# I hold 30% of a group captive plant. Is all the power I draw captive, even above my proportionate limit?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/group-captive-owner-holding-26-percent-no-draw-cap

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](https://senseible.earth/answers/group-captive-excess-draw-still-counts-toward-51-percent)
- [Captive plant fails the 51% test](https://senseible.earth/answers/captive-plant-fails-51-percent-test-what-happens)
- [Group captive rules for solar](https://senseible.earth/answers/group-captive-solar-26-percent-rule)
- [Group captive solar and Scope 2](https://senseible.earth/answers/group-captive-solar-scope-2)
- [Free carbon calculators](https://senseible.earth/calculators)

Sources: [Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2026, General Statutory Rules (G.S.R.) 186(E), substituting rule 3 of the Electricity Rules, 2005 (captive generating plants), with Schedule III and the Ministry of Power explanatory note](https://www.powermin.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/05/c84c643ff478be845cff8d7dd4349d67.pdf)

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.