Maharashtra’s Night Tariffs May Burst Solar Bubble!
By Anushka Singh
On an ordinary morning across Pune’s sprawling residential
belts or the sun-bleached workshops of Nagpur, rooftop solar panels tilt
towards daylight with an unspoken promise: cheaper, cleaner, decentralised
power. Yet, that promise is under strain in Maharashtra — not because the sun
has dimmed, but because policy shifts risk dimming the economic logic that made
those panels an investment in the first place.
At the heart of the controversy is a series of tariff and time-of-day (ToD) rule changes proposed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) and now under scrutiny by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) and the courts. The effects — real and perceived — have led stakeholders to question whether the state remains committed to rooftop solar as an engine of clean growth.
Rooftop solar in Maharashtra was once a straightforward story of savings and sustainability. Under the existing net metering and renewable energy banking framework, consumers exported surplus daytime power to the grid and drew down those credits when needed — evening or night — effectively smoothing their demand and trimming bills.
Policy records show that in its 2025–26 tariff order, MERC
set the generic tariff for surplus rooftop solar at around ₹2.82 per
kilowatt-hour, based on competitive solar auction outcomes earlier in the year,
aligning compensation with broader market discovery mechanisms.
Yet, under the draft tariff filings and ToD proposals, the
hours during which solar exports can offset consumption are being tightened.
Under one contested review order, banked solar was confined to daytime slots —
effectively negating value for evening consumption — and excess energy risked
lapse or being bought by the utility at a low price.
For many owners, this threatens the fundamental economics of
rooftop systems. As one industry representative summarised during regulatory
filings, limiting the payback window “will discourage consumers from installing
solar power plants,” potentially hurting not just adoption but also employment
across over 5,000 solar vendors in the state.
The fight over these rules moved beyond regulatory corridors
to the legal arena. In a significant interim order, the Bombay High Court
stayed the contested banking restrictions in July 2025, reinstating the earlier
multi-year tariff framework and allowing consumers to use banked renewable
energy outside peak hours.
As one legal briefing explained, the court’s judgment
stressed that the review order “confined the drawal of banked solar energy to
‘solar hours’ (0900 to 1700 hrs) only,” a move that would have made banking
largely redundant.
The court also emphasised that any amendment to the tariff
system must follow proper public consultation, a principle now central to
ongoing MERC processes.
The regulatory debate is now entwined with political
pushback. Congress MLA Nitin Raut accused MERC and MSEDCL of bypassing
mandatory consultation and imposing hikes “in violation of legal procedures,”
saying the moves placed heavy financial burdens on citizens and industry alike.
Industrial bodies such as the Vidarbha Industries
Association (VIA) have alleged that altered ToD slots and tariff adjustments
have resulted in nearly a 20% higher tariff burden for consumers since April
2025, calling for refunds and stricter adherence to consultation norms.
Utilities argue that ToD pricing and tariff resets reflect
the reality of grid costs, renewable integration challenges, and the need for
discom financial sustainability. Maharashtra’s grid — with heavy agricultural
load, subsidised power for farmers, and high transmission losses — is among the
most complex in India. But rooftop solar proponents warn that stripping value
from distributed generation will undercut one of the few success stories in
citizen-led decarbonisation.
The court battles and regulatory hearings now centre on a
simple question with profound implications: can Maharashtra safeguard investor
and consumer confidence while rebalancing tariffs? Or will uncertainty dissuade
homes, shops, and small industries from investing in rooftop clean energy?
Several energy analysts, looking at filings and market
signals, have warned that ambiguous policy signals could slow rooftop solar
uptake — a risk not just for Maharashtra’s clean energy targets but for India’s
broader renewable transition. With net metering caps raised to 5 MW only
recently to encourage commercial adoption, the state’s policy framework has
previously signalled support for decentralised generation.
Today, that promise is under negotiation — not in solar
salons or engineering labs, but in commission rooms, court halls and industry
forums. For consumers who once saw rooftop solar as an asset that paid for
itself over time, the renewed debate is not abstract: it affects the value of
every unit they send to the grid and every unit they draw back after dusk.
Whether the regulators align incentives with both grid stability and distributed ambition will define Maharashtra’s renewable story in the coming decade — a story now at a crossroads as practical as any solar installation at sunrise.
