Market & Policy

CEA Grid-Forming Mandate: What's Confirmed, What's Open

Shashank·Founder·October 3, 2026·11 min read

Quick answer

Question	Short answer
What does the draft actually require?	15% of inverters with grid-forming control for all renewable plants, plus mandatory co-located storage (10% of capacity, 2-hour duration) for ground-mounted solar and onshore wind, both from 1 July 2027.
Is this final yet?	No. It's a draft under Section 177 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Comments close 4 October 2026, and CEA will finalise the regulation afterward.
Does this apply to rooftop solar?	Not confirmed either way. Every example given is utility-scale (100 MW). A related CEA grid-connectivity regulation scopes separately at 33kV and above, suggestive but not a direct answer for this specific draft.
When does the storage duration increase?	From 2 hours to 4 hours for projects commissioned between July 2029 and June 2031, with the 10% capacity requirement unchanged.
When does the storage duration increase?	Yes. The draft explicitly reserves CEA's right to notify changes to the percentage or capacity requirements "from time to time," even after finalisation.

Why this matters for an Indian EPC right now

This draft is trying to solve a real, current grid problem, not a hypothetical one. India's solar generation surges at midday and falls away by evening, and without enough storage or demand to absorb that surge, grid operators are already forcing developers to curtail generation, output capped or switched off to protect system stability. CEA's proposal is a direct response: pair new renewable capacity with grid-forming inverters and co-located storage so it behaves less like a passive generator and more like a stabilising grid asset.

For a developer or EPC, the practical stakes are concrete. A 100 MW solar plant commissioned after July 2027 would need at least 10 MW of co-located storage with 2-hour duration, 20 MWh, just to meet the baseline requirement. That's real capital expenditure added to every qualifying project's cost structure, and it needs to be in financial models now, well before the rule is even finalised, since projects reaching financial close over the next year will likely be commissioned after the July 2027 cutoff.

What the draft actually requires

CEA published the draft Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Construction of Electric Plants and Electric Lines) 2nd Amendment Regulations, 2026 in the Gazette of India on 3 September 2026, under Section 177 of the Electricity Act, 2003. The core change is a new sub-regulation, 106B(20), introducing two linked requirements for renewable energy power plants commissioned on or after 1 July 2027:

Grid-forming inverters. At least 15% of a plant's inverters must have grid-forming control, control technology that lets a plant actively establish and support grid voltage and frequency, rather than simply following the grid the way conventional grid-following inverters do. Separately, every power conversion system in a co-located battery energy storage system must have grid-forming control, no 15% threshold there, the requirement is total.
Co-located energy storage. Ground-mounted solar power plants and onshore wind power plants commissioned after the same cutoff must install co-located storage equal to at least 10% of installed capacity, with a minimum 2-hour duration. For a 100 MW plant, that's a minimum of 10 MW for 2 hours, 20 MWh of storage.
The requirement tightens over time. For the same category of projects commissioned between 1 July 2029 and 30 June 2031, the minimum storage duration doubles to 4 hours, while the 10% capacity requirement stays the same, meaning the same 100 MW plant would need 10 MW for 4 hours, 40 MWh.

100 MW solar plant, commissioned after 1 July 2027:

Minimum storage = 10% of 100 MW = 10 MW
Minimum duration = 2 hours
Minimum capacity = 10 MW x 2 hours = 20 MWh

Same plant, commissioned between July 2029 and June 2031:

Minimum duration = 4 hours
Minimum capacity = 10 MW x 4 hours = 40 MWh

CEA has also explicitly reserved the right to change either the grid-forming percentage or the storage capacity requirement "from time to time" through future notification, meaning even a finalised rule shouldn't be treated as permanently fixed.

The October 4 deadline, and what actually happens next

Comments, objections and suggestions from stakeholders and the general public are due to CEA by 4 October 2026, submitted by post to the Chief Engineer (Legal) at CEA's Sewa Bhawan office in New Delhi, or by email to celegal-cea@gov.in. Multiple sources confirm the draft regulations will be considered for finalisation after the expiry of 30 days from when the notification was made publicly available, a window that lines up with the October 4 date given the September 3 gazette publication.

This is genuinely not resolved yet. The draft could proceed largely as written, get revised in response to industry comments, or face a delay before finalisation. Treat any claim that this is already settled, in either direction, as premature until CEA actually publishes a final rule.

The single biggest open question: does this reach rooftop and smaller C&I systems?

This is the part almost no coverage of this draft actually addresses, and it's the most consequential unresolved question for a large share of Reslink's own audience. Every worked example CEA and every commentator has published uses a 100 MW utility-scale plant. Nothing in the publicly available draft text explicitly states a minimum capacity or voltage threshold limiting the requirement to utility-scale projects.

