What Is Hourly Netting? Everything That Changed for Unlicensed Solar on 1 May 2026
Hourly netting, in effect since 1 May 2026, rewrites the economics of unlicensed solar in Türkiye. We explain the new rules, the storage opportunity and what investors should do — with real regulatory data.
What is netting?
Netting offsets the electricity produced by a solar plant (GES) tied to a consumption account against the electricity that account draws. Your generation is first deducted from your own consumption; the remainder is fed to the grid. The key question is the time window in which this offsetting happens.
1 May 2026: from monthly to hourly
EPDK amended the Unlicensed Electricity Generation Regulation. The amendment was published on 2 April 2026; the netting and data-management provisions took effect on 1 May 2026. Previously production and consumption were balanced over a monthly total; now they are calculated hour by hour, with the market operator running the hourly reconciliation.
In practice: the surplus your panels produced at midday used to be deducted from your evening/night consumption at month-end. Under the hourly system, surplus you don't consume in that hour no longer comes back on the same terms.
The new rules at a glance
- Production and consumption are netted hourly, reconciled by the market operator.
- Surplus beyond the paid-production limit may be subject to system usage fees or counted as a free contribution under YEKDEM (i.e. uncompensated).
- An unlicensed plant may install a storage (BESS) unit up to the plant's electrical installed power.
- Surplus energy fed from storage to the grid is also uncompensated.
- For plants with connection agreements since 2019, annual energy fed to the grid is capped at twice the related facility's annual consumption.
What changes for investors?
Projects designed around "generate a lot, sell the surplus" may see longer paybacks, because daytime grid surplus is now worth less. Value now lies in consuming your generation in the hour it is produced (self-consumption). Sites with daytime-heavy load profiles benefit; evening-heavy sites need to shift energy in time.
The answer: self-consumption + storage
The two strongest levers in the new era are raising self-consumption and storage. Storing midday surplus in a battery (BESS) and using it at the evening peak reverses the downside of hourly netting. Hybrid setups combining solar and storage deliver higher self-consumption and returns from a single connection point.
What should investors do?
- Map your hourly consumption profile and see how well it overlaps with generation.
- Size the system for self-consumption, not just capacity.
- If evening/night load is high, seriously evaluate a storage (BESS) scenario.
- Run an hourly generation–consumption and payback analysis before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did hourly netting start?
The regulation amendment was published in the Official Gazette on 2 April 2026; the netting and data-management provisions took effect on 1 May 2026.
What is the difference between monthly and hourly netting?
Previously production and consumption were netted over a monthly total; now each hour is calculated separately. Surplus produced in an hour and not consumed in that hour does not carry over on the same terms.
Can I install storage (BESS) at my unlicensed plant?
Yes. The new rule allows a storage unit up to the plant's electrical installed power. However, surplus energy fed from storage to the grid is uncompensated.
What happens to my surplus generation?
Surplus beyond the paid-production limit may incur system usage fees or be treated as a free contribution under YEKDEM — daytime surplus is not returned at night.
Does this kill solar as an investment?
No. Correctly sized systems with high self-consumption, supported by storage where needed, still deliver strong returns. What changes is that designs must target self-consumption rather than grid export.