Electricity bill guide
TOD tariff: the same unit, three different prices.
Under a Time of Day (TOD) tariff, a unit used in the evening peak costs more than the same unit used late at night. Here is how the zones work, what the 2023 rules changed for industry, and how plants move load out of the expensive hours.
What a TOD tariff is
A TOD (Time of Day, also written ToD) tariff splits the day into zones. Units used in the peak zone carry a surcharge on the normal energy rate, units used in the off-peak zone get a rebate, and the rest are billed at the normal rate. The DISCOM meter records your consumption zone by zone, and the bill applies each zone’s rate.
Your State Electricity Regulatory Commission sets the zones and percentages in each tariff order, and they often change with the season. In Uttar Pradesh, for example, industrial TOD adds 15% in peak hours and takes 15% off in off-peak hours, with different hours in summer and winter. On a kVAh tariff the TOD rates apply to kVAh units, so a low power factor costs more in peak hours too.
What the 2023 rules changed
The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2023 require TOD tariffs for commercial and industrial consumers with a maximum demand above 10 kW, from no later than 1 April 2024. Under these rules:
- The peak-hour tariff for commercial and industrial consumers is at least 1.20 times the normal tariff.
- The tariff during solar hours — eight hours a day, set by the state commission — is 10–20% below the normal tariff.
- Each state commission sets the actual hours and rates through its own tariff order.
So the hours and percentages on your bill depend on your state, your category and the season. Check your current tariff order rather than last year’s numbers.
What peak-hour units cost
Take an illustrative plant billed at ₹7.10 per kVAh, with 15% added in peak hours and 15% taken off in off-peak hours. Its batch furnace and water pumping run in the evening peak. Moving 10,000 kVAh a month of that load to off-peak hours:
| Illustrative month | Value |
|---|---|
| Normal energy rate | ₹7.10 per kVAh |
| Peak rate (+15%) | ₹8.165 per kVAh |
| Off-peak rate (−15%) | ₹6.035 per kVAh |
| Units moved from peak to off-peak | 10,000 kVAh |
| Saving on each unit moved | ₹2.13 |
| Saving for the month | ₹21,300 |
Illustrative figures. TOD hours, surcharge and rebate percentages, the energy rate and whether TOD applies to kWh or kVAh differ by state, DISCOM, consumer category and season — check your tariff order and bill.
Over a year that is about ₹2.56 lakh — the same production and the same units, just at different hours. Moving the same load from peak to normal hours saves about half of that.
Which loads can move
- Water pumping into overhead or storage tanks.
- Batch processes with a flexible start: heat treatment, curing, drying and mixing batches.
- Battery charging for forklifts and other battery-powered equipment.
- Pre-cooling with chilled-water or ice storage before the peak starts.
- Non-urgent runs: trial runs, cleaning cycles and maintenance work.
Continuous processes and the main production line usually cannot move. The saving comes from the loads that can.
Moving several loads into the same off-peak hours can stack them and raise your Maximum Demand. One excess-demand charge can wipe out a month of TOD savings. Stagger the loads you move, and watch running MD against Contract Demand.
Why the bill alone cannot guide it
The bill shows units per zone for the whole month, for the whole connection. It does not show which panel or shift used the peak-hour units, or whether moving a batch last week actually worked. That needs the TOD split for each meter, day by day.
How KONDUKTOR® EMS helps
KONDUKTOR® EMS reads the multifunction meters already on your panels and splits each meter’s consumption into peak, normal and off-peak zones.
- Daily and monthly energy bars stacked off-peak, normal and peak, for each meter, show which panel uses the expensive hours.
- A TOD shift advisor shows each meter’s peak-hour share, the units that could move, and the saving in rupees per month.
- A day-by-hour load heatmap shows exactly when the peak-hour load runs, week after week.
- The bill estimate applies TOD rates, so the effect of a shift shows up in rupees before the DISCOM bill arrives.
Common questions
Is a TOD tariff compulsory for factories?+
For most commercial and industrial connections, yes. The 2023 central rules require TOD tariffs for commercial and industrial consumers with a maximum demand above 10 kW from 1 April 2024, and each state commission applies them through its tariff order. Your bill shows whether TOD applies to your connection.
Does TOD apply to the demand charge too?+
In most tariffs, no. TOD surcharges and rebates apply to the energy charge, the units you use. The fixed or demand charge is billed on Maximum Demand separately. Your tariff order states exactly what TOD covers.
How do I find my TOD hours?+
Your state commission’s current tariff order lists the zones and percentages, and many DISCOM bills print the units used in each zone. The hours often differ between summer and winter and can change with a new tariff order, so check them again every year.
Will moving load to night hours reduce our Maximum Demand?+
Not by itself. Maximum Demand is the highest 15- or 30-minute demand at any hour. If shifted loads all start together at night, MD can go up. Spread them out, so off-peak hours save on units without setting a new peak.
See who uses your peak hours, meter by meter.
Book a live demo and see the TOD split, peak-hour share and shift savings on meters like yours.