Punjab's evening power surcharge for factories stops on 16 October
It is easy to assume that evening power always costs more. In Punjab, factories above 50 kVA and large commercial connections pay Rs 2.00 a unit (kVAh) extra for power used between 6 and 10 in the evening, but only from 16 June to 15 October. So from 16 October, a factory battery in Punjab is about covering power cuts and storing solar, not a dearer evening; in Jammu and Kashmir, the evening surcharge for industry runs all year.
What happenedPSPCL time of day tariff 2026-27: peak hours, months and who pays
From Friday 16 October, Punjab's bigger factories and businesses stop paying extra for power used from 6 to 10 pm. Punjab's power regulator, PSERC, set this in condition 15 of its 2026-27 tariff order, dated 6 March 2026. Those hours cost Rs 2.00 more per kVAh, the unit these connections are billed in, but only from 16 June to 15 October. The table below shows the rest of the order's year, which runs to 31 March 2027.
The rule covers all large supply (LS) and medium supply (MS) industrial connections, which under this year's tariff schedules means a contract demand above 50 kVA. It also covers non-residential (NRS) connections, such as shops, offices, hotels and private hospitals, and bulk supply (BS) connections, when their contract demand is above 100 kVA. Homes, farm pumps and small factories of up to 50 kVA are not on the list.
The calendar lines up with PSPCL's own load figures. In a table in the same order, PSPCL's average demand from 6 am to 10 pm stayed above 10,000 MW from June to September 2025, the paddy months (13,073 MW in July). In October it fell to 7,507 MW, and in November to 6,490 MW. The table does not separate 6 to 10 pm. PSERC kept the existing ToD scheme for this year and said it would review it in its 2027-28 order. It also told PSPCL to send a full ToD proposal by 30 September 2026.
Jammu and Kashmir does it differently. In its order of 20 August 2026, J&K's regulator, JERC, set peak hours of 6 to 9 am and 5 to 10 pm, with no season. In those hours, industry and commercial users pay 20 per cent more on the energy charge and others 10 per cent more; from 9 am to 5 pm, all get 20 per cent off. It covers connections above 10 kW of sanctioned load, except farms, for power used from 1 September 2026, wherever the meter and billing can record the time of use. JERC said ToD “is not required to await 100% smart-meter coverage”; J&K's two power companies, JPDCL and KPDCL, told it their smart-meter rollout is due to finish in July 2027.
| Dates | 6 am to 6 pm | 6 to 10 pm | 10 pm to 6 am |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Jun to 15 Oct | Normal | Rs 2.00 more | Normal |
| 16 Oct to 31 Mar | Normal | Normal | Rs 1.00 less |
| 1 Apr to 15 Jun | Normal | Normal | Rs 0.50 less |
Per kVAh, on the normal energy charge. With any discount, the energy charge cannot go below Rs 5.50 per kVAh (Rs 5.30 for water works and compost plants). This order's industrial energy charges sit close to that floor, so most factories get well under the full Rs 1.00 at night. The 1 Apr to 15 Jun row is for 2026 and has passed.
What our tracker showsPunjab rooftop solar capacity and the 6 to 10 pm hours, 2026
Our tracker counts home rooftops under PM Surya Ghar, the national rooftop scheme, and nothing else. Homes are not on Punjab's ToD list, so the counter cannot show any effect of this tariff, and we do not read one into it. What it does show is how much solar sits on Punjab's home roofs.
On the 14 October reading, Punjab had 20,788 home rooftops under the scheme with 95.0 MW, up from 84.6 MW on our first reading, 29 August. From 6 to 10 pm, the hours the surcharge covers, those panels make little or no power in any month, and a factory roof is no different. In those hours, a factory with solar still runs on the grid, a generator or a battery.
In J&K, the rule reaches homes above 10 kW of sanctioned load. The portal's public figures, which we read, do not show sanctioned load, so we cannot say how many of J&K's 47,197 home rooftops (14 October reading) it covers.
Source: Solentra's daily readings of the PM Surya Ghar national portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in), 29 August to 14 October 2026. No reading was saved on 1 September. Home rooftops only; Punjab's ToD tariff does not apply to homes. Rooftop panels make little or no power from 6 to 10 pm, the hours the surcharge covers.
