How does P2P Energy Trading Works in India

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How P2P Energy Trading Works

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading in India enabes Rooftop Solar Owners to sell surplus power directly to other Consumers through a digital energy marketplace like YoGrid, instead of passively exporting all surplus to the DISCOM at a fixed net‑meter/feed‑in rate. The physical electricity still flows through the local grid operated by the DISCOM, but the ownership of those units is digitally allocated from a specific prosumer to a specific consumer and reflected in both electricity bills.

YoGrid is one of the authorised trading platforms under the India Energy Stack (IES) pilot, working with DISCOMs like TPDDL, BSES and PVVNL to enable these trades in a standardised, interoperable way.

Register for P2P Energy Trading

What Is P2P Energy Trading ?

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Energy Trading is a decentralised energy marketplace that allows electricity consumers and producers to directly trade surplus renewable energy, most commonly rooftop solar power, without intermediaries. In this model:

  • Prosumers (producers + consumers) sell surplus solar energy they generate,
  • Consumers buy renewable energy from nearby prosumers at mutually agreed prices,
  • Smart digital platforms ensure secure transactions, data integrity and billing.

Think of it like a local energy mandi — instead of only selling extra solar energy back to the DISCOM at fixed net-metering credits, you can directly sell to your neighbour or local business at competitive rates.

Key Benefits of P2P Energy Trading

For Prosumers

  • Earn revenue from surplus solar energy instead of just reducing bills.
  • Monetise at potentially higher market-based prices.

For Consumers

  • Access local renewable energy at competitive prices compared to DISCOM tariffs.
  • Support clean energy use in your community.

For the Grid & Discoms

  • Balances local supply and demand, reducing transmission losses and grid stress.
  • Enables more active demand-side management.

Core Building Blocks: DISCOMs, IES and YoGrid

P2P trading in India is not a parallel grid; it is a layer over the existing DISCOM network with clear roles for each stakeholder.

DISCOM (TPDDL, BSES, PVVNL)

  • Owns and operates the wires, ensures power quality, maintains meters and continues to issue the monthly bill.
  • Verifies which consumers/prosumers are eligible, shares smart‑meter data via APIs, and supervises settlement and regulatory compliance.

India Energy Stack (IES)

  • A national digital public infrastructure that defines common standards, APIs and data formats so any compliant P2P platform can plug into any participating DISCOM in a “one‑to‑many” model.
  • The first live use case under IES is interDISCOM P2P power trading, where prosumers from One DISCOM can sell to consumers in another.

Trading Platform Providers (TPPs) like YoGrid

  • Build the user‑facing app/portal where participants register, discover prices, place buy/sell bids and view transactions.
  • Integrate with IES and DISCOM APIs to fetch verified credentials, meter data and push settlement instructions, under DISCOM‑approved rules.

YoGrid, developed by Yellow Haze Sustainable is explicitly listed as one of the authorised trading platforms under the India Energy Stack programme and positioned as a P2P energy transfer platform for clean energy across India. It works closely with REC/IES and participating DISCOMs, so a YoGrid user in TPDDL, BSES or PVVNL territory can trade energy under the same standard architecture rather than via a custom, one‑off integration for each utility.

Step by Step: How P2P Energy Trade Works

1. Eligibility

To join, a participant must meet basic criteria:

  • Consumers (buyers)
    • Must be a valid DISCOM customer (with a consumer number) and have a smart meter installed.
    • Typically residential, commercial or small industrial customers looking to reduce bills and/or buy cleaner power.
  • Prosumers (sellers)
    • Must have a rooftop solar plant that can generate surplus energy beyond their own consumption.
    • Must be net‑metered or have a smart net meter as per the DISCOM’s rooftop policy.

This smart metering is essential because all P2P transactions are verified against granular meter data at the end of each interval or day.

2. Getting a Verifiable Credential (VC)

The India Energy Stack introduces a digital identity layer for the power sector called Verifiable Credentials:

  • A VC is a secure digital ID that proves you are a genuine customer of a given DISCOM without exposing full account details to every third‑party app.
  • For example, PVVNL directs users to visit vc.pvvnl.org to generate and download their VC, which is then used to log in to approved P2P apps.
  • BSES and TPDDL similarly ask users to enter their consumer number and mobile number to generate a VC and then log into a trading platform using this credential.

