Virtual Net Metering for Industries: Can a Multi-Building Campus Share One Solar Plant?

Name: Secured Engineers Private Limited — Noida (Delhi NCR)
Address: Supertech, Astralis Supernova, Sector 94, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201301, IN
Telephone: +91 70099 85817

22 October 2026 · 5 min read · by Secured Engineers Editorial Team

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In some states, yes. Group net metering lets one consumer use a plant's surplus at its other service connections in the same DISCOM area. Virtual net metering lets several consumers share one plant's generation by an agreed ratio. Delhi allows both, with virtual metering now open to all consumers; Kerala and Goa allow group metering; limits and charges differ, so read your regulator's text before you design the campus.

What is the difference between group and virtual net metering?

Ordinary net metering offsets a plant's exports against the import at the same meter. The two shared schemes extend that to other meters. Delhi's guidelines define them cleanly. Group net metering means surplus exported through the plant's net meter is adjusted across more than one electricity connection of the same consumer within the same licensee's area. Virtual net metering means the whole generation is exported from a generation or gross meter and adjusted across the connections of participating consumers in the same area.

Feature	Group net metering	Virtual net metering
Who shares	One consumer with several connections	Several consumers, often through a lead person or developer
Typical case	A company with a factory, a warehouse and an office in the same DISCOM area	An industrial park, a landlord and tenants, or a society sharing one roof
Meter at the plant	Net meter at the plant's own connection	Generation meter; all energy credited to participants
How credits are shared	Surplus flows down the consumer's priority list	Credited by the ratio agreed in an agreement or MoU
Paper needed	The consumer's own application and priority list	An agreement between participants, kept on record with the DISCOM

Where does it exist, and what are the limits?

We read the Delhi, Kerala and Goa and UT texts for this article. Other states, including several in the north, have their own rules that we have not reviewed here.

Regulator	Group net metering	Virtual net metering	Size limits
Delhi (DERC)	All consumers in the capital	All consumers, including single-point-of-supply consumers, after the Seventh Amendment of January 2026	No cap on rooftop; ground-mounted up to five times the participants' sanctioned load, maximum 10 MW (Fifth Amendment, from 1 April 2024)
Kerala (KSERC, 2025)	Consumers eligible for net metering, across their own premises in the same licensee's area	Residential, low-income, government and local body, agricultural and very small consumers, through a lead person or developer	Each premise within the net metering limit and its connected load; plants can exceed load with storage of at least 20% of generation potential, at the owner's network cost
Goa and UTs (JERC)	All consumers	Residential consumers, group housing and government or local authority establishments (2019 text)	Up to 500 kWp or sanctioned load, whichever is lower; above 500 kWp under net billing (2024 amendment)

In Delhi the earlier cap of 5 kW to 5,000 kW was replaced in 2024 by the rooftop and ground-mounted rule above, and the definitions were widened to allow a plant at single or multiple locations. In every case the plant must stay within what the transformer can host, so the usual feasibility study applies.

How is the bill worked out?

The mechanics follow the same pattern in the texts we read. Energy is first matched within the same time block at the plant's own connection. Surplus then moves to the other connections: for group metering in the order the consumer lists, with the Delhi priority list revisable once a year; for virtual metering in the percentages agreed between participants, which Delhi lets participants change twice a year with two months' notice. Unused credits carry forward within the settlement period, and whatever remains at the financial year end is dealt with under each regulation's settlement clause. Fixed and demand charges stay with each meter, because net metering offsets units, not those charges.

Charges decide the economics. In Delhi, systems commissioned up to 31 March 2027 are exempt from wheeling, banking, cross-subsidy and other charges for their useful life. Systems commissioned up to 31 March 2030 pay 25% of those charges, rising in steps of 25% every third year. The Delhi licensees also bear service-line and network-augmentation costs at 11 kV and below up to cumulative capacity limits of 110 MW, 100 MW, 30 MW and 10 MW for BRPL, TPDDL, BYPL and NDMC respectively. Kerala's notified text applies grid support charges to group metering, at interim rates stated in the regulations until the Commission sets them.

Can a multi-building campus use it?

Run four tests in order:

One legal consumer or several? One company with several connections points to group metering. Different entities point to virtual metering, where your state allows it for your category.
One DISCOM area? Both schemes stop at the licensee boundary. A campus that crosses it needs open access, which our guide to open access solar explains.
Which sanctioned load? The plant is usually limited by the participants' sanctioned load or contract demand, not by the roof.
Where does the plant sit? The best roof may be on the building that uses the least power. Group and virtual schemes exist to remove that constraint, but ground-mounted plants face stricter limits in some states.

Storage can also change the picture. Where load peaks after sunset, a battery shifts credit into the hours that matter, and some states tie larger capacities to storage. See our page on battery energy storage systems.

What should you check before you commit?

That the regulation in force today, not a summary, allows your category, and the date it came into effect.
The amendment history. Delhi's guidelines have been amended seven times since 2019, and the changes matter.
The agreement format for participants, and how it deals with a tenant leaving or a connection being disconnected.
Whether the DISCOM bears the network upgrade, and until what cumulative capacity.
The commissioning date against any exemption window, because delay can move a project into a higher-charge band.

How Secured Engineers helps

We design the plant in-house, file DISCOM net-metering and related applications in-house, and can carry MEPF and solar under one contract, which helps when a campus needs new electrical infrastructure alongside the plant. We work from offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, across 535+ projects in 18+ states, with 89.77% repeat clients. We design for the regulation as published, and we tell you where a scheme is not available for your category rather than stretch it.

If you have a campus, a park or a multi-site plan, send us the list of connections, sanctioned loads and rooftop areas and we will tell you which route fits. Start from the solar EPC service page, then reach us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or request a free proposal.

Frequently asked

Can two companies in one industrial park share one rooftop plant?

Only under virtual net metering where the state allows it for that category. Delhi's guidelines now apply virtual net metering to all consumers in the capital, while the Goa and Union Territory rules limit it to residential consumers, group housing and government or local authority establishments. In Kerala it is aimed at residential, low-income, government, agricultural and very small consumers. Outside these, open access or a captive structure is the usual alternative.

Do both buildings have to be in the same DISCOM area?

Yes, in every set of rules we reviewed. Group and virtual net metering both require the service connections to be within the same distribution licensee's area of supply. A campus that straddles two licensees cannot net credits across them under these schemes and would look at open access instead.

Is there a cap on plant size under group net metering?

Yes, and it differs. Delhi has no cap on rooftop systems and allows ground-mounted ones up to five times the sanctioned load of the participating consumers, to a maximum of 10 MW. Goa and the Union Territories cap such projects at 500 kWp or the sanctioned load, whichever is lower. Kerala caps each premise at the net metering limit and at its connected load.

Do I still pay fixed charges?

Generally yes. Net metering offsets units of energy, not the fixed or demand charge on each connection, so every participating meter keeps its own fixed charge. Credits are allocated to energy charges. In Delhi, wheeling, banking and cross-subsidy charges are waived for systems commissioned within a time window, which is where much of the economics of group schemes sits.

What if I add a new building later?

Delhi lets participating consumers change credit shares or add service connections to an existing virtual net metering arrangement twice a year, with two months' notice, and lets a group net metering consumer revise its priority list once a year. Check the equivalent clause in your state before you rely on future flexibility, and write the intended growth into the first agreement.

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