Commercial rooftop solar in Ahmedabad: offices, showrooms, hospitals and shops

Torrent Power or UGVCL: the bill decides, not the address

Torrent Power holds the distribution licence for most of the city. UGVCL, the state company, supplies Bopal, South Bopal, Shilaj, Changodar and the villages around. The line between them runs through some of the newer business stretches, so a showroom at one end of SG Highway or Science City Road can be on Torrent while a clinic a few kilometres west is on UGVCL.

Look at the company name printed on your light bill. That company checks the application, fits the bidirectional meter and inspects the plant. Torrent customers follow the steps on Torrent's Solar Guide page and hand in documents at the zone office Torrent lists for their area. UGVCL customers pay the meter estimate (SR) on GUVNL's payment page for UGVCL. The two companies also name their high tension category differently: HTMD-1 on a Torrent bill, HTP-I on a UGVCL bill.

Your bill category sets how solar units are counted

GERC's net metering rules treat a small shop and a large hospital very differently, so read the category line before you think about size.

• Non-RGP (small shops, clinics, small offices): solar is set off against everything you use across the billing cycle. A Sunday surplus can still cover Monday evening. This is the easiest case.
• LTMD (demand-based LT, common for mid-size offices and showrooms): solar counts only against what you use between 7 am and 6 pm across the billing cycle. Units exported on holidays are bought by the power company at a rate linked to GUVNL's recent solar tenders, and are not carried forward.
• HT (HTMD-1 or HTP-I, typical for big towers, hotels and hospitals): set-off is between 7 am and 6 pm on the same day. A plant sized for a weekday will spill over on Sundays, so design for the quietest regular day.
• Peak-hour charges fall in the morning and evening windows, and solar cannot cover the evening one. If you are on a ToD or smart meter there is also a midday discount, which trims the value of each solar unit a little. Ask the installer to model your own hourly pattern.

Shared terraces and the one-meter limit

In a multi-owner complex each office or shop has its own meter, and the terrace belongs to everyone. Under the rules in force today a rooftop plant connects to one consumer connection only. Group or virtual net metering, which would let one terrace plant credit many meters, appears in GERC's 2026 draft regulations but is not in force yet.

In practice that leaves two routes. The building association puts the plant on its common-services meter, which runs lifts, water pumps, lobby and basement lights and sometimes central chillers. Or one owner who has a clear right to part of the terrace connects it to their own meter, with a written no-objection from the association. Tall towers have a small roof compared with their floor area, so even a full terrace usually covers the common load, not the tenants.

What changes from one business area to the next

• SG Highway: glass towers, car and furniture showrooms, hotels, hospitals and banquet halls. Showrooms on a single plot with a flat roof are the cleanest projects. Towers usually go through the association, and banquet halls that run mostly in the evening gain less.
• Prahlad Nagar and Corporate Road: offices of IT and service firms, cafes and hotels. Many units are rented, and office hours of roughly 9 to 7 sit well on top of the solar curve.
• Sindhu Bhavan Road and Bodakdev: newer complexes where the terrace is sometimes still unallotted. Ask the developer or association about terrace use before the space goes to water tanks, mobile towers or a party deck.
• CG Road and Navrangpura: older complexes, banks and coaching institutes with AC classrooms all day. Terraces here often already carry tanks, lift rooms and telecom equipment, so measure the shade-free area first.
• Ashram Road: bank, insurance and public sector offices and older hotels. Several are single-owner institutional buildings, which avoids the multi-owner problem entirely. Larger ones are on HT, so the same-day rule applies.
• Satellite, Vastrapur and Jodhpur: mixed complexes with clinics, coaching classes and shops, many on small Non-RGP connections. A tenant with the landlord's consent can often do a small system here.
• Science City Road, Sola and Thaltej: new towers, hospitals and schools near the city edge. Check whether your bill says Torrent or UGVCL, since this belt is where the two meet.
• Maninagar and the east-side markets: market buildings, showrooms and hospitals. Shops on Non-RGP connections settle over the whole cycle; the market building's common meter is the other option.

Renting the premises, and what the owner has to sign

GERC's rules allow solar on premises you hold on rent, and a developer or third party may own the system on your roof. What you need in practice is the owner's written consent, plus clarity on what happens to the panels if you move. Line up the lease length with the life of the plant you are buying.

Since the 2024 amendment, a system up to 10 kW needs no technical feasibility study, and the power company has fixed timelines with compensation if it delays without reason. Larger HT plants go through the full process. For tax treatment, accelerated depreciation is available to businesses, but ask your CA how it applies to you. There is no PM Surya Ghar subsidy for offices or shops.

What to have ready before an installer visits

Keep twelve months of bills, the category and sanctioned load or contract demand, terrace photos, and a note of your weekday and weekend hours. In a complex, bring the association's letter or minutes. If you want, we can connect you with one checked installer who works in your part of Ahmedabad.