Virtual Net Metering in Kerala: A Guide for Apartments and Flats

Flat owners rarely get their own roof for solar panels. Kerala virtual net metering solves this. It lets residents of one apartment building, residential complex or residents' association share a single solar plant and see its units credited on their own KSEB bills. For many buildings, it is the most practical route to residential rooftop solar.

This guide covers who qualifies, how units are split, what each flat pays and how an association applies, based on Regulations 10 and 31 of the KSERC (Renewable Energy and Related Matters) Regulations, 2025. For an independent house, our residential solar page is the better starting point.

Quick answer

Key takeaways

• Open to domestic consumers in multi-storied buildings, residential complexes and residents' association areas (Regulation 10.1(i)).
• The plant must include storage of not less than 20% of its energy generation potential.
• Each flat's share: up to 10 kW or its connected load, whichever is lower (Regulation 31.2(ii)).
• Units are split by a fixed sharing ratio totalling 100%.
• Panels must be on MNRE's ALMM List-I.

What is virtual net metering in Kerala?

In normal net metering, a solar plant sits on your own roof and connects through your own meter. In virtual net metering, one plant with its own grid connection and generation meter serves a group of consumers. Each billing cycle, its output is divided between the flats in an agreed ratio.

The plant is set up through a Lead Person, who is one of the participants, or a RESCO (renewable energy service company) in the same KSEB supply area.

Who can use it: solar for apartments in Kerala

Regulation 10.1(i) opens virtual net metering to domestic consumers living in multi-storied residential buildings, residential complexes or residents' association areas. The connection that powers common amenities, such as lifts and water pumps, can also join as a participant.

The plant must also include energy storage of not less than 20% of its energy generation potential, so the battery has to be in the budget from day one.

Plant size and each flat's share

Under Regulation 10.3, the shared plant must be at least 10 kW. The upper limit is the lowest of three figures: 1000 kW, the total connected load or contract demand of all participants, or their total maximum shares.

Under Regulation 31.2(ii), the capacity a flat receives cannot exceed 10 kW or its connected load, whichever is lower. A flat with a 6 kW connected load can hold a share of up to 6 kW, not 10 kW.

The Lead Person takes a separate grid connection for the plant and pays its cost, including any upgrade or transformer work (Regulation 10.2). If the plant connects at low tension and is 50 kW or more, or the local transformer lacks hosting capacity, KSEB may grant feasibility by enlarging the transformer or adding a new one. A plant above 100 kW also needs an extra check meter (Regulation 31.3).

How shared solar for flats is split each month

Each billing cycle, the plant's output, including energy from the battery, is credited to the flats in a fixed ratio. That ratio sits in a schedule of the connectivity agreement listing every participant, starting with the Lead Person: name, consumer number, sharing ratio in percent and shared capacity in kW, adding up to 100% (Regulation 31.2(i)).

Time zones and your own use first

A generation meter at the plant records units in three time zones: solar hours, peak hours and off-peak hours. Each flat's share in each zone, after losses where they apply, is first set against that flat's own use in the same zone (Regulation 31.2(iv) and (v)). Any use left over is billed at the normal KSEB tariff.

Banking unused units

Units a flat does not use are converted into banked units with the factors in the rates table below (Regulation 31.2(vii)). Banked units then cover the flat's extra use in solar hours first, then off-peak hours, then peak hours. Units carried to the next month lose a 2% banking charge (Regulation 31.2(viii)). At the end of the financial year, leftover units are paid for before 30 April, unless the flat applies to carry the credit forward (Regulation 31.2(ix)).

Worked example: a 30 kW plant shared by 6 flats

These are made-up round numbers for illustration only, not a quote or a KSEB bill.

Step A: the sharing schedule

A building sets up a 30 kW plant with the required battery, and six flats join. Every share is within 10 kW and each flat's connected load.

The 3,600 units assume roughly 4 units per kW per day, a common planning estimate in Kerala.

Step B: one flat's month

Take Flat C with 540 units. Suppose 450 fall in solar hours and 90 come from the battery in peak hours. Flat C uses 300 units in solar hours and 90 in peak hours.

• Solar hours: 300 units set off, 150 left over.
• Peak hours: 90 credited, 90 used, fully set off.
• The 150 leftover units become 150 banked units (solar-hours factor 1.0). A peak-hour surplus would use the 1.33 factor, so 30 surplus peak units would become about 40 banked units.

If Flat C does not need the 150 banked units that month, they carry forward and the 2% banking charge leaves 147.

Step C: year-end and charges

If Flat C still has 100 banked units at the end of the financial year and does not carry them forward, it would be paid ₹279 (100 x ₹2.79) before 30 April. See our guide to solar surplus settlement in Kerala.

If, in one month, 120 banked units are set against Flat C's non-solar-hours use, the grid support charge would be 120 x 50 paise = ₹60, since it is within the first 300 units.

Rates and charges for participating flats

The grid support charge applies to power a flat draws in non-solar hours, up to the banked units set against it. The exemption in Regulation 31.2(xi) covers only low-income and agricultural groups, not apartments. Read more about grid support charges on Kerala solar.

If the plant and all flats sit on the same distribution transformer, no transmission or wheeling charges or losses apply. On different transformers within one electrical division, wheeling charges and distribution losses apply. No cross-subsidy surcharge applies under Regulation 31.2(xiii).

How an apartment association applies, step by step

Step 1: Agree the plan and nominate a Lead Person

Participating flats agree the plant, battery and cost split, usually at a general body meeting, then nominate the Lead Person, who must also be a participant (Regulation 31.1(i)) and handles all KSEB correspondence.

Step 2: Collect consumer numbers and connected loads

Gather each flat's KSEB consumer number and connected load from a recent bill, including the common amenities connection if it joins.

Step 3: Fix the sharing schedule

List each participant's consumer number, sharing ratio and shared kW, totalling 100% (Regulation 31.2(i)). Shares can later change only once a financial year, with two months' notice through the Lead Person.

Step 4: Design the plant and storage

Size the plant within the Regulation 10.3 limits and prepare a battery design showing storage of at least 20% of generation potential. Our guide to hybrid inverter and battery rules explains how storage is sized.

Step 5: Choose ALMM List-I panels

MNRE treats virtual net metering as net metering (MNRE O.M. No. 283/54/2026-GRID SOLAR dated 4 August 2026, para 1(b)), so panel models must be on ALMM List-I. Our comparison of DCR vs non-DCR solar panels explains the ALMM lists.

Step 6: Budget, apply and sign

Budget for the plant's own grid connection and any transformer work (Regulation 10.2). The Lead Person then applies to KSEB and signs the connectivity agreement, which carries the sharing schedule. Keep copies of every participant's consent.

Virtual net metering vs group net metering vs individual net metering

Kerala has more than one way to use net metering solar credits.

If you own two properties, read our guide to group net metering in Kerala. If you own an independent house, standard KSEB net metering is usually simpler. Virtual net metering is built for buildings where individual residential solar systems are not practical because the roof is shared.

What FGE Solar recommends for apartment associations

Large complexes with bigger plants need check metering and transformer work, so plan them like a commercial solar project.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and accuracy note

• 01KSERC (Renewable Energy and Related Matters) Regulations, 2025: Regulations 10 and 31 (erckerala.org)
• 02MNRE O.M. No. 283/54/2026-GRID SOLAR dated 4 August 2026, para 1(b), and the ALMM lists (mnre.gov.in)
• 03KSEB consumer services (kseb.in)

This guide summarises official regulations as of 29 September 2026. Rules and charges can change, so check the latest KSERC, MNRE and KSEB documents before you pay, apply or complain.