If you run a factory, warehouse, hospital, hotel or cold store, net metering is the quiet engine behind your solar savings. It lets every unit your panels make offset a unit you would otherwise buy at your full commercial tariff. In 2026 that engine is being re-tuned for commercial and industrial buyers, and the changes help decide whether your solar keeps paying back in 3-4 years or closer to 6-9. Here is what is actually shifting, why, and the practical moves that protect your return.
This explains the direction set by the draft National Electricity Policy 2026 and the draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules 2026. Both are draft and directional; confirm the final notification and your own state's rules before acting.
The short version: what's changing for C&I
Two central drafts in 2026 point the same way, and both land on larger systems:
- The draft National Electricity Policy 2026 says net metering beyond 5 kW should be discouraged, and that consumer storage should be promoted in place of banking of power as battery costs fall. Since virtually every C&I system is well above 5 kW, this is aimed squarely at you.
- The draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules 2026 add the operational teeth: a net-metering charge on systems above 5 kW, a push toward net-billing and time-of-day tariffs, net metering capped at 500 kW (or sanctioned load) where state rules are silent, and possible mandatory storage for prosumers above 500 kW.
- States are already moving on their own, some generous (Maharashtra allows net metering up to 5 MW), some restrictive (gross metering above set thresholds). Your DISCOM matters as much as Delhi.
- Crucially, existing net-metering consumers are set to be grandfathered. A system you commission under today's rules keeps today's terms.
None of this means solar stops making sense. It means the rules that decide how much your solar saves are tightening, and the smart system design has changed with them.
Net metering, net billing, gross metering: what each does to your bill
The difference is worth lakhs, so briefly:
- Net metering: you use your solar first, and every surplus unit you export offsets a unit you import, at your retail tariff. For an HT C&I consumer paying ₹8-12 per unit, an exported unit is effectively worth ₹8-12. Fastest payback.
- Net billing: you still self-consume first, but exported units are paid at a lower rate (often a wholesale or avoided-cost rate), not your retail tariff. Your savings now depend heavily on how much you use on-site versus export.
- Gross metering: everything your system makes is sold to the grid at a fixed feed-in tariff (commonly ₹2.20-3.80 per unit in 2026), and you buy all your consumption back at retail. Predictable, but the gap between a ₹2-3 export price and an ₹8-12 buy price is exactly why gross-metered payback stretches to 6-9 years.
The whole 2026 shift is essentially a move down this ladder for larger consumers: from “export is worth retail” toward “export is worth much less, so self-consumption is everything.”
Why DISCOMs are pushing this
Worth understanding, because it tells you the direction will not reverse. C&I consumers pay the highest tariffs and cross-subsidise everyone else. Rooftop solar is most attractive to exactly these high-paying customers, so as they generated their own power, DISCOM revenue from their best accounts fell. With distribution-utility losses now reported at roughly ₹6.9 lakh crore nationally, regulators are re-pricing exported solar to protect DISCOM finances and to nudge consumers toward self-consumption and storage rather than using the grid as a free battery. That is the logic behind the net-metering charge, net billing, and the storage push.
“Is net metering being scrapped?” Not quite
Let's correct the panic version. Net metering is not being abolished overnight, and your existing system is not losing its terms. What is actually happening: net metering above 5 kW is being discouraged and charged rather than banned; the default for new, larger C&I systems is shifting toward net billing and gross metering; and the framework stays governed by your State Commission, so timing and detail vary by DISCOM. The single most consequential word in the drafts is “grandfathered”: commission under today's rules and you keep them.
What it means for your payback
Two numbers frame it. Under net metering, a well-designed C&I system pays back in roughly 3-4 years, because exports are worth your retail tariff. Push the same system onto gross metering and payback can stretch to 6-9 years, because exports collapse to a ₹2-3 feed-in tariff while you still buy at ₹8-12. Net billing sits in between, and where you land depends on your self-consumption ratio.
Layer on time-of-day (ToD) tariffs, which the draft Rules mandate for C&I consumers (demand above 10 kW) by April 2027: peak-hour power will cost at least 1.2 times normal, while solar-hour power is discounted. That rewards using your own solar during the day and makes evening grid draw more expensive, which changes how you should size your system and, eventually, whether you store.
The expert playbook: how to protect your ROI
This is where good engineering earns its fee. Five moves:
- If you're close to ready, commission under today's net-metering rules to be grandfathered. This is the single biggest lever. A system commissioned now under net metering locks in retail-rate offset for its life, while one that waits may open under net billing. For most C&I buyers actively considering solar, “later” is the expensive option.
