A single policy change turned our combined monthly electricity bill from Rs.268 to Rs.8,636. Here is the evidence — and why every Kerala solar prosumer needs to know this.
I invested in a 5KW OnGrid Solar system. I did everything right. I supervised the installation personally. I got the HSE compliance done. I connected to the KSEB grid as a prosumer — generating clean energy, exporting surplus to the grid, banking those units to offset future bills.
For months it worked beautifully. December, January, February, March — combined bills of Rs.257 to Rs.279. Solar doing its job. Bank building up. The system working as promised.
Then April happened. And in May, my combined KSEB bill was Rs.8,636.
Not because we used more electricity. Not because rates changed dramatically. Because KSEB's April reconciliation wiped every single banked unit to zero — right before the hottest months of the year.
Net Metering is the system that allows solar prosumers — households that both consume and produce electricity — to export surplus solar power to the KSEB grid and receive credit for it as banked units.
The promise was simple: export more than you consume in a month, the surplus is banked. Draw from the bank in months when consumption exceeds generation. Once a year, KSEB settles the accounts — any remaining banked units are either carried forward or reconciled.
This is how the investment makes financial sense. This is how solar adoption was sold to Kerala households. This is what lakhs of prosumers across the state believed when they invested their savings in rooftop solar.
Annual reconciliation in October. Prosumers accumulated units through the solar generation season (April–September). Bank balance was healthy entering the high-consumption months. Investment made financial sense.
Annual reconciliation in April. All banked units wiped to zero at the end of April. Prosumers enter May — the start of peak summer — with zero bank balance. Bills spike immediately. Investment economics destroyed.
This is not a small administrative adjustment. This is a structural change that systematically strips prosumers of their banked units at the worst possible moment — right before May, June, July, August, and September — Kerala's hottest months with the highest electricity consumption.
April is the end of Kerala's peak solar generation season. Prosumers have spent months building their bank balance. April reconciliation zeros this balance at the exact moment it should be at its highest — just before the months when it is needed most. If this policy were designed to maximise KSEB billing revenue at prosumer expense, it could not have been timed more precisely.
I am not speaking in theory. Here is the actual billing data from my two consumer connections — 19881 and 21565 — both covered by the same 5KW solar installation:
| Month | 19881 Bill (Rs.) | 21565 Bill (Rs.) | Combined (Rs.) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 147 | 110 | 257 | ✅ Normal — bank building |
| January 2026 | 159 | 120 | 279 | ✅ Normal — bank building |
| February 2026 | 155 | 118 | 273 | ✅ Normal — bank building |
| March 2026 | 147 | 114 | 261 | ✅ Normal — high bank balance |
| April 2026 | 431 | 140 | 571 | ⚠️ Reconciliation month |
| May 2026 | 5,296 | 3,340 | 8,636 | 🔴 BANK RESET — full consumption billed |
The average combined bill from December to March: Rs.268 per month.
The May 2026 bill after the April bank reset: Rs.8,636.
That is a 32-fold increase in a single month — for the same household, the same installation, the same consumption patterns.
I have two consumer connections. Multiply this pattern across the thousands of solar prosumers across Kerala and the scale of the impact becomes clear.
Beyond individual households, this policy actively discourages new solar investment. Any potential prosumer who understands the April reconciliation will think twice before investing. This directly undermines Kerala's and India's renewable energy targets — at a time when rooftop solar adoption is critical for the state's energy future.
I have prepared a formal written complaint — with full billing data, analysis, and demands — addressed to:
My demands are clear:
If you are a Kerala solar prosumer who has experienced the same sudden bill spike after the April reconciliation — you are not alone and you are not wrong.
This post is factual, evidence-based, and respectful. It is not an attack on KSEB or the government. It is a citizen exercising their democratic right to hold public institutions accountable when policies cause demonstrable harm. The data speaks clearly. The demand is reasonable. The expectation is a fair response.
I invested in solar energy because I believed in it — and because the policy framework made it financially viable. That framework has been changed without adequate notice, consultation, or compensation.
Kerala's solar prosumers deserve better. The investment they made — in clean energy, in grid stability, in the state's renewable future — deserves to be honoured.
The goal posts were moved. They need to be moved back.