Tech OVN

July 2026 · Energy Management

Time-of-Day (ToD) Tariff in India — How to Cut Your Peak-Hour Bill

For large commercial and industrial consumers in India, the unit rate on your electricity bill is no longer a single flat number — it varies by the hour. Time-of-Day (ToD) tariffs charge a premium for energy consumed during peak grid hours and offer discounts during off-peak and solar surplus windows. Understanding which hours cost most — and which loads can be shifted — is the first step to meaningfully reducing the bill. The prerequisite is ToD-aware energy monitoring that shows you consumption by zone rather than just by month.

What is a Time-of-Day tariff and why does it exist?

A Time-of-Day (ToD) tariff — also written as Time-of-Use (ToU) — charges different energy rates depending on when electricity is consumed. The principle is straightforward: the grid is not uniformly stressed around the clock. In the early evening, when residential, commercial, and industrial demands overlap, the grid operates near its capacity ceiling and generation costs are highest. In the early hours of the morning, or during peak solar generation periods at midday, surplus generation capacity makes electricity cheaper to produce and distribute.

By reflecting these cost differences in the tariff, ToD pricing gives consumers a direct financial incentive to shift flexible loads away from congested periods. The result benefits both sides: the utility reduces peak grid stress and defers expensive peaking capacity investment; the consumer reduces its bill by consuming the same energy at lower-cost times.

For a large factory, hotel, data centre, or commercial complex, the difference between peak and off-peak rates can be substantial. Over a full year, even modest load-shifting can produce meaningful savings — without any change to total energy consumed.

The national policy direction — and why exact slabs vary by state

India’s Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules— originally notified in 2020 and amended in 2021 — set a national direction for state commissions to mandate Time-of-Day tariffs for consumers above a specified contracted demand threshold. This represents a shift from optional to standard practice for large C&I consumers across the country.

However, the Rules set the policy direction; implementation is the responsibility of each state electricity regulatory commission (SERC). The exact consumer threshold (which contracted demand levels must move to ToD billing), the number of ToD bands, the premium and discount percentages applied to each band, and the specific hours defining each band are all determined by each state commission in its tariff orders. Some states have moved quickly; others are phasing in implementation over time.

Check your state’s tariff schedule

Whether ToD applies to your connection, at what thresholds, and with what band definitions depends entirely on your state DISCOM’s current tariff schedule. Read your state commission’s latest tariff order to find the exact bands and rates applicable to your connection category.

If your connection is above the threshold and ToD has been rolled out in your state, the implications are significant: a uniform ₹-per-unit energy rate on your bill is replaced by a rate that varies with the clock. The total units consumed may be the same, but the cost depends on when they were consumed.

The four ToD bands — and what drives each one

Most ToD tariff structures define three to four bands, though the exact hours and rates vary by state. In general:

Peak band

Typically the evening hours — commonly the period when residential lighting, cooling, and appliance load stacks on top of commercial and industrial demand. This is when the grid is most stressed and generation costs are highest. Energy consumed in this window attracts a premium above the base rate. In many tariff structures, demand charges also apply at a premium during peak hours — so a facility with high peak demand pays doubly: higher energy charges per unit and higher demand charges for the interval.

Normal band

Daytime working hours — when grid demand is moderate and the tariff applies at or near the base rate. Most industrial and commercial operations run primarily in this band.

Off-peak band

Late-night to early-morning hours — when grid demand is at its lowest. Many tariffs offer a meaningful discount in this band. Loads that can be deferred to these hours — charging, pumping, filling — attract significantly lower unit rates.

Solar-hour band

A growing feature in states with high solar penetration: a midday window when solar generation peaks and surplus capacity pushes effective generation costs to their lowest. Some tariffs offer a further discount in this band to encourage daytime consumption of solar energy. This band directly rewards facilities that can shift daytime loads to midday rather than evening or early morning.

How to cut your ToD bill — load shifting in practice

Reducing a ToD bill does not require reducing total energy consumption — it requires shifting consumption from expensive time windows to cheaper ones. The savings potential depends on two factors: how much of your load is currently in the peak band, and how much of that load has the operational flexibility to move.

Step 1: Know your consumption by ToD zone

Your billing meter records total consumption per band, but it does not tell you which specific loads drove peak-band consumption. A ToD monitoring solution at sub-meter level breaks this down by feeder, department, or equipment — showing you that the compressor room, the chiller plant, or the production line is the primary source of peak-band cost. Without this visibility, load-shifting decisions are guesswork.

