Industrial Solar in Jaipur: RERC Tariffs, Net Metering & ROI (2026)

Direct Answer: Is Rooftop Solar Worth It for a Jaipur Factory in 2026?

Yes — and Rajasthan's 2025-26 regulatory moves made it more attractive. A Jaipur industrial consumer on a JVVNL large-industry HT connection pays ₹6.50/kWh in energy plus ₹380/kVA/month in demand charges (11 kV) under the FY 2025-26 order; the FY 2026-27 order held the base at ₹6.50 while trimming open-access charges. With duties and surcharges the effective landed cost is roughly ₹7.5–8.5/unit, against which a self-consumption-led rooftop plant pays back in about 3.5–4.5 years.

The state now gives a C&I buyer three distinct routes — net metering up to 1 MW, virtual / group net metering (new from October 2025), and green open access from 100 kW — so the framework fits almost any load or rooftop constraint.

Tariff and regulatory status last checked: 18 August 2026.

What Does a Jaipur Factory Pay for Grid Power?

Jaipur is served by Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam (JVVNL); Rajasthan's other two discoms are AVVNL (Ajmer) and JdVVNL (Jodhpur). RERC's FY 2025-26 order (effective 1 October 2025) set the large-industrial schedule:

Large Industrial Power (≥1 MVA, LF ≥50%)	Rate
Energy charge (11 kV)	₹6.50 / kWh
Voltage rebate	3% at 33 kV · 4% at 132 kV · 5% at 220 kV
Fixed (demand) charge	₹380 / kVA / month

Add the regulatory surcharge (₹0.72/unit), fuel/FPAS (₹0.28 + ₹0.07/unit) and electricity duty, and the effective figure rises meaningfully above ₹6.50. HT commercial (>50 kVA) is higher at ₹8.50/kVA energy plus ₹300/kVA/month. Note the voltage rebates — a plant able to take supply at 33 kV or above already pays less per kWh, which slightly lowers the solar offset value and should be in your model.

The ToD Lever — and a Warning for Solar Sizing

Rajasthan's ToD tariff applies to consumers above 10 kW with capable meters:

Window	Adjustment
12:00–16:00 (daytime)	−10% rebate on energy charge
06:00–08:00 (morning peak)	+5% surcharge
18:00–22:00 (evening peak)	+10% surcharge

The subtlety: the daytime off-peak rebate (12:00–16:00) overlaps exactly with solar generation hours, which slightly reduces the value of midday solar offset, while the evening peak surcharge (18:00–22:00) is one rooftop solar cannot touch without storage. An honest ROI model uses your 15-minute interval data, not a flat tariff — see time-of-day tariff and factory solar savings and our solar savings calculator.

Rajasthan's Net Metering Rules for C&I (RERC)

Rooftop solar sits under the RERC (Connectivity and Net Metering for Rooftop and Small Solar Grid Interactive Systems) Regulations and the Grid Interactive Distributed Renewable Energy Generating Systems (DREGS) Regulations, 2021, as amended:

Eligibility: net metering and net billing are open to all consumer categories, including commercial and industrial.
Capacity cap: raised from 500 kW to 1 MW for all categories by RERC order of 7 February 2024; system size is also tied to sanctioned load / contract demand. Above 1 MW, the path is open access.
Transformer cap: cumulative renewable energy on a distribution transformer is capped at 80% of DT capacity; HT consumers with their own transformer are exempt — a real advantage for a factory with a dedicated transformer.
Export settlement: where export exceeds import in a billing period, the excess is bought at the weighted average discovered tariff of large-scale (≥5 MW) solar from the last financial year, credited forward.

New in 2025: Virtual & Group Net Metering, and 100 kW Open Access

Two RERC moves materially widened the C&I toolkit:

DREGS Third Amendment (13 October 2025) introduced Virtual Net Metering, Group Net Metering, peer-to-peer trading and plug-and-play solar, open to all consumer categories. Crucially, VNM/GNM energy is exempt from banking, wheeling, cross-subsidy and additional surcharges — so a factory with a constrained roof, or a group of units, can now site solar off-premise and still net it against the bill.
Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2025 (17 July 2025) cut the open-access threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW (single or aggregated connections), aligned with the central Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022.

For current open-access charges, see our Rajasthan open access solar charges FY 2026-27 and the open-access state comparison.

Rajasthan Policy Incentives for Industry

Rajasthan Renewable Energy Policy 2023: targets 90 GW of renewable capacity by 2029-30 (65 GW solar); electricity duty on solar cut from 60 to 40 paise/unit; banking charges waived for RE.
Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS) 2024: 100% electricity-duty exemption for 7 years; for behind-the-meter captive renewable, no ceiling on capacity and electricity-duty exemption in perpetuity (captive use, no off-peak grid injection); captive plant sizing ceiling of 200% of contract demand.
Solar generation is treated as an eligible "industry" under RIPS, opening investment-linked incentives.

What ROI Should a Jaipur Factory Expect?

Plant size	Indicative capex	Payback	25-yr IRR (capex)
250 kW	₹90 lakh – ₹1.05 Cr	~4.2–4.8 yrs	~19–21%
500 kW	₹1.8 – ₹2.1 Cr	~3.8–4.3 yrs	~21–23%
1 MW	₹3.5 – ₹3.95 Cr	~3.5–4.2 yrs	~22–25%

Rajasthan has India's best solar resource, which lifts generation per kWp and tightens these numbers versus most states. Ranges are illustrative — the real figure depends on load factor, ToD profile, self-consumption ratio and the AD vs 115BAA tax choice. Use our solar ROI methodology and EPC quote checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the JVVNL large-industry tariff in FY 2026-27?

The base energy charge is ₹6.50/kWh (11 kV) with voltage rebates of 3–5% at higher voltages, plus a demand charge of ₹380/kVA/month. Regulatory surcharge, FPAS and electricity duty are additional, taking the effective cost to roughly ₹7.5–8.5/unit.

What is the rooftop solar capacity limit in Rajasthan?

1 MW per consumer for net metering (raised from 500 kW in February 2024), tied to sanctioned load. HT consumers with a dedicated transformer are exempt from the 80% distribution-transformer cap. Above 1 MW, use open access.

What are Virtual and Group Net Metering in Rajasthan?

Introduced by the DREGS Third Amendment (October 2025), VNM and GNM let consumers site solar off-premise or across a group and net it against their bill, with the energy exempt from banking, wheeling, cross-subsidy and additional surcharges.

What is Rajasthan's green open access threshold?

100 kW of sanctioned load (single or aggregated connections), under the Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2025 — down from the earlier 1 MW.

Do Jaipur factories get a solar subsidy?

No capital subsidy for C&I. The incentives are a 7-year (or perpetual for behind-the-meter captive) electricity-duty exemption under RIPS 2024, reduced electricity duty on solar, plus the central 40% accelerated depreciation.

What payback can a Jaipur factory expect from rooftop solar?

Typically 3.5–4.5 years and low-twenties IRRs on a capex basis, helped by Rajasthan's high solar irradiance.