Amid growing concerns and widespread speculation on social media about an alleged change in the metering method for solar power producers in Kerala, the KSEB issued a clarification, terming the reports as completely baseless.
Published Jul 14, 2025 | 10:41 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 14, 2025 | 10:41 AM
Floating solar power project of 101.6 MWp in Kayamkulam, Kerala. (Tata Power Solar)
Synopsis: The KSERC’s draft Renewable Energy and Related Matters Regulations, 2025, is now facing mounting protests from various industry and consumer associations. The draft triggered a wave of protests from solar prosumers, traders, and industry stakeholders, who allege the proposals are regressive and threaten to derail Kerala’s decentralised renewable energy push.
Kerala’s ambitious bid to modernise its renewable energy ecosystem has run into rough weather. The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC), which unveiled the draft Renewable Energy and Related Matters Regulations, 2025 on 30 May with promises of decentralising and democratising energy trade in the state, is now facing mounting protests from various industry and consumer associations.
As the Commission’s four-day public hearing draws to a close, opposition to the ‘forward-looking provisions’ has intensified, with critics alleging the reforms would disrupt the existing power sector framework.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), meanwhile, has hit back, dismissing the allegations as “baseless propaganda” aimed at misleading the public.
The current Renewable Energy and Net Metering Regulations 2020 are set to expire in 2025, and the Commission released a draft of new regulations for 2025-2029, inviting public feedback. The final hearing is scheduled for 16 July, with written submissions open till Monday, 14 July.
The draft triggered a wave of protests from solar prosumers, traders and industry stakeholders, who allege the proposals are regressive and threaten to derail the state’s decentralised renewable energy push.
At the heart of the controversy is the Commission’s plan to restrict net metering to rooftop solar installations of up to 3 kilowatt (kW) — or 5 kW for those with battery backup — alongside the introduction of a ₹1 per unit grid support charge on surplus power exported to the grid.
KSERC conducted an online hearing.
Prosumers and vendors argue these measures favour large-scale, centralised projects while penalising households and small investors who have championed clean energy adoption at the grassroots.
Even though the KSERC invited public feedback soon after the draft regulations were published on 30 May, opposition intensified in recent weeks.
On 3 July, trader groups and the Kerala Domestic Solar Prosumers Community (KDSPC) staged a protest outside the KSERC office, while solar firms observed a symbolic ‘Solar Bandh.’
KDSPC, representing over 3,000 rooftop solar owners, termed the draft discriminatory, stating it violates consumer rights and contradicts national guidelines. Industry bodies warned the move could cripple decentralised solar initiatives and called for the existing net metering framework to be retained.
The concerns reverberated on the first day of a four-day public hearing held online from 8 July.
Stakeholders criticised proposals to redefine peak hours, mandate costly battery systems prematurely, and impose tariff ceilings on virtual and group net metering. Organisations like the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) and the Kerala State Small Industries Association also flagged operational and financial challenges the draft posed.
While KSERC claims the new regulations, set to replace the expired 2020 framework, aim to align Kerala’s energy sector with national renewable targets and net-zero goals, industry players have urged the Commission to defer implementation for five years.
At the same time, in a strongly worded open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 6 July, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded the immediate withdrawal of the recommendations, terming them financially devastating for solar consumers and a betrayal of government assurances.
Chennithala alleged that the state government, through the Regulatory Commission, was systematically burdening consumers with repeated tariff hikes while crippling KSEB Limited and favouring private companies.
He criticised the proposal to replace the existing net metering system — where consumers are credited for the solar power they generate — with a costly mechanism that would leave those who invested heavily in rooftop solar systems in financial distress.
The recommendation to make battery storage mandatory for higher-capacity solar plants, he claimed, was designed to benefit battery manufacturers at the expense of ordinary consumers.
Chennithala warned that such anti-solar policies would derail Kerala’s renewable energy drive and trigger an energy crisis within the next few years.
Amid growing concerns and widespread speculation on social media about an alleged change in the metering method for solar power producers in Kerala, the KSEB issued a clarification, terming the reports as completely baseless.
Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty also echoed this position, stating that no unilateral decision was taken by KSEB regarding changes in solar metering.
The minister pointed out that, according to the Electricity Act, 2003, it is the KSERC — not KSEB — that holds the authority to frame regulations for the sector’s sustainable development.
KSERC’s Renewable Energy Framework interaction with Entrepreneurs on 17 February.
KSEB explained that Kerala, with around 1,500 megawatt (MW) of installed solar capacity, faces unique challenges as 80 percent of its power consumption is domestic, peaking at night.
With surplus solar power generation during the day and rising grid instability issues, the board argued that a revision of the billing method is necessary to balance grid management and tariff fairness for non-solar consumers.
The draft regulation, however, retains net metering for existing consumers and allows new domestic and industrial plants up to 3 kW to continue under net metering. Agricultural users face no capacity cap for the same.
The Commission has also proposed promoting battery storage to address technical and financial challenges. KSEB further urged consumers not to fall for misinformation.
At the same time, Ameen Theruvath of the Kerala Solar Community alleged that while the KSEB claims it has no role in changing the solar metering system — pointing to the KSERC — the draft regulations are largely based on its reports and suggestions.
Theruvath argued that KSEB is attempting to discourage solar adoption to protect its high-cost power purchase agreements with private suppliers, which reportedly constitute up to 70 percent of its power procurement.
He alleged that officials benefit from commissions in these deals and see solar expansion as a threat. In a social media post alleging the same, he also criticised KSEB’s claims about grid instability and financial losses due to solar banking, calling them misleading.
It warned that proposed changes — including limits on net metering for new consumers and monthly settlement of banked power — would burden solar users and slow Kerala’s transition to clean energy.
The row over Kerala’s draft renewable energy regulations has laid bare the tensions between policy ambition and grassroots realities.
As the public hearings near their end, the state faces a crucial moment to recalibrate its approach, ensuring that efforts to modernise the power sector do not come at the cost of the very prosumers and communities that have driven its clean energy gains so far.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
