How TANGEDCO Net Metering Works for Rooftop Solar

What net metering actually does

Your solar array feeds the house first. When generation exceeds consumption — typically late morning to mid-afternoon — the surplus flows out to the TANGEDCO grid through a bidirectional meter that counts import and export separately. At the end of the billing cycle, exported units offset imported units, and you are billed on the net difference. This is what lets a daytime-generating system cover night-time consumption.

The approval sequence

The application goes to your TANGEDCO section office along with the sanctioned load details and a single-line diagram. Feasibility is assessed against transformer capacity and connection category. After installation, the inspecting authority verifies the plant, the bidirectional meter is fixed and the service is reconfigured. In our experience across Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu circles, this stage takes 2 to 10 days once the file is complete.

• Application in the name on the service connection
• Single-line diagram and installation details
• Inspection and bidirectional meter fixing
• Reconfigured billing from the next cycle

Sizing against the sanctioned load

Rooftop capacity is assessed relative to your sanctioned load and connection category, so an oversized array on a small sanctioned load can stall approval. If you plan to add an EV charger or air conditioning later, it is cheaper to enhance the sanctioned load at the same time as the solar application than to redo the file a year later.

Reading your bill afterwards

After commissioning your bill shows import units, export units and the net figure. Check the first two cycles carefully: an unchanged bill almost always means the meter was fixed but the tariff configuration was not updated at the section office, which is a five-minute correction if you catch it early. Our team reviews the first two post-commissioning bills for every customer for exactly this reason.