Torrent Power net-meter process, step by step

Torrent Power is a private DISCOM, and installers who work across Gujarat notice the difference: its own charge sheet, its own portal, its own meter rules. The subsidy and the legal timelines are the same as everywhere else. This post covers what is specific to Torrent, from Torrent's own documents.

Who this is for

Torrent Power distributes electricity in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat, as its FY 2026-27 GERC tariff order states. That order covers the Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar licence area; Surat has its own. If the bill says Torrent Power, this is the process.

Torrent's customer portal has a solar guide with its current forms and specifications.

The steps, from registration to subsidy

Torrent hosts MNRE's own description of the process on its site (MNRE process note). In eight steps:

1. Register on the national portal with the consumer number from the Torrent bill, a mobile number and an email ID.
2. Apply with the name on the bill, the address, the proposed capacity, any existing solar, and a copy of the latest bill.
3. The application goes to Torrent for technical feasibility. The note advises installing only after feasibility.
4. Install through a registered vendor, using DCR modules from MNRE's approved list and a BIS-certified inverter. The vendor must give at least five years of comprehensive maintenance.
5. Submit the project completion details (module and inverter make, wattage and numbers, vendor name, photos) and apply for net-metering. Follow Torrent's instructions on charges and the agreement.
6. Torrent installs the net-meter and inspects the system.
7. After a successful inspection, Torrent generates the commissioning certificate online.
8. Submit bank details with a cancelled cheque, and the subsidy is released to the account.

What changed since that note

The note was written for the earlier simplified procedure, before PM Surya Ghar launched in February 2024. Its steps match the current MNRE scheme guidelines, which add the e-token and 15-day subsidy processing (clauses 6(p) and 6(t)).

Documents to keep ready

• The latest Torrent bill with the service or consumer number.
• Bank proof in the consumer's name (clause 6(s) of the guidelines).
• Geo-tagged photos of the installation.
• Module and inverter documents: DCR proof, serial numbers, warranty cards, IEC or BIS reports, single-line diagram and structure drawing (Annexure 2 of the guidelines).
• Torrent's net and gross metering interconnection agreement, Annexure IV, unless the office says it is no longer needed.

On that last point: GERC's fifth amendment to its net-metering regulations, published in the Gujarat Gazette on 3 November 2025, removed the separate written agreement for PM Surya Ghar systems. Torrent confirms the start date and surplus rate in writing instead (GERC Notification No. 10 of 2025, clause 3).

Meter and connectivity charges

For PM Surya Ghar applications Torrent publishes a separate sheet for Ahmedabad (Solar Net-Metering Charges for MNRE Scheme). For a home on a single-phase connection with single-phase solar of 1 to 6 kW:

• Smart meter ₹4,459.70 and solar generation meter box ₹1,573.89, plus ₹825.05 GST: ₹6,858.64.
• Connectivity ₹1,500, for a total of ₹8,358.64.
• The sheet then deducts a "Govt. Subsidy" of ₹2,950, leaving ₹5,408.64 to pay.

On a three-phase connection up to 15 kW with three-phase solar of 1 to 6 kW, the total is ₹11,597.50 and the amount payable ₹8,647.50. Three-phase solar above 6 kW and up to 20 kW is ₹20,358.50, with no subsidy line. Torrent also posts an "additional" quotation table for the national-portal scheme without saying when it applies, so ask which one your quotation uses. The ₹4,270 sheet on the same page is for the earlier Surya Gujarat scheme.

Who supplies the net-meter, and who pays

Torrent's FAQ says Torrent provides the net meter and solar meter at the customer's cost. It also says the customer may buy meters to Torrent's specification instead, and Torrent tests them in its lab. The FAQ was written under Gujarat's 2015 solar policy, so use it for the meter answer only. The application route it describes, through GEDA, is out of date.

Two current sources agree on the principle. The 2020 consumer-rights rules let the consumer buy the meter, which the DISCOM tests and installs (Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, rule 11(10)). MNRE's model vendor agreement puts net-meter supply, testing and approvals in the vendor's scope (Annexure 2, item 10). In practice the installer runs it, and the customer pays through the quote.

How the bill works after the net-meter

Under Torrent's agreement (clause 7.2), energy for residential consumers is accounted each billing cycle, and solar units are set off against consumption. If the home exports more than it uses, Torrent pays for the surplus of a self-owned system at ₹2.25 per unit for the first five years. After that it pays 75% of GUVNL's average discovered tariff for non-park solar.

Worked example: 3 kW in Ahmedabad, single-phase, 400 units

A family on a single-phase Torrent connection in Ahmedabad uses 400 units a month and installs 3 kW.

One-time Torrent charges: ₹5,408.64 (₹8,358.64 before the ₹2,950 subsidy line), unless they are already inside the vendor's price.

The bill today at Torrent's FY 2026-27 residential tariff, energy and fixed charge only: 50 units at ₹3.20, 150 at ₹3.95 and 200 at ₹5.00, plus ₹25 fixed. Total ₹1,777.50.

With solar. MNRE's own figure is 4 to 5.5 units per kW on a clear sunny day (MNRE FAQ, via PIB). A planning average of 4 units per kW per day is reported, unconfirmed. At that average, 3 kW makes about 360 units a month. The home imports a net 40 units: 40 × ₹3.20 + ₹25 = ₹153.

Saving and timeline

The saving is ₹1,624.50 a month, so the ₹5,408.64 of meter charges is covered in under three and a half months.

The legal maximums for the timeline: feasibility is deemed accepted up to 10 kW, and commissioning is due within 15 days of the installation certificate (Amendment Rules, 2024, rules 11(7A) and 11(9)). The subsidy is processed within 15 days of Torrent's approval (clause 6(t)). The rest depends on how fast the installation and the upload happen.

If the sanctioned load needs to go up

GERC's net-metering regulations allow a residential rooftop system irrespective of the sanctioned load (GERC Notification No. 2 of 2022, Regulation 6.2(c)(i)). If Torrent still wants the load raised, the 2024 amendment says that for systems up to 10 kW, any load enhancement needed is carried out by the DISCOM (rule 11(7A)). Raise it with the application, not after installation.

Watch the phase. Torrent's tariff and its charge sheet both separate single-phase from three-phase. If a load increase moves the home to three-phase, the fixed charge goes from ₹25 to ₹65 a month and the meter charges from ₹5,408.64 to ₹8,647.50.

Where Torrent files get stuck, and what to do

• Feasibility pending past 15 days. The law presumes feasibility (rule 11(7)). Note the date and follow up with the reference number.
• Incomplete upload. Clause 6(k) lets the DISCOM send an application back for corrections at inspection. Check the upload against the documents list before you submit.
• Inspection and meter date. Once the installation certificate is in, the 15-day clock in rule 11(9) is running. If it passes, raise a grievance on the national portal; the guidelines set 30 days to resolve it (clause 11). A DISCOM that delays without just cause owes the consumer at least ₹500 a day under rule 11(12) of the 2020 rules.

A note on Surat

The bill figures above are for Ahmedabad. Surat has its own FY 2026-27 order (GERC Case No. 2586 of 2025, 25 March 2026): the same ₹25 and ₹65 fixed charges, but four slabs of ₹3.20, ₹3.65, ₹4.25 and ₹5.05 for 0–50, 51–100, 101–250 and above 250 units. The MNRE-scheme charge sheet above is for Ahmedabad; ask Torrent's Surat office for its amounts. The process is the same in both cities. The Surat net-meter guide and the Ahmedabad guide list the steps with Hindi labels.