This VC model is conceptually similar to DigiLocker: a trusted issuer (DISCOM/IES) attests to your identity and connection attributes, which apps like YoGrid can verify without directly storing sensitive customer records.

3. Registration on a platform like YoGrid

Once the VC is ready, the customer needs to download/Visit trading app like YoGrid (visit here):

  • PVVNL, TPDDL and BSES describe the same process more generically: generate VC → choose authorised trading platform → log in using VC and start trading.

On a platform such as YoGrid, the onboarding flow typically includes:

  • Role selection: register as a consumer, prosumer, or both (if you sometimes buy and sometimes sell).
  • Linking of DISCOM account: confirm that the VC and meter details are correctly associated with the user profile.
  • Initial preferences: e.g., preferred buying price range, default selling price, maximum daily quantity, and counterparties (local vs any).

4. Day‑ahead trading on the marketplace

P2P trading is generally day‑ahead: today you schedule trades for tomorrow’s delivery window.

  • Prosumers list Surplus Power
    • A prosumer announces how many units (kWh) they expect to have available in given time blocks the next day and at what minimum acceptable price.
    • Platforms may use simple fixed price, dynamic pricing or even auction‑like mechanisms as allowed by DISCOM guidelines.
  • Consumers place buy requests
    • Consumers check across various offers filtering trough desired quantity, max price, time window and sometimes source preferences (e.g., only solar, or within same DISCOM area).
    • Based on selected offers, the Consumers place buy requests. The requests are then received by Sellers and approved.
    • Once approved by both buyers and seller, the trade goes to DISCOMs for verification.

5. Delivery and metering

On the day of delivery:

  • DISCOMs verify the actual export and delivery as per promised window.

6. Billing and financial settlement

All three DISCOMs clearly emphasise that settlement is integrated into the normal electricity bill, making it easy for end‑users to adopt.

For consumers (buyers)

  • Units purchased via P2P are reflected in the bill.
  • These units may offset part of the energy component of the bill, while fixed charges and other regulated components stay as per tariff order.

For prosumers (sellers)

  • Surplus units sold via P2P are deducted from net exports eligible for net‑meter credit.
  • The trades are then settled across respective accounts and money is transferred from buyer to sellers, managed by YoGrid Trading Platform.

DISCOM‑specific flows: TPDDL, BSES, PVVNL

While the architecture is common, it helps to see how each DISCOM explains the journey in their own words and how YoGrid can plug in.

TPDDL (Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd)

TPDDL describes “7 easy steps” from registration to first trade:

  1. Enter consumer number and mobile number on the TPDDL P2P portal to begin.
  2. Generate a VC as a consumer.
  3. Log in to any approved trading platform using this VC.
  4. Start P2P trade by buying energy units at given prices from prosumers on a day‑ahead basis.
  5. Units purchased are settled based on TPDDL smart‑meter consumption for the time slots traded.
  6. Consumers pay for settled units on the P2P platform, and prosumers receive corresponding payments.
  7. Traded units are adjusted in the monthly TPDDL electricity bill using verified smart‑meter data and approved settlement rules.
Go to TPDDL Website

BSES (BRPL)

BSES Rajdhani positions P2P as a “government‑supported pilot programme” backed by India Energy Stack, DISCOMs and authorised TPPs. Steps include:

  1. Register on a P2P platform
  2. DISCOM verifies meter/connection
  3. Start buying/selling
  4. All transactions are adjusted in your BSES electricity bill.
Go to BRPL Website

PVVNL (Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd, UP)

PVVNL presents P2P as a “Digital Mandi” for clean energy and uses relatable analogy of “Digital Mandi” where neighbours can sell surplus solar directly, PVVNL provides the market infrastructure (wires) and acts as referee for accounting. Its steps include:

  • Its 7‑step journey is:
  • Get your VC at vc.pvvnl.org and download the digital ID.
  • View the list of pilot apps (authorised trading service providers) and download one.
  • Register on the trading app and login using VC.
  • Trade: buyers request power, sellers list surplus.
  • Day‑ahead scheduling only; no same‑day trades.
  • Grid supplies power, PVVNL verifies meter data.
  • Platform settles costs, and everything is adjusted in your bill.
Go to PPVNL Website

YoGrid bridges technology and energy commerce — enabling rooftop solar owners to tap into a new revenue stream, and consumers to access cheaper, greener power.

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