Step 2: Identify flexible loads

Good candidates for shifting include: battery and UPS charging, compressed-air storage top-up, water pumping and tank filling, chiller pre-cooling (charging thermal mass during solar or off-peak hours for afternoon cooling), non-time-critical production batches, and industrial washing or heating processes. Loads that are tightly tied to occupancy or continuous process requirements are harder to move without operational changes.

Step 3: Keep demand peaks out of peak ToD windows

In tariff structures where demand charges also vary by ToD band, the priority is not just shifting energy units but keeping demand peaks outside the premium window. A large motor start or production surge during the peak band can set a high demand charge for that interval — compounding the energy-rate premium with a demand-rate premium. Real-time demand monitoring helps operators track live demand and defer large starts that would push the interval average into penalty territory during peak hours.

Measurement is the prerequisite

The Titan energy meter (Class 0.5S per IEC 62053-22) supports up to 8 configurable ToD zones — letting you programme the same time bands your DISCOM uses. On the Tech OVN dashboard, you can see energy and demand by zone over any period, identify which loads drive peak-band costs, and set alerts if consumption in the peak window is trending unusually high. Without zone-level measurement, even a well-designed load-shifting plan has no feedback loop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Time-of-Day tariffs for Indian C&I consumers.

A Time-of-Day (ToD) tariff — also called a Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff — charges different energy rates depending on the hour of the day. The rate is higher during peak demand hours, when grid stress is greatest, and lower during off-peak hours and solar surplus hours when generation capacity is underutilised. The structure incentivises consumers to shift flexible load away from peak windows, which reduces the burden on the grid and lowers the consumer's bill simultaneously.
India's Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 (amended in 2021) direct state commissions to mandate ToD tariffs for consumers above a specified contracted demand — a national-level direction to standardise time-of-use pricing across states. However, the exact consumer threshold, tariff bands, and implementation timeline are set by each state electricity regulatory commission. If you are a large C&I consumer, check your state DISCOM's current tariff schedule to confirm whether ToD applies to your connection category and at what thresholds.
Most ToD structures define three to four bands: a peak band (typically evening hours when residential and commercial demand is highest) at a premium above the base rate; a normal band (daytime working hours) at or near the base rate; an off-peak band (late night to early morning) at a discount; and in some states a solar-hour band (midday, when solar generation peaks) at a further discount to encourage daytime consumption. The exact hours, premiums, and discounts vary by state and tariff order — treat any specific number as illustrative, not as a figure applicable to all connections.
Your DISCOM's billing meter records consumption by ToD band and reports it on your bill. However, this tells you only the total for each band — it does not show which loads drove the peak-band consumption, or at what time within the band the demand was highest. Sub-metering with a ToD-aware energy meter lets you break down consumption by zone at the feeder or equipment level, revealing which processes contribute most to peak-band billing and where load shifting would have the greatest impact.
The best candidates for load shifting are processes that have inherent flexibility: battery charging (including EV fleets and UPS systems), compressed air storage top-up, water pumping and tank filling, chiller pre-cooling (charging thermal storage during solar hours for afternoon cooling), non-time-critical production batches, and industrial washing or heating processes. Loads that are tied to occupancy or production schedules — lighting, HVAC during working hours, continuous process equipment — are harder to shift without operational changes.
Yes. Titan supports up to 8 configurable ToD zones, allowing you to programme the same time bands your DISCOM uses. The Tech OVN dashboard shows energy consumption and demand by zone over time, so you can see exactly how much you are consuming in each band, track trends, and identify the specific loads and time windows driving peak-band costs. This visibility is the prerequisite for any load-shifting strategy.

Related Reading

Solutions and resources for ToD billing, demand management, and energy monitoring.

Time-of-Day Tariff — Solution Overview

How Tech OVN's ToD monitoring tracks consumption and demand by time zone so you can quantify the cost of peak-hour loads and plan effective load shifting.

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Maximum Demand Monitoring

Real-time demand tracking with predictive alerts before contract demand is breached — critical for keeping demand peaks out of peak ToD windows.

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Titan — Class 0.5S Smart Energy Meter

Three-phase DIN-rail energy meter with up to 8 ToD zones, demand computation, kWh/kVAh/PF measurement, and cloud alerting. Class 0.5S per IEC 62053-22.

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See exactly what your peak hours are costing

Titan tracks energy and demand across up to 8 ToD zones — so you know which loads drive your peak-band bill and where load shifting pays off most.

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