The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved a tariff of Rs 2.82 per unit for surplus rooftop solar power, along with variable charges for biomass and co-generation projects for the financial year 2026–27, Mercom reported.
Under the new order, biomass projects will receive Rs 6.85 per unit, while non-fossil fuel-based co-generation projects will get Rs 5.29 per unit. These rates will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The tariff structure remains largely unchanged from the previous year, with only a slight reduction in biomass charges.
The Commission said that tariffs for most renewable energy projects are now decided through competitive bidding, and its role is limited to adopting those rates. In this case, it has only set a generic tariff for rooftop solar and variable charges for select projects.
Since no distribution company in Maharashtra has finalised rooftop solar tariffs through bidding, the Commission relied on previously approved solar tariffs in the range of Rs 2.82 to Rs 3.10 per unit and fixed Rs 2.82 as the applicable rate.
The regulator rejected demands from stakeholders for higher compensation for surplus rooftop solar power, stating that such systems are mainly meant for self-use and only generate limited excess energy. It added that increasing the rate could raise costs for distribution companies.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited informed the Commission that rooftop solar capacity in the state has reached about 5.1 GW across nearly 6.87 lakh consumers, with an annual surplus of around 300 million units. The utility also raised concerns over grid management and rising procurement costs.
While MSEDCL pointed to lower discovered tariffs of around Rs 2.24 per unit, the Commission said these could not be considered as they have not yet been formally adopted.
The order also clarified that under net metering and net billing systems, surplus solar power will be purchased at the approved tariff. Under gross metering, distribution companies will sign agreements based on their average power purchase cost, which will remain fixed for projects commissioned in FY27.
