I hold 30% of a group captive plant. Is all the power I draw captive, even above my proportionate limit?
Yes, for a user holding not less than 26% of the plant's ownership, going by the explanatory note. Rule 3(2)(d)(iii) lifts the proportionate consumption condition, and the note says the entire consumption of such a user is treated as captive. In Schedule III Example 3 the 30% owner's 80% counts in full, though the formula gives 58.2%.
The rule
- Rule 3(2)(d)(iii): "where any captive user holds not less than twenty-six per cent ownership in the power plant, the condition relating to proportionate consumption specified in sub-clause (ii) of clause (d) shall not apply to such captive user".
- Explanatory note: for such a person "the entire consumption by him will be treated as captive consumption", and "for other captive consumers the proportionate consumption condition will be applicable".
- The note, not the rule text, settles the point. The Rule 3(3) proviso, which surcharges consumption above 100% of proportionate consumption, is not expressly disapplied in the rule text. So read this as no proportionate cap, on the strength of the note.
What still applies to the plant
The whole plant must still meet the collective tests: captive users together hold not less than 26% and consume not less than 51% of the year's generation. The exemption lifts the cap on the large owner. It does not lift the cap on the smaller users.
Open point
Rule 3(2)(d)(v) treats a company, its subsidiaries, its holding company and the holding company's other subsidiaries as a single captive user, and ownership is defined to include holdings through those companies. My reading, not the source's words: a group's combined holding is what meets the 26%. Confirm this in the nodal agency's procedure before you rely on it.
Schedule III, Example 3
- Ownership: A 30%, B 15%, C 5%, so X = 50
- Consumption: A 80%, B 12%, C 5% of generation, so Y = 97
- Limits: A 97 x 30/50 = 58.2%, B 97 x 15/50 = 29.1%, C 97 x 5/50 = 9.7%
- A draws 80%, above 58.2%, but holds 30%, which is not less than 26%, so all 80% qualifies. B at 12% and C at 5% are under their limits.
Figures are the rules' own, printed in Schedule III.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly records. It does not test captive status or work out the limits.
- Excess draw in a group captive plant
- 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.