- Design for self-consumption, not export. When export is worth less, the value is in using your own generation on-site. That means matching system size and layout to your actual daytime load curve, and shifting flexible loads (pumps, compressors, cooling, charging, batch processes) into the 10am-4pm solar window. A load-matched system can hold 80-90% or more of its value even under net billing.
- Right-size to consumption, not roof area. The old instinct of “fill the roof and export the surplus” is exactly the design the new rules punish. Size to what you actually consume in daylight, with a sensible buffer for growth, rather than maximising exported units you will now be paid a pittance for.
- Know your state, and protect your GST input credit. Your DISCOM's regime (net, net-billing or gross, and the thresholds) decides your economics. There is also a tax subtlety worth flagging to your CA: the metering choice can affect GST Input Tax Credit. On-site consumption under net metering supports treating the system as plant-and-machinery with no separate “supply,” whereas gross metering, where you sell all output to the grid, can be treated as an exempt supply and risk ITC reversal. The metering mechanism is not just technical; it can be tax-decisive.
- For larger or evening-heavy loads, look at group captive or open access, and know when storage pays. If your consumption is large or runs past sunset, a group-captive or open-access structure can beat rooftop net metering, and battery storage starts to make sense once export credits fall, ToD peak tariffs bite, or you cross the 500 kW threshold where storage may become mandatory. Treat storage as a deliberate decision, not a default.
How MGetEnergy approaches this for you
We start from your bills and your load curve, not your roof. For every C&I site we model your state's current metering regime, your self-consumption ratio, and the grandfathering window, then design the system that protects your savings under the rules that will actually apply, not the rules from a 2022 brochure. We handle the net-metering or net-billing paperwork end-to-end, advise honestly on net versus gross versus open access for your specific load, and tell you plainly when storage earns its place and when it does not.
If you have been weighing solar, the policy direction makes the timing argument for you: the cleanest payback is still available under today's net-metering rules, and that window is the thing worth moving on. See our explainer on the 2026 DCR/ALMM mandate for the other big rule change this year, what a 1 MW plant costs in 2026, and, if you run round-the-clock loads, how we approach Solar-plus-storage economics.
Get a net-metering-aware feasibility and savings model for your site →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is net metering ending for commercial and industrial solar in India?
No. It is being discouraged and charged above 5 kW, and the default for new, larger C&I systems is shifting toward net billing and gross metering. It is not abolished, existing systems are set to be grandfathered, and the framework remains governed by each State Commission, so details vary by DISCOM.
What is the difference between net metering, net billing and gross metering for a business?
Net metering offsets your exported units against imports at your retail tariff (best value). Net billing lets you self-consume first but pays exports at a lower, often wholesale or avoided-cost rate. Gross metering sells all your generation to the grid at a fixed feed-in tariff while you buy everything back at retail. The value to you falls as you move from net metering to net billing to gross.
Will the 2026 changes increase my solar payback period?
They can. A system on net metering typically pays back in about 3-4 years; the same system on gross metering can stretch to 6-9 years because exports are paid a low feed-in tariff. Designing for self-consumption protects most of the value even under net billing.
Should I install solar now or wait?
If you are a genuine candidate, installing now lets you commission under today's net-metering rules and be grandfathered, locking in retail-rate offset for the system's life. Waiting risks opening under net billing. This is a planning consideration, not financial advice; model your own numbers.
What is a net-metering charge?
The draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules 2026 propose a charge on net-metered systems above 5 kW, scaled to reflect imputed storage and network-loss costs. Small residential systems are exempt; C&I systems are not.
Do time-of-day tariffs affect commercial solar?
Yes. The draft Rules mandate ToD tariffs for C&I consumers above 10 kW by April 2027, with peak-hour rates at least 1.2 times normal and discounted solar-hour rates. That rewards using your own solar in the day and makes evening grid power costlier, which strengthens the case for self-consumption and, for some, storage.
Does net versus gross metering affect my GST input credit?
It can. On-site consumption under net metering supports retaining Input Tax Credit, while gross metering, where all output is sold to the grid, can be treated as an exempt supply and risk ITC reversal. Treat the metering choice as a tax decision too, and confirm the specifics with your CA.
Note: the National Electricity Policy 2026 and the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules 2026 referenced here are draft and directional, and state regulations vary. Figures are indicative 2026 ranges. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Verify the final notifications and your DISCOM's rules, and model your own site before acting.