Net Metering in Telangana 2026 — Complete TGSPDCL Guide

Updated March 2026 | Sri Ishaan Solar

Net metering is the mechanism that turns your rooftop solar from a daytime-only saving into a round-the-clock one. It lets you export the excess solar power you generate during the day back to the grid and draw it back later as a credit against what you consume at night. Without a working net meter, a grid-tied system simply wastes everything you generate beyond what your home is using at that exact moment. Here's how the process actually works in Telangana, what tends to delay it, and how the credit is settled on your bill.

What is Net Metering, Really?

A bi-directional meter replaces your existing DISCOM meter and counts two things separately: the units you import from the grid, and the units you export to it. At the end of the billing cycle, you're charged only for the net difference — units imported minus units exported. On a well-sized 3-5 kW residential system, most of your daytime generation goes to running the house, and the surplus flows out to the grid, spinning that export counter up while you're at work. In the evening, when the panels stop producing, you pull that credit back. If you export more over the month than you import, the surplus carries forward as a credit to the next cycle rather than being paid out in cash — which is why sizing the system to your actual consumption matters more than simply buying the biggest array your roof can hold.

Eligibility in Telangana

• System size: 1 kW to 1 MW
• Single-phase consumers: up to 5 kW
• Three-phase: up to 1 MW
• Roof space: ~100 sq ft per kW
• Must use an MNRE/TGREDCO-empanelled vendor for a subsidy-eligible connection

Application Process

1. Apply online via PM Surya Ghar portal or directly to TGSPDCL/TGNPDCL
2. Feasibility study — DISCOM inspects your location and checks transformer capacity (7-15 days)
3. Approval letter — install within 90 days of approval
4. Installation — empanelled vendor installs the system to DISCOM specifications
5. Inspection + meter — DISCOM inspects and installs the bi-directional meter
6. Commissioning — system goes live, net metering starts, bill credits begin

Fees

• LT consumers: Rs 2,500 application fee
• HT consumers: Rs 15,000 application fee
• Bi-directional meter: provided by DISCOM (included)

TGSPDCL vs TGNPDCL — Does It Matter Which One You're On?

Telangana has two distribution companies, and which one supplies your home depends purely on geography, not choice. TGSPDCL (Southern Power Distribution Company) covers Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and most of the southern and western districts — so the large majority of our customers fall under it. TGNPDCL (Northern Power Distribution Company) covers Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, and the northern districts. The net metering policy, the export credit framework, and the PM Surya Ghar subsidy are the same under both, because both operate under the same TGERC regulations. What differs in practice is the local division office you deal with — feasibility inspection and meter installation are handled by whichever DISCOM sub-division your consumer number sits in. So the practical answer is: it doesn't change what you're entitled to, but it does change which office we file your paperwork with. Your consumer number and electricity bill already tell us which DISCOM you're on, so this is something we sort out for you rather than something you need to worry about.

What Can Delay Your Net Metering Approval

The installation itself takes a day or two. The paperwork around it is where most of the timeline lives, and where delays creep in. The honest list of what slows things down:

• Transformer capacity limits. DISCOM will only sanction rooftop solar up to a certain percentage of your local distribution transformer's capacity. In a dense colony where several neighbours have already gone solar, the feasibility check can flag that the transformer is near its solar limit — which can mean a wait or a capacity upgrade before approval.
• Consumer number and name mismatches. If the name on your electricity connection doesn't match your other documents, or the sanctioned load on record is wrong, the application stalls at verification. This is the single most common avoidable delay, and it's exactly the kind of thing we check before filing.
• Sanctioned load vs system size. A single-phase connection is capped at 5 kW for net metering. If you want a larger system, you may first need to convert to a three-phase connection — a separate DISCOM process that adds time if it isn't started early.
• Meter availability at the sub-division. The bi-directional meter is supplied by DISCOM. Occasionally the local division is waiting on meter stock, which pushes commissioning back by a few weeks even when everything else is approved.
• Installing before the sanction letter. If a system is put up before feasibility approval comes through, it can complicate both the net metering and the subsidy. We never install ahead of the sanction letter for exactly this reason.

Realistically, budget 30-45 days end to end for a straightforward residential net metering connection in Telangana, and understand that the variable part is DISCOM-side, not installer-side.

How Much Can You Save?

A 3 kW system in Hyderabad generates roughly 4,200 units a year. At a blended residential rate of around Rs 8/unit, that's about Rs 33,600/year in savings. Net metering is what makes that number real rather than theoretical — because your household rarely consumes exactly what the panels produce at the moment they produce it. Any daytime surplus is banked as export credit and drawn back against your evening and night-time import, so you're not forced to "use it or lose it." Over a full billing year, the credit carried forward smooths out the seasonal swing between long summer generation and shorter monsoon days.

We Handle Everything

Sri Ishaan Solar manages the entire net metering application — the DISCOM paperwork, the feasibility follow-up, the single-line diagram, the inspection coordination, and the bi-directional meter installation — under both TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL. We've been doing this across Telangana since 2017, so the division offices and their quirks aren't new to us. You focus on the savings; we handle the file.

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Last updated: May 2026