There's one genuinely useful, if indirect, data point worth knowing. A separate, related CEA regulation, the draft Technical Standards for Connectivity to the Grid Regulations, 2026, explicitly scopes its own requirements to entities connected to the grid "at 33 kV and above." That's a different regulation covering different ground, not a direct answer to this question, but it's a real signal about how CEA tends to scope grid-stability requirements generally. It would be a mistake to treat it as confirmation that the 2nd Amendment Regulations carry the same threshold, that hasn't been stated anywhere for this specific draft.

Until CEA clarifies this directly, the honest position for a rooftop or smaller C&I-focused EPC is: this draft's examples and framing are utility-scale, but nothing published rules out smaller systems being captured eventually, especially given CEA's own built-in flexibility to adjust scope and thresholds over time.

What industry commentary is already flagging

Early commentary on the draft converges on a few consistent points, worth knowing before forming a client-facing view. The grid-forming inverter requirement is expected to carry a real price premium over standard grid-following equipment, and demand is expected to shift toward grid-forming models well before the 2027 cutoff as developers plan ahead. Commentary also frames this as a genuine financing consideration, not just a technical one: capital allocation and project financing structures will need to account for the added storage and inverter costs for any project targeting commissioning after the cutoff.

What EPCs should do now

Step	Action
1. Flag every project crossing the July 2027 cutoff	Identify pipeline projects likely to commission after 1 July 2027 and assess exposure to the draft requirement.
2. Model the storage cost now, not after finalisation	Build the 10% capacity / 2-hour duration requirement into financial models for affected projects.
3. Don't assume rooftop or small C&I is exempt	Treat the scope question as genuinely open rather than assuming the utility-scale examples mean smaller systems are excluded.
4. Track the post-October 4 outcome directly	Monitor CEA's own regulations page for the finalised rule, rather than relying on secondary summaries.
5. Start the grid-forming procurement conversation early	Begin supplier conversations on grid-forming inverter availability and lead times ahead of the 2027 cutoff.
6. Revisit after any CEA clarification	Treat this piece's scope answer as provisional, and update client guidance once CEA issues a final rule or direct clarification.

Where 3D design and automated BOMs fit in

Whether this mandate applies to a specific project is a regulatory question only CEA can answer, not something a design tool resolves. What a design tool can do is make the cost of compliance visible early: once a project's commissioning date and capacity are known, the storage sizing this draft would require, 10% of capacity at 2 or 4 hours depending on timing, is a straightforward addition to a design and BOM, not a late-stage surprise.

Reslink supports mobile site and roof mapping, automatic layout configuration, live 3D revisions, and automated electrical and structural BOMs. For a project that may fall under this mandate, having storage sizing built into the design and proposal from the outset means the cost is part of the conversation with a client from day one, not an unpleasant addition closer to commissioning.

To see how storage and grid-forming requirements can be reflected directly in project design and client proposals, book a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is CEA actually proposing in this draft?

A new requirement, under proposed sub-regulation 106B(20), that renewable energy power plants commissioned on or after 1 July 2027 have at least 15% of their inverters with grid-forming control, and that ground-mounted solar and onshore wind plants additionally install co-located energy storage equal to at least 10% of installed capacity with a minimum 2-hour duration.

Q2. Is this rule already in effect?

No. It's a draft published under Section 177 of the Electricity Act, 2003, with public comments due by 4 October 2026. CEA will consider those comments before finalising the regulation, and the final version could differ from the draft.

Q3. Does this apply to my rooftop or small commercial solar project?

This isn't confirmed either way. Every published example uses a 100 MW utility-scale project, and no explicit capacity or voltage threshold limiting the rule to utility-scale systems has been stated in the draft itself. Treat this as genuinely open until CEA clarifies it directly.

Q4. How much storage would a typical project actually need?

For a 100 MW plant commissioned after July 2027, a minimum of 10 MW of storage at 2-hour duration, 20 MWh. For the same plant commissioned between July 2029 and June 2031, the duration requirement rises to 4 hours, 40 MWh, with the 10% capacity share unchanged.

Q5. Can CEA change these requirements later, even after finalising the rule?

Yes. The draft explicitly reserves CEA's right to notify changes to the grid-forming percentage or the storage capacity requirement from time to time, so even a finalised version of this rule shouldn't be treated as permanently fixed.

Q6. Where can I actually submit a comment before the deadline?

By post to the Chief Engineer (Legal), CEA, Sewa Bhawan, New Delhi, or by email to celegal-cea@gov.in, before 4 October 2026.

Final takeaway

This draft is a real, substantive shift in how India's technical standards treat new renewable capacity, tying generation to storage and grid-stabilising inverter technology rather than treating batteries as optional. The deadline, the requirements, and the capacity math are all confirmed and worth planning around now, not after finalisation.

What isn't confirmed is just as important: whether this reaches rooftop and smaller C&I systems remains genuinely open, and anyone telling an EPC otherwise, in either direction, is guessing. The honest position until CEA says more directly: plan for utility-scale exposure now, and watch closely for what happens after October 4, since the scope question could resolve either way.

Sources

All requirements, thresholds and dates should be rechecked against CEA's final notification once published, since the draft is explicitly subject to change before finalisation.

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