The Pitch That Started It
Rajiv Khandelwal runs a dyeing unit in Sanganer, Jaipur, with a 400 kW connection. Every month the DISCOM bill landed on his desk like a second rent. Then a solar developer from Bhadla walked in with a spreadsheet and a simple pitch: buy power from our plant, same grid, lower rate.
Rajiv asked what most factory owners ask. “Can I even do that? Isn’t the DISCOM my only supplier?”
Yes, You Can Choose
It isn’t, and hasn’t been since 2003. The Electricity Act lets a consumer require the local distribution company to carry power from another generator, as a neutral carrier. The Supreme Court described open access in Sesa Sterlite v. OERCas “freedom to the consumer to get supply from any source of his choice”.
The Catch: Surcharges
Freedom comes with a price tag. Rajiv would pay wheeling charges, a cross-subsidy surcharge (CSS), and possibly an additional surcharge. The CSS exists because industrial and commercial users pay more so that farmers and poorer households pay less. If he walks away, the DISCOM loses that income. In April 2025, in Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam v. Rajasthan Textile Mills Association, the Supreme Court restored a RERC order setting CSS at ₹1.63 a unit for 132 kV consumers, ₹1.39 for 33 kV and ₹0.83 for 11 kV. Those were 2016 rates, so his accountant needed today’s numbers, not the court’s.
Had Rajiv built his own captive plant, no surcharge would apply at all. Green energy used to make green hydrogen or green ammonia is exempt too.
Rajasthan’s Surcharge Fight
The additional surcharge is the hotter fight. In September 2025, APTEL quashed a RERC order that let Rajasthan’s DISCOMs charge ₹0.80 a unit. The tribunal said they hadn’t proved that open access alone left their power capacity stranded.
The Rules Got Friendlier
Meanwhile the rules changed. The Green Energy Open Access Rules, notified in June 2022, cut the eligibility limit from 1 MW to 100 kW. Approval is due within 15 days or is deemed granted, subject to technical requirements, and banking of surplus green energy is mandatory. A 2023 amendment lets several connections in the same electricity division add up to that 100 kW. One developer called the rules “a shot in the arm for the green power demand”.
What the Numbers Say
The market has noticed. India added a record 3 GW of open-access solar in the second quarter of 2026, taking the total to 36 GW, and Rajasthan took 25% of that quarter’s additions. In the first quarter it took 39% . Crisil expects C&I open-access capacity to grow from about 40 GW at the end of 2026 to 57 GW by FY28.
Rajiv still read the fine print, and Mercom’s own warning is worth reading too: “Regulatory constraints across several states are gradually narrowing the savings”.
How Rajiv Played It
So he did it the careful way. He applied through the nodal agency. He knew that if the DISCOM sat on his file past 15 days, the rules treat approval as granted. And he knew that if he was wrongly refused, he could go to the DISCOM’s grievance forum, then the Ombudsman.
He signed four months later. His bill didn’t vanish, but it shrank, and he now knows exactly which line items he can argue about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can a business really buy electricity from someone other than its DISCOM?
Yes. Section 42 of the Electricity Act, 2003 provides open access, and the Supreme Court has recognised the consumer’s freedom to choose.
Q2. Who is eligible?
For green energy, any consumer with a contract demand or sanctioned load of 100 kW or more, including multiple connections in the same electricity division that add up to 100 kW. Captive consumers have no minimum load.
Q3. What does it cost beyond the energy price?
Wheeling and transmission charges, the cross-subsidy surcharge, standby charges, and sometimes an additional surcharge
Q4. What is the cross-subsidy surcharge?
Compensation to the DISCOM for the higher-than-cost tariff it would have earned from you, which funds cheaper power for subsidised consumers.
Q5. Can the DISCOM charge whatever it wants?
No. The state regulator sets the charges, and they can be appealed. APTEL struck down Rajasthan’s ₹0.80/unit additional surcharge order in 2025.
Q6. How long does approval take?
Under the 2022 Rules, 15 days, failing which approval is deemed granted subject to technical requirements. State practice can differ.
Q7. I’m a household or small shop. Can I do this?
Not under the green open access route, because the limit is 100 kW. Rooftop solar is the usual option for smaller users.
Sources
- https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/08/24/india-adds-3-gw-of-open-access-solar-in-q2/
- https://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2026/05/22/india-added-2-7-gw-of-open-access-solar-capacity-in-q1-2026/
- https://taiyangnews.info/markets/crisil-india-c-and-i-open-access-renewables-to-reach-57-gw-by-fy28
- https://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/judgments/index.php?go=2025%2Fapril%2Fjaipur-vidyut-vitaran-nigam-ltd-vs-rajasthan-textile-mills-association-178
(SC, 29 April 2025, quoting Section 42 and Sesa Sterlite, (2014) 8 SCC 444) - https://powerline.net.in/2022/07/05/positive-policy/
- https://powerline.net.in/2022/06/07/green-energy-open-access-rules-2022-notified/
- https://solarquarter.com/2024/02/20/ministry-of-power-urges-states-to-align-with-green-energy-open-access-regulations/
- https://www.energetica-india.net/news/aptel-quashes-rercs-order-allowing-inr-080kwh-additional-surcharge-on-open-access-consumers