A factory considering captive or third-party open access solar in Gujarat needs to price more than generation and wheeling. If it chooses the banking facility, surplus energy credited for later use carries a banking charge. The applicable rate changed in 2026, and a September errata corrected wording in the calculation annexure. This guide reads the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) documents together so a project model uses the right charge and the right energy quantity.
Direct answer. Under GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026, dated 19 August 2026, the green energy open access banking charge is ₹1.00 per unit from 1 September 2026 through 31 March 2027. GERC Notification No. 08 of 2026, dated 24 September 2026, corrects clerical wording in the calculation method. The charge concerns open access consumers that use banking. Residential rooftop net metering has a distinct exemption; business rooftop banking depends on the instrument and approved arrangement.
Rooftop distinction, checked 30 October 2026. Do not read this open-access rate as an exemption for every rooftop business. The 2022 rooftop Third Amendment, clauses 9.2.11 and 9.3.11, already contained business rooftop banking charges, while residential treatment differed. GERC’s DRES instrument signed 30 October 2026 links non-residential net-metering banking to the applicable green-open-access charge and limits export set-off to 30% of imports in the billing cycle. It exempts residential net-metering set-off from banking charges. Its commencement is tied to Gazette notification; confirm that date and the account’s applicable terms with the DISCOM.
What are solar banking charges in Gujarat?
Banking lets an eligible green energy open access consumer credit surplus injected energy and draw it later under the settlement rules. It is an accounting facility, not physical storage. GERC’s Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2024, Regulation 17.6, define banking by 15-minute blocks: energy available at the consumption point beyond consumption in a block is treated as banked energy. The same regulation describes how that energy can be used during the billing cycle.
The timing matters. Under Regulation 17.6(iv), banked energy from a peak period may be used in a peak or off-peak period. Energy banked during an off-peak period may be used only in an off-peak period. A model that simply subtracts all monthly generation from all monthly consumption hides that restriction. Ask for a time-block model when the factory has evening or night loads.
Banking is optional under Regulation 17.6(v). An open access consumer that does not want it can submit an undertaking. The regulation states that, once this option is exercised, it cannot be changed before three years from open access operation under that option. A project should therefore treat the choice as a commercial decision, not as a billing preference to reverse next month. Without banking, surplus after the 15-minute adjustment follows the regulation’s inadvertent-flow treatment.
For a plain-language overview of the accounting concept, see banking of electricity. For the contractual route by which a generator supplies another premises, see open access. Those are different from a solar array feeding the factory’s own meter behind the point of supply.
| Energy path | What happens | Banking question |
|---|---|---|
| Generated and used in the same time block | Matches demand at the consumption point | No carried-forward energy from that block |
| Surplus under an eligible open access arrangement | Credited under Regulation 17.6 | Banking and settlement rules matter |
| Rooftop net-metering export | Use the applicable rooftop instrument and agreement | Residential exemption and business banking treatment differ |
This distinction is the first line of the checklist: identify the legal route, then the 15-minute surplus, then its permitted later use. Only after those checks should you multiply units by a charge. Using annual solar production as the banking base would overstate the cost.
What did the August 2026 amendment actually change?
GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026, dated 19 August 2026, substitutes Regulation 1(4) and Regulation 17.6(viii) of the 2024 rules. It fixes the banking charge at ₹1.00 per unit for 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Statement of Reasons dated 19 August 2026, paragraph 1.7, records that earlier amendments continued the ₹1.50 per unit charge through 31 August 2026.
The new ₹1.00 figure is a transitional rate with a stated end date. The amendment says charges from 1 April 2027 onwards will be determined under its revised Regulation 17.6 method. It also allows the Commission, by a separate order, to continue the existing charge if a new charge has not been determined. No buyer should extend the ₹1.00 rate across a multi-year project model as if it were permanent. Keep that future period as a visible sensitivity.
