West Bengal rewrote its rooftop solar rules in 2025. If you heard a few years ago that net metering here was limited to small systems, that's no longer the case. Here's what changed, and the one rule that should shape the size of your plant.
The rules in brief
The WBERC (Grid Interactive Rooftop Solar PV System for Prosumers) Regulations, 2025 were notified on 31 July 2025. WBSEDCL's procedure that goes with them sets out who gets what:
- Any consumer with at least 1 kW of contract demand can go solar.
- Net metering is available from 1 kW up to 500 kW, or up to your contract demand, whichever is lower.
- Above 500 kW, plants move to net billing or gross metering instead.
- Systems up to 10 kW don't need a separate technical feasibility study.
For nearly every home, shop and factory we work with, that means plain net metering.
How net metering works on your bill
A net meter records units in both directions: what you take from the grid and what your plant sends to it. At billing time the exported units are set off against the imported ones, at your own tariff. An exported unit is worth just as much as a unit you didn't have to buy.
If you've exported more than you used in a billing period, the extra carries forward to the next bill.
The rule that matters most: 1 April
At the start of every financial year, any banked surplus is reset to zero. There's no payout. Whatever the plant made beyond what you used during the year is simply lost.
That changes how a plant should be sized. A system that makes 20% more than you use isn't 20% more valuable; the extra 20% is close to worthless. We size plants to yearly consumption for exactly this reason, and we'll tell you when a bigger plant doesn't add up.
One meter, one plant
Net metering works per consumer number. If a building has two connections, say a shop downstairs and a home upstairs, a plant behind one meter can't offset the other. Each needs its own system and its own application.
Switching and older systems
You can switch between net metering and net billing once in a financial year. Older systems that were on net billing under the 2021 procedure move to gross metering under the new one, while existing net-metering customers continue as they are.
Time-of-day customers
If you're billed by time of day, generation and consumption are matched block by block, and surplus only flows to cheaper blocks, so solar can't reach peak hours. We explain what that means for factories in sizing a factory solar plant.
Fees and approvals
WBSEDCL charges application and meter fees, and plants of 100 kW and above need CEIG approval. These are statutory charges set by the utility and the state. We list them in writing in every proposal and file all the paperwork, but they're paid at actuals.
In short
Net metering in West Bengal is generous: an exported unit is worth a full unit. But the 1 April reset rewards plants that are sized to what you actually use. Start from the bill, check your contract demand, and only then look at the roof. If you'd like us to do that with you, send us your bills, or start with how many kW your home needs.
Quick answers
Is net metering available in West Bengal?
Yes. Under the WBERC 2025 regulations, net metering is available from 1 kW up to 500 kW or your contract demand, whichever is lower.
What happens to extra solar units at the end of the year in West Bengal?
Banked surplus is reset to zero at the start of each financial year, on 1 April, without payment.
Can one solar plant cover two electricity meters?
No. Net metering works per consumer number, so each connection needs its own system.