Finds and files green open access power deals for factories of 100 kW to 1 MW
TL;DR Wheelmatch helps mid-size factories and commercial buildings buy solar and wind power from outside generators under India's green open access rules. It compares offers, works out the charges state by state and handles the paperwork. Generators pay a success fee for each signed contract.
Since June 2022, central rules let any consumer with 100 kW or more of contracted demand buy green power through open access, with approval due within 15 days[1]. Before that the bar was 1 MW[2].
On the ground, small buyers are still stuck. State commissions set their own eligibility and charges, many states kept a 1 MW limit even after the rules, and banking of surplus power is restricted in Haryana, West Bengal and Telangana and not allowed at all in Tamil Nadu[3].
So if you run a factory with a 300 kW load, how do you know a deal actually saves money after wheeling charges and surcharges? Right now you mostly don't.
What it does, in regulatory terms: advisory and facilitation only. Wheelmatch never buys or resells power, so it doesn't act as an electricity trader. If it ever takes title to power then it needs a trading licence from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, so get counsel to confirm the exact line.
A buyer uploads 12 months of bills. Wheelmatch builds the load profile, checks eligibility in that state and prices each offer net of transmission, wheeling, cross-subsidy surcharge and banking charges. It shows the landed cost next to the discom tariff, then prepares the application on the central portal and tracks it through the state nodal agency.
The seed proposed hyperlocal peer-to-peer trading between neighbours. We reframed it, because Indian law doesn't let households sell power to each other outside pilots, while green open access is a legal channel that already exists for 100 kW buyers. Pooling small buyers into one developer's project is the closest legal version of the seed.
The buyer is a factory, cold store, hospital or mall with 100 kW to 1 MW of load, and the owner signs a 5–15 year contract. The payer is the generator or developer, which pays a success fee per contracted MW because reaching small buyers on its own is too expensive.
A buyer-side audit fee is a second option. We found no public fee benchmark.
The 2022 rules set up a central registry and a single-window portal and capped the charges to a short list[1]. Large developers are moving down-market - one big corporate solar developer reports 593+ corporate customers and an offsite open access network across 10+ states[4]. ToD tariffs for commercial users also make daytime solar look better[5].
There's no public figure for how many 100 kW–1 MW consumers have used green open access. The firmest signal is the rule change itself, where eligibility fell tenfold from 1 MW to 100 kW[2].
Adjacent: that developer's 4.2 GW portfolio shows the scale developers already sell at to larger buyers[4]. Treat that as context, not your market.
Big corporate renewable developers sell direct to large corporates and run their own open access networks[4]. An overseas blockchain energy-trading firm has worked with Indian utilities on trading platforms but publishes no Indian case study on its site[6]. Energy consultants file open access applications for big users on a project fee.
The gap is a buyer-neutral comparison and filing service built for small loads.
| Difficulty | Moderate (40/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹55 L–1.1 Cr |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
The software is light. The real work is keeping every target state's charge schedules and eligibility rules current and earning the trust of buyers who'll be signing a long contract. Approvals can still stall at state agencies despite the 15-day rule, and your fee only lands when deals close.
No licence while Wheelmatch stays a facilitator paid a fee. The moment it takes title to power, that changes.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't trust AI to give the final savings figure on a long contract. A human checks the charges against the latest state order before any buyer signs.
Want to work out the AI layer for Wheelmatch? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
This is a good fit for a founder from a discom, a regulator or a renewable developer who knows state tariff orders by heart. For a pure software team it's a poor fit, in my opinion.
First prove this - in two states, at least five 100 kW–1 MW buyers save money after all charges and actually sign.
Plan for roughly ₹55 L–1.1 Cr, mostly on analysts, state rules upkeep and sales to factories.
Not while you only facilitate deals for a fee. Buying and reselling power needs a CERC trading licence, so get legal advice on your contracts.
Yes, wherever businesses can buy renewable power directly. Rules on eligibility and charges vary a lot, so check with your local regulator.
The free Wheelmatch validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the open access and licensing checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for factory owners and developers, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Wheelmatch or something close to it? The make-or-break work is modelling state charges well enough that small buyers trust a 10-year contract, and I'm glad to work through that with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.