Our captive plant is one unit of a two-unit station owned by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Which equity and generation count?
Only the unit identified for captive use is tested. In the rules' two-unit, 50 megawatt (MW) example, captive users must hold at least 13% of the company's equity, which is 26% of the half that matches Unit A, and consume at least 51% of Unit A's generation, not the station's.
The rule
- Rule 3(2)(b) and its Explanation: where the station is owned by a company formed as a special purpose vehicle for it, "a unit or units of such generating station identified for captive use and not the entire generating station" must satisfy the 26% and 51% conditions.
- Consumption is determined "with reference to the aggregate generation of the generating unit or units identified for captive use, and not with reference to the generating station as a whole".
- Equity held by captive users "shall not be less than twenty-six per cent of the proportionate equity of the company corresponding to the generating unit or units identified as the captive generating plant".
What an SPV is, and how it is treated
Rule 3(1)(e) defines it as "a legal entity established for the sole purpose of owning, operating and maintaining a generating station, and which does not undertake any other business or activity". The Explanation to Rule 3(1)(e) says an SPV shall be treated as an Association of Persons. My reading: so the user-level rules for associations apply.
The rules' own two-unit case, with an example year
- Station: two units of 50 MW each, Units A and B. Unit A is identified as the captive plant.
- Equity, my arithmetic for two equal units: 26% x 50% = 13% of the company, as the rules print
- Consumption: not less than 51% of Unit A's generation in the financial year
- Example year, not from the source: Unit A generates 100 million units (about 23% load factor for 50 MW), so captive users must consume at least 0.51 x 100 = 51 million units. Counting against both units' 200 million, assuming Unit B also generates 100 million, would wrongly ask for 102 million.
The 13% and 51% are the rules' own. The generation figures are an example.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly records. It does not test captive status or work out the limits.
- Surcharge cap at 20% of cost of supply
- Captive plant fails the 51% test
- Group captive rules for solar
- Group captive solar and Scope 2
- Free carbon calculators
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Rule 3 of the Electricity Rules, 2005 as substituted by G.S.R. 186(E), 13 March 2026; parts in force from 1 April 2026. Checked 5 November 2026. Check the state nodal agency's or the National Load Despatch Centre's procedure before you file.