BSS Energy Returns: Earn ₹4 a Day Just by shifting your usage to Off-Peak Hours using Smart Plug

Every day, thousands of homes switch on their appliances around the same time. The morning begins. Geysers come on. Washing machines start. Kitchens get busy. People get ready for work and school.

Then, in the evening, the cycle repeats. Lights, fans, televisions, washing machines and other appliances come back on as families return home.

And here is the interesting part:

Not all electricity use needs to happen at the busiest time of the day. Some appliances can be used a little earlier, a little later, or during periods when electricity demand is lower. What if making that small change could actually give you something back?

That is the idea behind Energy Returns.

Run your washing machine at 7 AM instead of 9 AM, and BSS will pay you ₹4 for it. That's the whole mechanic behind Energy Returns, before you get into the terms and conditions.

Here's why the timing matters. Utilities call these peak hours, and they're expensive to serve because so much demand hits the grid at once. None of that electricity use actually has to happen at that exact hour. It just usually does, out of habit.

Energy Returns Program is Bharat Smart Services attempt to pay you for breaking that habit. Energy Returns program was launched on August 15th, 2026. 

What Is Energy Returns?

Energy Returns is a Bharat Smart Services Smart Plug-based program that rewards eligible electricity usage behaviour. Energy Returns looks at when you use it.

With a Smart Plug connected to an eligible appliance, your appliance usage can be measured — when it operates, how long it runs, and how much electricity it consumes. Smart Plug then checks whether your usage meets the program's eligibility conditions. If it does, you earn an Energy Return.

How Does It Work?

You don't need to change everything about the way you use electricity. The Energy Returns journey is built around five simple steps:

Connect → Use → Measure → Verify → Earn

So, What Are Peak Hours?

Think about electricity demand like traffic on a busy road. During certain times of the day, many people need electricity at the same time - more homes and appliances are using power, creating periods of higher demand. These are the peak hours.

For the Energy Returns contest, the defined peak-hour windows are:

The program encourages participants to keep their connected appliance usage outside these defined peak windows. That means the opportunity lies in using eligible appliances during off-peak hours.

What Is a Green Day?

A Green Day is a day on which your Smart Plug usage meets the contest's eligibility conditions:

And every qualifying Green Day earns:

₹4

So, the more eligible Green Days you complete, the more Energy Returns you accumulate.

What Does ₹4 Per Green Day Look Like?

Let's take a simple example. Imagine you qualify for:

Once you reach 16 Green Days in a calendar month, you become eligible to withdraw the accumulated Energy Returns for that month, subject to the program's withdrawal process.

And there's another important part: if you don't reach 16 Green Days in a month, your eligible progress and accumulated reward don't simply disappear. They carry forward to the next month, subject to the program terms.

Worth being upfront about the scale here: ₹4 a day isn't going to change your budget. It adds up to real money over a year only if you actually hit the streak consistently, and it only works for appliances you can realistically move - a washing machine or a geyser, not a fridge that has to run all the time regardless of what hour it is.

You Don't Have to Stop Using Your Appliances

Energy Returns isn't about telling you to stop using your appliances. It's about being smarter about when eligible appliances are used. For example, instead of running a connected appliance during a defined peak period, you may be able to use it during an eligible off-peak period. The Smart Plug helps measure that usage, and BSH App then checks whether it qualifies under the program rules.

Why Is the Smart Plug Important?

The Smart Plug is at the heart of Energy Returns. It acts as the measurement layer between your appliance and the program, capturing relevant information such as:

• When the connected appliance is operating
• How long it is being used
• How much electricity it consumes
• Usage patterns over the relevant measurement period

This data allows BSS to understand and verify eligible usage. So Energy Returns isn't based simply on what someone says they used - the Smart Plug provides the usage data that forms the basis for identifying and verifying eligible activity.

A Simple Example

Let's say you connect your washing machine to a Bharat Smart Plug. On a particular day, you use the washing machine during an eligible off-peak period and avoid using the connected Smart Plug during the defined peak hours.

The Smart Plug records the relevant usage. Bharat Smart Home App analyses the data. If your usage meets the Energy Returns conditions for that day, you earn a Green Day - worth ₹4. Do this successfully across 16 eligible days, and you reach ₹64 in accumulated Energy Returns and become eligible to withdraw, subject to the program's withdrawal process.

A Small Change That Adds Up

The idea behind Energy Returns is simple: electricity usage doesn't always have to happen at the busiest time of the day. When eligible appliance usage can be shifted to off-peak periods, that behaviour can be measured through the Smart Plug and, when it meets the program criteria, rewarded.

It's a different way of thinking about electricity - not just "how much electricity did I use?" but also "when did I use it?" And when smarter usage can be measured and rewarded, everyday electricity consumption becomes an opportunity to make a difference  and earn Energy Returns along the way.

Start Your Energy Returns Journey

Energy Returns is a one-year Smart Plug Program, with participation limited to a fixed number of eligible Smart Plugs, on a first-come, first-served basis and subject to the program's eligibility requirements.

The simple idea: stay out of peak hours, use smartly during eligible off-peak hours, and earn ₹4 for every Green Day.

Energy Returns are subject to the program's eligibility, verification, withdrawal and other applicable rules. A Green Day earns ₹4, while withdrawal requires 16 Green Days in the relevant calendar month. Exact program terms, including the official contest dates and treatment of exceptional cases, will apply.