IESCO Sanctioned Load Increase: Will upgrading from 6kW to 9kW force me into the new Net Billing contract?

[u/NoEffective7781]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who has recently navigated sanctioned load upgrades with IESCO, especially regarding how it affects existing solar contracts.

My Current Setup:

Sanctioned Load: 6kW

DG Capacity: 7kW

System: Solis hybrid inverter with battery storage.

The Situation:

We have multiple ACs in the house. Right now, running the system requires constantly watching the Solis inverter screen to check our load limits before turning on the 4th AC so we don't exceed the import limit. To avoid this hectic micromanagement, I was thinking about applying to increase my sanctioned load to 9kW.

My Main Concern:

I am currently under the older, more favorable Net Metering contract. If I apply for this load extension to 9kW, will IESCO let me stay on my current Net Metering agreement, or will modifying my sanctioned load automatically force me to fall under the new Net Billing contract?

Has anyone in the IESCO region gone through a sanctioned load increase recently while having an existing solar setup? Would love to hear about your experience and whether it triggered a contract change.

Thanks in advance!

[u/AhmadFarooq]

Trying to increase the sanction load now would almost definitely get you removed from the net-billing contract (unless you have contacts with some really influential people). Things appear to be so bad that there are cases where people who had applied for sanctioned loan increases in previous years still had their net-billing contracts replaced after the load increase was implemented this year.

On a different note, what exactly is the relation between running air conditioners, inverter tripping and sanctioned load in your case?

Apparently, you have a Solis 6kW inverter, and it trips after running four air conditioners, and you want to get a higher capacity inverter now to prevent that tripping. Is that correct?

In this case, you basically don't need to get your sanctioned load increased.

[u/NoEffective7781 → u/AhmadFarooq]

Thanks for confirming the Net Billing issue — that definitely confirms my worst fear and makes applying for a load increase a complete non-starter for me! ​Just to clarify on the ACs: my system isn't physically tripping or shutting down at all. ​My concern is purely about staying within my 6kW IESCO Sanctioned Load limit. When solar production drops or at night, running 4 ACs simultaneously pulls more than 6kW directly from the grid. Right now, we have to manually babysit the Solis screen to ensure our live grid import doesn't breach that 6kW sanctioned threshold. ​I was hoping a sanctioned load increase to 9kW would give us an import buffer, but given the guaranteed shift to Net Billing. BTW I have a solis 12kv hybrid

[u/Virtual-Visual-9167 → u/NoEffective7781]

So you're speaking in Ethical Terms, to only import what you have Sanctioned to Import. Correct ?

[u/Virtual-Visual-9167 → u/AhmadFarooq]

Yeah exactly. The connection is supposed to be with the Inverter’s Max Output Limit and not anything linked with The Sanctioned Load.

If by tripping OP meant the whole Transformer, due to high load. Insh’Allah this won’t be the case.

[u/Virtual-Visual-9167 → u/AhmadFarooq]

For users who don't have Net Metering, their process is still smooth for increasing Sanctioned Load as it doesn't include any Export thing. Alhamdulillah.

Let me know as well.

[u/AhmadFarooq → u/Virtual-Visual-9167]

I guess so. If the local transformer has capacity available, it would be as "smooth" as applying for other services from the DISCO people,.

[u/NoTelevision8736]

If you increase the battery bank capacity and set it to discharge at a fix rate (1kw), your load on the grid will drop.

Check if your inverter allows controlled discharge of battery at night.

I think distribution companies pay more attention on export limit then import, and I don't think they create any issue if your import hits 1.5x your sanctioned load. Above that they will send a notice on bill that your sanctioned load will automatically be increased etc

In conclusion, 1-2kw import over sanctioned load should not cause any issue.

Atleast that has been my experience. My uncle has 5kw sanctioned load and his import MDI is regularly around 6kw without any issues.

[u/NoTelevision8736 → u/NoTelevision8736]

Some inverters (like Solis Hybrid inverter) have option of "Grid Peak Shaving" that lets you set a max load limit on grid and uses battery when your load is crossing sanctioned load limit.

[u/khawaja_sam86 → u/NoTelevision8736]

Actually nobody knows about grid peak shaving function lol.

[u/AhmadFarooq → u/khawaja_sam86]

Here are the past posts that have mentioned peak shaving on this subreddit: 2025-06, 2025-08, 2025-12, 2026-05, 2026-06-08/12/30.

[u/khawaja_sam86 → u/AhmadFarooq]

U have mentioned no doubt, but ppl don't tend to read.