{"id":6505,"date":"2025-12-23T18:30:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/?p=6505"},"modified":"2025-12-23T19:23:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T13:53:25","slug":"group-net-metering-what-is-it-and-how-it-benefits-multi-site-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/group-net-metering-what-is-it-and-how-it-benefits-multi-site-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Net Metering: What is it and how it benefits multi-site institutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For organisations with a wide physical footprint\u2014banks with hundreds of branches, retailers with distributed outlets, educational groups with multiple campuses, logistics firms with multiple warehouses or co-working spaces \u2014accessing renewable energy has historically been impossible. While a single large factory can opt for an offsite Open Access solar farm, smaller distributed units often lack the scale or roof space to make individual solar installations viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group Net Metering (GNM)<\/strong> is a regulatory evolution that allows a single solar plant to offset electricity bills across multiple locations. Conceptually similar to a shared virtual power plant, it enables smaller consumers to buy renewable energy through closed power networks under current Indian Electricity Regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Group Net Metering Works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Group Net Metering is a billing arrangement that enables a consumer to pool energy production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It works through a tiered settlement process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • On-site Consumption<\/strong> – Electricity generated by the solar plant is first used to meet the immediate demand of the “supplier” (host) site (e.g., a central warehouse or regional office). Typically at least 20% of the generated energy must be consumed at this location.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Surplus Export<\/strong> – Any excess energy is exported to the grid through a bi-directional Net Meter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Virtual Credit Allocation<\/strong> – The exported surplus is converted into energy credits (kWh). These credits are then virtually adjusted against the monthly bills of other “participating sites” within the same DISCOM territory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Allocation Mix Pre-decided<\/strong> – Organisations define what percentage of generated energy is applied to specific sites. This is typically done at the beginning of the financial year with a notice period (e.g., 2 months in Karnataka) to prioritise sites with higher tariffs and maximise savings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Time of Day (ToD) Settlement<\/strong> – For ToD customers, settlement is done on a zone-to-zone basis (e.g., peak generation offsets peak consumption), and typically no banking of energy is allowed beyond the billing cycle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Group Net Metering Structure & Eligibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Implementing a GNM model requires a coordinated approach across legal, technical, and regulatory functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Legal & Identity Consolidation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Same Entity Requirement<\/strong> – All participating connections must be under the same legal name and consumer category (e.g., all categorised as “Commercial” under one bank’s name).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      2. Technical Feasibility & Grouping<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Supplier Site Selection<\/strong> – Identify “supplier” sites with high solar potential and roof stability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Supplier Site Capacity<\/strong> – The supplier site may have restrictions depending on the state. Eg: in Delhi the supplier site must have a Contract Demand (CD) of more than 100 kVA.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Project Sizing<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Minimum Capacity<\/strong> – Varies but ranges from 1-5 kWp.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Maximum Capacity<\/strong> – Varies by state; in Karnataka and UP, it is the sum of CD of all connections, whereas in Delhi, it is capped at 5x the sanctioned load of participating consumers, up to a maximum of 10 MW.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Infrastructure<\/strong> – Supplier sites must install a generation meter, and all participating consumer ends require Smart Meters to track real-time data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Transformer Constraints<\/strong> – DISCOMs typically limit total solar capacity on a single distribution transformer to 75\u201380% of its capacity on a “first come, first served” basis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          3. Regulatory Filing & Application<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Fees<\/strong> – Formal applications require a processing fee. In Delhi, a n<\/strong>on-refundable fee of \u20b91,000 is mandatory. Statewide, other fees may range from \u20b9250 to \u20b915,000 depending on the state and sanctioned load.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n\n\n\n

            Benefits for Stakeholders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Sustainability Office<\/strong> – Directly reduces Scope 2 emissions by greening the power supply of remote, small-scale sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • CFOs<\/strong> – Offsets expensive grid power (e.g., \u20b99\/unit) with cheaper solar credits. It prevents capital leakage<\/strong> where surplus solar at one branch is sold back to the utility at low rates (e.g., \u20b92\/unit) while other branches pay full commercial tariffs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Facility Managers<\/strong> – Centralises maintenance by managing one large system (e.g., 500kW on a central warehouse) rather than dozens of micro-installations (e.g., 10kW at each retail outlet).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n

              Adoption Across India<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

              Regional maturity varies significantly. Delhi remains a frontrunner with established 2019 guidelines and recent 2025 amendments. Karnataka recently notified its regulations in 2024, while Telangana unveiled major reforms in late 2025 to standardise these models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n

              The Neufin Edge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

              Neufin provides a complete hardware & software offering to remove the friction of multi-site implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • Portfolio Audit<\/strong> – We identify the optimal host\/supplier and participating site combinations to yield the highest IRR.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Regulatory Navigation<\/strong> – We manage DISCOM applications and same name compliance across different jurisdictions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • OpEx Solutions<\/strong> – We offer OpEx models that allow for GNM adoption without upfront CapEx.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Lumen Software<\/strong> – Our energy tracking software helps track daily \/ monthly progress and generation \/ consumption across both supplier and participating sites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                If you would you like our team to run a preliminary GNM feasibility audit for your top consumption sites in Delhi, Bengaluru or UP please reach out to us.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                For organisations with a wide physical footprint\u2014banks with hundreds of branches, retailers with distributed outlets, educational groups with multiple campuses, logistics firms with multiple warehouses or co-working spaces \u2014accessing renewable energy has historically been impossible. While a single large factory can opt for an offsite Open Access solar farm, smaller distributed units often lack the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":6519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"series":[57],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6505"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6518,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6505\/revisions\/6518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6505"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neufin.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=6505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}