The amended method requires data from distribution licensees. It allows GERC to consider a common charge for the four state-owned licensees, DGVCL, PGVCL, MGVCL and UGVCL, and discusses how private and special-area licensees may be treated. These are powers for future determinations. They do not create a different published rate for each licensee during the stated transitional period.
| Period | Rate to use in an illustration | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Through 31 August 2026 | ₹1.50 per unit | GERC Statement of Reasons, 19 August 2026, paragraph 1.7 |
| 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027 | ₹1.00 per unit | GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026, Regulation 1(4) |
| From 1 April 2027 | To be set under the amended method, or continued by separate order | GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026 |
Model check
Date the charge in every financial model. The August order sets a rate through March 2027; it does not promise that rate for the full project life.
Why does the September errata matter?
GERC issued Notification No. 08 of 2026 on 24 September 2026 as an errata to the August Sixth Amendment. Its eight corrections are in the English version of Annexure I, which sets out the calculation method for later banking charges. It does not replace the ₹1.00 per unit transitional rate in Regulation 1(4). The errata says its corrections are clerical and deemed effective from the same date as the Sixth Amendment.
The recurring correction is a name: references to “net revenue” become “net banking cost”. In Step 4, the denominator remains total banked energy, while the numerator is identified as aggregate net banking cost. One table formula is also corrected to aggregate the net banking cost for each time slot. If an adviser copies the older wording into a model memo, the calculation can sound like a simple sales revenue division. The corrected term better describes what GERC says the method measures.
For a current project, there are two separate questions. First, what fixed rate applies to banked units during the transition? The answer is ₹1.00 per unit for the dates stated in the August notification. Second, how might a future rate be computed? Read the August annexure together with the September errata. The second question matters in a long-term sensitivity model, but it does not justify inventing a post-March 2027 rate today.
The errata also illustrates why a consultant’s older spreadsheet can be risky. A model prepared from the draft consultation paper, the uncorrected August annexure or a news summary may contain a different label. Ask the modeller to identify the notification number, date and exact clause used. Retain the source PDFs with the project assumptions so the owner can reproduce the calculation later.
Which projects pay the charge, and which do not?
The amendment sits inside Gujarat’s Green Energy Open Access Regulations. Regulation 17.6(i) of the 2024 principal regulations permits banking for consumers availing green energy open access. Annexure I of the Sixth Amendment describes its calculation as payable by renewable energy open access consumers availing that banking facility. Both the project route and the choice to bank matter.
That can include a qualifying captive generator delivering energy across the network to its factory, or a third-party supply arrangement under green open access. Captive status does not, by itself, make the banking charge disappear. Equally, not every unit delivered by an open access plant is a banked unit. Energy consumed within the matching time block is distinct from surplus credited for later use. The exact billing treatment follows the approved open access and energy-accounting documents.
The rule is not a rooftop net-metering amendment. A home or factory with a rooftop plant registered under GERC’s rooftop net-metering framework should read its own approved scheme and settlement clauses. The Gujarat solar regulations guide explains why the route must be identified before applying a rate. The 2024 green open access regulations expressly refer to some captive rooftop projects under the rooftop rules in a separate documentation context; that reference does not turn a net-metered export into a green open access banked unit.
The practical test is to ask for the approved documents: the consumer’s connection category, the generator’s registration, the open access approval, the energy accounting statement and the invoice line. A factory with both a rooftop plant and a separate open access procurement may have two different settlement systems. Do not combine them into a single “solar banking” line in a board paper.
Check the project route before pricing the charge. If your factory is comparing an on-site array with an off-site captive or open access plant, share the connection and load details through ground-mount solar projects. Ask for separate assumptions for rooftop export and open access banking.
- ✓ Contract models the amended charge and settlement.
- ✗ Economics still uses a pre-amendment charge.
How do solar banking charges in Gujarat change project economics?
The difference between the old and new transitional rates is ₹0.50 for each chargeable banked unit, based on GERC’s 19 August 2026 Statement of Reasons and Notification No. 07 of 2026. That is a change in one charge, not a promise about total solar savings. Wheeling, transmission, losses, other surcharges, generation payments and taxes still need their own lines.
