2 days ago
Gujarat Cuts Renewable Banking Fees Before Cost-Based Regime
Some factories make solar power when the sun is shining, even when they do not need all of it.
Gujarat lets them put extra electricity into the grid and use credits later.
This works like borrowing space in a very large shared battery.
From September 1, 2026, using this system will cost ₹1 per unit instead of ₹1.50.
The cheaper fee will last until March 31, 2027.
Starting in April 2027, electricity companies will have to calculate the fee from their real costs.
They must show accurate data about when power was added and used.
Factories may compare this grid service with buying their own batteries as battery costs fall.
Gujarat will cut its renewable-power banking charge from ₹1.50 to ₹1 per unit from September 1, 2026.
The lower charge will apply through March 31, 2027, according to the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission.
From April 1, 2027, banking charges will be calculated using utilities’ actual costs and 15-minute electricity data.
Distribution companies must provide complete and accurate supporting data or their proposed charge will be treated as nil.
The change affects an expanding open-access solar market whose potential industrial savings across five states are estimated at ₹12,100-15,100 crore annually.
- Who
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, Gujarat’s distribution companies, and industrial users of renewable power.
- What
- Gujarat is reducing renewable-power banking charges temporarily and moving to a cost-based calculation system from April 2027.
- Where
- Gujarat, within India’s open-access renewable-power market.
- When
- The ₹1 charge applies from September 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027; the cost-based regime begins April 1, 2027.
- Why
- To charge for grid banking according to the actual cost of shifting renewable electricity between generation and consumption periods.
Key facts
- Current banking charge
- ₹1.50 per unit before September 1, 2026
- Temporary charge
- ₹1 per unit from September 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027
- Cost-based regime
- Begins April 1, 2027
- Data requirement
- Distribution companies must submit complete, accurate, and sufficient supporting data
- Calculation inputs
- Actual 15-minute injection and consumption data, exchange prices, generation costs, storage costs, transmission charges, and network losses
- Open-access solar concentration
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan represented about 27.7 GW, or 77%, of India’s 36 GW capacity in June 2026
- Estimated industrial savings
- About ₹12,100-15,100 crore annually across the five states, based on stated assumptions
Quotes
Industry analyst
Analyst commenting on the industrial value of renewable-power banking
“Banking and batteries are increasingly addressing the same problem—moving cheap renewable electricity from when it is generated to when industry needs it. As battery costs fall, manufacturers will increasingly compare the all-in cost of grid banking with installing their own storage”
thehindubusinessline.com
“For industry, the value of banking is not the 50 paise saved on the charge alone. It is the ability to retain more of renewable power’s ₹2-4-a-unit cost advantage even when the solar-generation curve doesn’t match the factory’s production curve”
thehindubusinessline.com
Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission
Gujarat’s electricity-sector regulatory authority
“The Banking Charge at a rate of Re 1 per unit shall be effective from 1st September 2026 up to 31st March 2027”
thehindubusinessline.com
Sources
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