See the numbers
| Reading | Punjab rooftop capacity |
|---|---|
| 29 Aug 2026 | 84.6 |
| 30 Aug 2026 | 84.7 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 84.8 |
| 2 Sep 2026 | 85.3 |
| 3 Sep 2026 | 85.5 |
| 4 Sep 2026 | 85.7 |
| 5 Sep 2026 | 86 |
| 6 Sep 2026 | 86.2 |
| 7 Sep 2026 | 86.3 |
| 8 Sep 2026 | 86.7 |
| 9 Sep 2026 | 87 |
| 10 Sep 2026 | 87.3 |
| 11 Sep 2026 | 87.6 |
| 12 Sep 2026 | 87.7 |
| 13 Sep 2026 | 87.9 |
| 14 Sep 2026 | 88 |
| 15 Sep 2026 | 88.3 |
| 16 Sep 2026 | 88.5 |
| 17 Sep 2026 | 88.8 |
| 18 Sep 2026 | 89.1 |
| 19 Sep 2026 | 89.4 |
| 20 Sep 2026 | 89.5 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 89.7 |
| 22 Sep 2026 | 89.9 |
| 23 Sep 2026 | 90.2 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | 90.4 |
| 25 Sep 2026 | 90.7 |
| 26 Sep 2026 | 90.9 |
| 27 Sep 2026 | 91.1 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 91.2 |
| 29 Sep 2026 | 91.5 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | 91.8 |
| 1 Oct 2026 | 92.1 |
| 2 Oct 2026 | 92.4 |
| 3 Oct 2026 | 92.6 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | 92.8 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 92.8 |
| 6 Oct 2026 | 93.1 |
| 7 Oct 2026 | 93.4 |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 93.7 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 94 |
| 10 Oct 2026 | 94.2 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 94.5 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 94.6 |
| 13 Oct 2026 | 94.8 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 95 |
What it could mean for IndiaPeak hours tariff in Punjab and J&K, and what a battery is for
For these Punjab connections, the evening costs more for four months of the year. Anyone who planned shifts, a generator or a battery around a year-round evening surcharge could be planning for a cost that is not there from 16 October to 31 March.
That could change what a factory battery is for. In the paddy months, a battery that runs a plant from 6 to 10 pm keeps those units off the surcharge. From 16 October, its work could be backup when the grid goes down; industry faced long cuts in September's paddy-season shortfall. It could also hold midday solar the factory cannot use or export at the time. Neither job needs an evening surcharge to make sense.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the evening surcharge and the 9 am to 5 pm discount apply all year, wherever the meter can record them. A factory there could gain from moving work into the daytime, and from storage, in every month, as compatible meters reach more connections.
For India, the two orders show two ways to price the evening. Central rules from 2023, as PSERC describes them, call for ToD on commercial and industrial users above 10 kW, with peak prices at least 1.2 times the normal tariff. JERC's order quotes the same rules asking for a solar-hours rate at least 20 per cent below normal, and J&K's design follows that pattern. PSERC noted in its March order that PSPCL had sent no proposal to apply those rules. If Punjab's next order moved toward the central rules, with a dearer evening all year and a cheaper midday, a factory battery could be useful in every month. Grid power in the middle of the day could also get cheaper, which matters to anyone weighing it against a factory's own panels. That is a possibility, not a forecast.
What it means for youFactory batteries, solar and the Punjab winter tariff
If you run a factory or a large commercial connection in Punjab: check the category on your bill. The rule covers LS or MS, or NRS or BS with a contract demand above 100 kVA. Did you move work out of 6 to 10 pm, or run a generator then, to avoid the surcharge? Look at that again: from 16 October to 31 March 2027, the evening is at the normal rate. Moving work past 10 pm earns the night discount, which the Rs 5.50 floor keeps well under Rs 1.00 for most factories; the night-only tariff gets no ToD rebate. The next order, for the year from April 2027, could keep or change this calendar, so check it when it comes out.
If you are planning a battery for a Punjab factory: size it for the cuts you face, the diesel it replaces and any midday solar you cannot use or export at the time. If a battery offer for a Punjab site counts the evening surcharge in all twelve months, ask for it to be worked out again with four. Our BESS calculator works it out that way for Punjab, and over the full year for J&K. Our BESS page, Powered by UnityESS, covers the systems.
If you are an installer or dealer: when a factory owner asks about a battery for peak hours, ask which months and which tariff category. In Punjab the answer changes on 16 June and 16 October. In J&K, check whether the customer's bill already shows ToD, because it depends on the meter.
If your J&K home has a sanctioned load above 10 kW: the rule covers you once your meter and bill can record the time of use. Power from 6 to 9 am and 5 to 10 pm then costs 10 per cent more on the energy charge, and power from 9 am to 5 pm 20 per cent less.
If you are a homeowner in Punjab: this order sets no time of day rate for homes, so this change does not touch your bill. You can follow the scheme's Punjab numbers every day on our tracker.
Sources
- Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), Tariff Order FY 2026-27 for PSPCL, Annexure I: General Conditions of Tariff (condition 15, Time of Day tariff), .
- Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), Tariff Order FY 2026-27 for PSPCL, Annexure II: Schedules of Tariff, .
- Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), Tariff Order FY 2026-27 for PSPCL, Chapter 1: Introduction, .
- Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), Tariff Order FY 2026-27 for PSPCL, Chapter 4: Tariff Related Issues (Table 4.2, Monthly Average Demand), .
- Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for the UT of J&K and the UT of Ladakh (JERC), Order No. 06 of 2026: ARR and Retail Supply Tariff for FY 2026-27, JPDCL and KPDCL, .
- MNRE, National Portal for Rooftop Solar, PM Surya Ghar national portal, read daily by Solentra since 29 Aug 2026, .
The Solar Brief puts public reports in our own words and reads them against Solentra's own daily record of the PM Surya Ghar national portal. Where we say what something could mean, that is our reading, not a forecast. Nothing here is financial, loan or legal advice.
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