Here is an illustrative, hypothetical month. Suppose a factory has 20,000 units of eligible surplus credited to its green open access bank and later uses them within the permitted settlement rules. Ignore all other charges and taxes only to isolate the banking line. At ₹1.50 per unit, the line would be ₹30,000. At ₹1.00 per unit, it would be ₹20,000. The illustrative difference is ₹10,000 for that month. These are assumed units, not a Heaven Green project or a tariff quote.
| Hypothetical input or output | Before the change | During 1 Sep 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible banked units used in illustration | 20,000 units | 20,000 units |
| Banking charge used | ₹1.50 per unit | ₹1.00 per unit |
| Illustrative banking line | ₹30,000 | ₹20,000 |
| Other open access charges | Excluded from this example | Excluded from this example |
The project value changes if fewer units are banked. A plant closely matched to daytime factory load may use most generation in the same block and have little surplus to carry. A plant sized to cover night consumption may rely much more on banking. The difference is why hourly or 15-minute consumption data is worth requesting before fixing the plant size.
The value also changes when the power profile changes. A new process line, weekend shutdown, seasonal production or tariff time window can change banked units. Model at least a base case, a lower daytime-demand case and a higher night-demand case. Do not simply multiply expected annual generation by the banking charge. Use the captive versus third-party PPA guide for the ownership comparison, then insert the correctly dated banking line into each option.
Should a factory elect not to bank energy?
The answer depends on whether later use of surplus energy is worth more than the charge and the constraints of the banking facility. Under Regulation 17.6(v) of the GERC 2024 green open access rules, a consumer may decline banking by undertaking. But the rule also limits a change of that choice for three years from operation under the option. That makes the decision consequential for factories with variable production.
Start with the consumption curve. A factory that runs steadily through solar hours may have little surplus after the 15-minute matching. It should still test weekends, maintenance shutdowns and monsoon production changes. A factory that runs mainly at night may need the carry-forward facility, subject to the peak and off-peak use rules. A simple monthly “generation less consumption” total is not sufficient to choose the option.
Then test the commercial arrangement. The generator, consumer and trader may allocate energy and charges differently under a captive agreement or a power purchase agreement. The consumer should see who pays the banking charge and who bears lost or unutilised energy. If a quoted PPA price excludes banking and other open access charges, add them to the landed cost before comparing it with the current factory tariff.
| Decision input | Banking may be useful when | Ask more questions when |
|---|---|---|
| Time-block surplus | Surplus can be used later under the rules | Most output is used immediately |
| Night or shift load | Later demand can absorb eligible credits | Load changes unpredictably |
| Contract allocation | Charge and credit ownership are clear | PPA leaves settlement to a future annexure |
| Three-year option | Chosen route fits forecast operations | Expansion or shutdown plans are unsettled |
There is no universal “avoid banking” recommendation. The correct choice comes from the time-block data, the approved settlement terms and the contract. Ask the developer to show the model with and without banking, using the same generation and load inputs in both cases.
- ✓ Later eligible demand can use surplus
- ✓ The contract allocates credits and charges
- ✓ Time-block records support the model
- ✗ Load changes are not modelled
- ✗ Future charge risk is unallocated
- ✗ Banked units are confused with output
What should a factory check before signing?
Use this document checklist before electing banking. First, confirm that the arrangement is green open access and identify the actual consumer and generator. Second, get a 15-minute generation and factory-load model. Third, mark surplus, permitted carry-forward, later drawal and any energy that lapses. Fourth, price only the eligible banked units at the order’s dated charge. Fifth, place all other open access charges on separate lines.
The contract should say which party selects the banking option, files the undertaking if banking is declined, receives energy-accounting statements and resolves a mismatch. It should also say what happens after 31 March 2027, because the ₹1.00 per unit rate has an end date in GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026. A fixed landed-cost promise that ignores a possible future charge adjustment shifts an unpriced risk to someone.
- Obtain the current electricity bill and contract demand.
- Gather at least a representative interval-load record, including weekends and seasonal operation.
- Verify the proposed open access route and the generator’s location.
- Model direct use and banked surplus in 15-minute blocks.
- Read the relevant peak and off-peak settlement clauses.
- Put the banking charge, losses and all other charges on distinct model lines.
- Confirm who controls the banking election and owns the banked credit.
