Rooftop solar with PM Surya Ghar in Karnataka: subsidy, sizing, net metering and the ESCOM process

What the subsidy pays

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is a central scheme for domestic consumers. The central financial assistance is paid directly to your bank account after the system is installed, inspected and commissioned.

A well-placed rooftop system in Karnataka generates roughly 4 units per kW per day on average across the year, about 120 units per kW per month. Group housing societies and RWAs get assistance for common facilities under separate rules.

Before you apply: get the paperwork straight

Most PM Surya Ghar applications that get stuck in Karnataka are not held up by the roof or the panels. They are held up by the electricity account. The portal works off your ESCOM account number, so the application, the net meter and the subsidy all follow the name on the bill. Sort these out first and the rest is routine.

If your bill is high mainly because of a geyser in the cooler months, look at a solar water heater as well. It costs far less than a panel system and takes that load off the meter directly. Flat owners need the association's approval before applying, because the terrace is usually common property.

Is it worth it if you already get Gruha Jyothi?

If your home stays within its free Gruha Jyothi units every month, a solar system will not cut your bill much, because the bill is already zero. Solar makes sense when you:

• regularly go over your entitled units or over 200 units in summer,
• plan to add ACs, an induction stove or an EV charger,
• run a home business or have a large family whose use is rising.

Surplus units you export are not paid at the retail rate. Under the KERC tariff order of 25 August 2026, a subsidised PM Surya Ghar system is paid ₹1.96–₹2.58 per exported unit depending on size, against ₹5.80 you pay for each unit you import. So size the system to what you use, not to fill the roof. Check with your ESCOM (BESCOM, MESCOM, CESC, HESCOM or GESCOM) how your Gruha Jyothi units are treated on a net-metered bill. The full rules are in our net metering guide, and the costs are in rooftop solar cost in Karnataka.

Step by step: portal to subsidy

Choosing the vendor and reading the quote

The subsidy is paid only for systems installed by a vendor registered on the national portal for your ESCOM. Being on the list is the minimum, not a guarantee of good work. Before you sign:

• Ask for the panel make, wattage and DCR declaration in writing. Only panels with made-in-India cells qualify for the subsidy. A cheaper quote with imported cells loses the ₹78,000.
• Check the inverter's kW rating against your sanctioned load. The inverter's AC rating must not exceed it. An oversized inverter fails inspection.
• Ask who does the portal work. The vendor uploads installation details, panel serial numbers and photos. Wrong serial numbers are a common reason claims are returned. Agree in writing that the vendor will correct any rejection at no cost.
• Ask who wires the AC side. The connection from the inverter to your distribution board and the earthing should be done or checked by a licensed electrical contractor. Our guide on checking an electrical contractor's licence explains how to verify one.
• Separate the warranties. Panels usually carry a long performance warranty, inverters a much shorter one. Get both in writing, with the name of the service contact in your district, not just a head office number.
• Pay in stages. Tie the final payment to the ESCOM inspection and the net meter being fixed, not to the day the panels go up.

The rooftop solar cost guide linked above has a full checklist for comparing quotes line by line.

How big a system do you need?

• Average the units from your last 12 bills. Divide by 120 to get the approximate kW. A home using 300 units a month needs about 2.5 kW.
• Allow about 100 sq ft of shadow-free roof per kW. Water tanks, staircases and neighbouring buildings cause shade.
• Under the KERC solar regulations of August 2026, the solar capacity cannot exceed your sanctioned load. If it does, apply for load enhancement first.
• Face panels south and tilt them at roughly the latitude angle (about 12–18° depending on where you are in Karnataka).

Worked example: a 3 kW system for a family of five

Here is how the numbers come together for a typical house that pays a full bill. The figures use the tariff and market ranges given elsewhere on this site and are an illustration, not a quote.

Two points decide whether you actually see that saving. First, the family must keep using roughly the same power; if consumption falls below generation, the extra is exported at only ₹2.14 a unit for a subsidised 2–3 kW plant. Second, the house is above 200 units, so it was not getting a zero bill under Gruha Jyothi anyway. A 2–3 kW system works on a single-phase connection; larger systems are usually three phase, and the ESCOM checks the inverter against the connection.

The net meter and your first solar bills

Once the vendor uploads the work completion report, the ESCOM fixes a smart bidirectional meter at your cost and synchronises the plant. The meter is bought from an ESCOM-authorised outlet, so ask its current price before you start. From then on the meter keeps separate registers for units you take from the grid (import) and units you send to it (export).

• The bill shows both. In a normal month you pay for import minus export at the domestic rate. If export is higher than import in a month, the surplus is bought at the KERC solar tariff.
• Fixed charges stay. Solar units offset units, not the fixed charge, taxes or levies. The ₹25 per kW rebate on the fixed charge for LT domestic solar users should appear on the bill; if it does not, ask the subdivision.
• Track generation yourself. Most inverters have an app or display showing daily units. Compare it with the planning figure of about 4 units per kW per day. A steady drop on clear days means dust, shade or a fault.
• Check the first two bills carefully. Wrong meter readings or a missing export register are easier to fix in the first months. Step through the meter display and note the import and export readings on the day the bill is generated.

Living with the system: upkeep through the year

A rooftop system has no moving parts, but it is not maintenance-free. In Karnataka the main enemies are dust, monsoon damp and lightning.

• Cleaning. Rinse the panels every few weeks in the dry months, early in the morning when the glass is cool. Use soft water and a soft mop; hard borewell water leaves white spots that cut output, and brushes scratch the glass. Never stand on the panels.
• Monsoon. Output drops sharply from June to September, especially on the coast and in the Malnad districts. That is normal. Before the rains, check that conduits are sealed, junction boxes are closed and the inverter is not exposed to driving rain.
• Lightning. A tall metal structure on the terrace attracts strikes in north Karnataka's pre-monsoon storms. The arrester, its down conductor and surge protection on both DC and AC sides need checking every year. See our lightning protection guide.
• Earthing. Have the earth pit resistance measured once a year, before the monsoon, and topped up if it has risen.
• Inverter faults. Note any error code and call the vendor. Do not open the inverter or pull DC connectors under load; DC arcs do not stop by themselves like AC.

Electrical safety on a solar roof

• A separate earth pit for the panel structure and one for the inverter, plus a lightning arrester. See our earthing guide.
• DC isolator and surge protection between panels and inverter, AC isolator and MCB on the output.
• Correctly rated solar DC cable, routed in UV-resistant conduit, not loose on the roof.
• The inverter must shut down when grid supply fails (anti-islanding), so linemen working on the line are safe.

Questions

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