026
- KSERC (Renewable Energy and Net Metering) Regulations, 2025 — final Gazette
- Current KSERC tariff order
- Confirm the live application workflow and site-specific feasibility with KSEB before purchase.
Your solar panels generate electricity during the day. Whatever you don't use immediately gets exported to the KSEB grid. At night — or whenever your panels aren't generating enough — you draw electricity from the grid. Your bidirectional meter tracks both directions: what you sent to the grid, and what you pulled from it.
KSEB accounts for import and export under the current KSERC rules. The result is not always a simple monthly subtraction: time-zone adjustment, banked-energy treatment, fixed charges, other approved charges and, where applicable, grid-support charges can affect the bill.
How Net Metering Works
How KSEB Net Metering Works in Practice
What the KSERC 2025 Regulations Mean in 2026
There has been significant confusion about changes to net metering in Kerala. Customers are worried. Social media has amplified the fear. Here is what the final Gazette says, what has changed, and — most importantly — what it means for you specifically.
Final KSERC 2025 Regulations: Key Domestic Rules
New domestic net-metering systems may be 1 kW to 20 kW, subject to connected load, feasibility and the other conditions in Regulations 6.3 to 6.6.
The normal single-phase inverter limit is 3 kW. Systems above 3 kW generally require a three-phase inverter; this is an inverter/connection rule, not a 3 kW solar cap.
For domestic net metering, systems above 10 kW to 15 kW need 10% storage and systems above 15 kW to 20 kW need 20% storage, measured against generation potential. From 1 April 2027, the final rules also require 10% storage for new feasibility above 5 kW to 10 kW.
Existing prosumers: Continue under net metering subject to Regulation 2.3 and the final accounting provisions. Capacity or inverter changes should be checked before work.
New Domestic System
Domestic net metering is available from 1 kW to 20 kW, subject to connected load and technical conditions.
Existing Solar Users
Existing prosumers continue under net metering, with the circumstances in Regulation 2.3 still applying.
System Above 3 kW
Plan the phase/inverter arrangement and check whether the capacity falls within a current or future storage threshold.
Bottom line: Net metering is not banned and 3 kW is not the general domestic system cap. Correct design depends on sanctioned load, phase availability, inverter capacity, storage thresholds, hosting capacity and the date feasibility is sought.
Net Metering vs Net Billing — What's the Difference?
For larger systems, it matters which regime applies:
Energy Banking & Offset
Imported and Exported Value
Net Metering Application Process — FGE Handles It
You don't need to deal with KSEB directly. FGE Solar submits and follows up on your net metering application as part of our installation service.
FGE Submits Application to KSEB
After your solar installation is complete, FGE Solar files the net metering application to KSEB on your behalf. This includes all technical documentation and site details.
Feasibility, Registration & Installation
The final regulations provide for a technical feasibility study within 15 days, subject to a complete online application and the stated conditions. Registration, installation and required approvals follow.
Testing & Bidirectional Meter
After the completion report or approval, the licensee tests the system and completes the connectivity steps. Meter security deposit or rent may apply at rates approved by KSERC if the meter is provided by the licensee.
System Live — Net Metering Active
After successful testing, agreement and commissioning, the bill records import and export. PM Surya Ghar CFA is processed separately after installation, DISCOM inspection/approval and the required portal steps; no installer can promise a payment date.
Regulatory checkpoints: Technical feasibility is due within 15 days of a complete application. The regulations also set separate testing, agreement and meter/commissioning timelines; the overall elapsed time depends on installation readiness and complete approvals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Confused about whether the new rules affect you?
Our team will review your specific situation — whether you're an existing solar owner or planning a new install — and explain which 2025 regulation conditions apply to your proposal. Free, no obligation.
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