- Re-run the result with a future charge sensitivity for the period after March 2027.
Contract check
Ask the developer for the 15-minute energy model and the clause allocating future banking-charge changes. A single blended per-unit price hides both.
For a large ground-mount option, the ground-mount design service from Heaven Designs describes the layout and engineering work behind a plant design. That design reference is separate from GERC’s charge determination. The Gujarat solar policy guide gives broader context, but the current notification remains the source for this specific rate.
How Heaven Green Energy can help with a project enquiry
An owner comparing a captive or third-party open access proposal needs a clear boundary between the solar plant, the network and the factory bill. Start with the intended site, ownership structure, connection category and load profile. Ask any project developer to show the energy flow, tariff treatment and approvals on a single page before accepting a blended cost per unit.
The discussion should identify whether the project is on the factory premises or at a separate site. An on-site plant can have a different grid and settlement route from an off-site plant. Land, evacuation and time-block matching should be assessed before a size is selected. The open access glossary and banking glossary are useful references for the terms used in a proposal.
For the financial comparison, request a dated assumptions sheet. It should show the GERC charge that applies during the 2026 to 2027 transition, a sensitivity for later years, and separate rows for wheeling, losses and any other applicable charge. It should show banked units, not just generated units. If the model includes rooftop solar too, keep its settlement on a different tab.
- Ground-mount solar park: Start a land or project enquiry with the site and demand details.
- DREBP and PM-KUSUM: Review this separate Gujarat project route where relevant.
Bring the August notification and September errata to the review meeting. Ask which model cells depend on each document. This is a more useful test than asking whether the developer has “included banking” in a total. A line can be present and still use the wrong rate, wrong units or wrong period. The solar banking charges in Gujarat must be tied to the approved energy account.
Request a project-level comparison. Share the factory’s connection details, interval demand, proposed land and draft PPA through ground-mount solar park. Ask how solar banking charges in Gujarat enter the open access model, and keep rooftop assumptions separate before choosing a route.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the solar banking charge in Gujarat now?
GERC Notification No. 07 of 2026, dated 19 August 2026, sets ₹1.00 per unit from 1 September 2026 through 31 March 2027 for the green energy open access banking facility. It is a dated transitional rate. A later charge from 1 April 2027 must follow the amended method or a separate continuation order. Confirm the order applicable to the billing period before using any rate in a proposal.
Did the September 2026 errata change the ₹1.00 rate?
No. GERC Notification No. 08 of 2026, dated 24 September 2026, corrects clerical wording in Annexure I of the Sixth Amendment. It clarifies references to net banking cost and a table formula used in the calculation method. The errata does not replace the ₹1.00 per unit rate for 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. Use both documents when reviewing a future-rate calculation.
Do rooftop net-metering consumers pay this banking charge?
The Sixth Amendment changes green-energy-open-access banking. Rooftop treatment must also be read against its own applicable instrument: the 2022 amendment included business rooftop banking provisions, while the DRES instrument signed 30 October 2026 links non-residential net-metering banking to the applicable open-access charge. Residential net-metering set-off is exempt. Confirm Gazette commencement, account applicability and chargeable quantity rather than assuming every rooftop account is exempt.
Does a captive solar plant avoid banking charges?
Captive ownership alone does not settle the question. If a captive plant supplies a factory through green open access and the consumer uses the banking facility, the banking provisions need to be assessed. Energy used in a matching time block is different from surplus credited for later use. Ask the developer to show both quantities in the approved energy-accounting format.
Can a factory opt out of banking?
GERC Regulation 17.6(v) of the 2024 green open access regulations permits a consumer to decline banking by submitting an undertaking. The regulation also restricts changing that option before three years from open access operation under it. Compare a time-block model with and without banking before choosing. The best option depends on shift pattern, weekend demand and the contract’s treatment of surplus.
How should I model the charge after March 2027?
Do not assume the ₹1.00 rate continues automatically. The August 2026 amendment says later charges are to be determined under its revised method, with a provision for a separate continuation order if the new charge is not determined. Use scenarios in the long-term model and update the base case when GERC publishes the next applicable order. Keep the assumed rate visible in the contract model.