Certain vested interest groups are creating a misleading impression that all electricity consumers in the state who have installed rooftop solar power projects will be required to pay a ‘Grid Support Charge'(GSC) but this portrayal is entirely incorrect. Mahavitaran has clarified that the state has a total of 3 crore 17 lakh electricity consumers; of these, the surcharge has been applied to only 44,246 consumers—representing less than one percent of the total consumer base, or specifically, just 0.14 percent.
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has issued an order mandating that a Grid Support Charge be applied to the electricity generated by consumers who have installed rooftop solar power generation projects and whose sanctioned load exceeds 10 kilowatt. Accordingly, Mahavitaran has implemented this surcharge for the relevant electricity consumers.
The state has 2 crore 37 lakh domestic electricity consumers served by Mahavitaran. Of these, 6,57,000 domestic consumers have installed rooftop solar power generation projects. In accordance with the Commission’s order, the Grid Support Charge has been applied to only 16,410 of these solar-equipped domestic consumers—constituting merely 2.49 percent of that specific group. When compared against the entire domestic consumer base of 2 crore 37 lakh, the proportion of domestic consumers subject to the Grid Support Charge stands at a mere 0.07 percent.
The state has a total of 4,45,000 industrial electricity consumers (covering both High Tension and Low Tension categories); of these, the Grid Support Charge has been applied to only 8,894 consumers—approximately 2 percent of the industrial base. Similarly, out of Mahavitaran’s total 23 lakh 30 thousand commercial electricity consumers, the Grid Support Charge has been applied to 12,832 consumers—representing 0.55 percent of the commercial consumer base.
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission had issued a decision in 2019 to levy a Grid Support Charge on electricity consumers engaged in rooftop solar power generation. At that time, the Commission had ordered that this charge be implemented once the total capacity of rooftop solar power generation projects in the state reached 2,000 MW. In 2023, the Commission raised this limit to 5,000 MW. After the state surpassed the 5,000 MW capacity mark earlier this year, the Commission fixed the Grid Support Charge in its tariff order dated March 25, 2026.
RTS Consumers get benefits of Rs. 129 Cr – Electricity consumers who have installed roof top solar schemes and who send excess power to Mahavitaran grid get benefits for the same. In last one year, 4.90 lakh power consumers in the state have got benefits of Rs. 129.57 Cr. Amongst them are 4.72 lakh domestic consumers who got benefits of Rs. 124.55 Cr.
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