DISCOM guide · Bihar
Bihar changed three things for rooftop solar in 2025–26: 125 free units for most homes, a state top-up on PM Surya Ghar, and a regulator order removing application and testing charges. Together they decide whether solar is worth it on your roof.
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Fast triage: Using under 125 units a month? Your bill is already free and solar has little to save. Using 250 or more? A 3 kW plant gets ₹78,000 central + ₹20,000 Bihar = ₹98,000 (first 5 lakh homes), and application and meter-testing charges are waived for PM Surya Ghar. Kutir Jyoti home? Free 1.1 kW route. Check your bill first.
Since 1 August 2025 Bihar pays the full bill for domestic consumers using up to 125 units a month, with no fixed charge on those bills. The state says about 1.67 crore of its 1.86 crore domestic consumers fall in that band. Above 125 units, consumers still get the state's subsidised tariff.
Rooftop solar only saves money on units you pay for. If your bill is zero or close to it most months, a plant mostly exports cheap surplus, and even with ₹98,000 off you would wait a very long time to recover your share. The economics work for homes that regularly cross 125 units by a wide margin: ACs, a large family, a home business, an EV. Look at your last 12 bills before talking to a vendor. Rule of thumb by bill size: ₹1,500 a month · ₹3,000 a month.
| System | Central (PM Surya Ghar) | Bihar state | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kW | ₹30,000 | ₹10,000 | ₹40,000 |
| 2 kW | ₹60,000 | ₹20,000 | ₹80,000 |
| 3 kW and above | ₹78,000 | ₹20,000 (cap) | ₹98,000 |
The Bihar cabinet approved the state amount on 12 August 2026: ₹10,000 per kW, capped at ₹20,000 per home, for up to 5 lakh residential consumers on a first-come, first-served basis, with a budget of about ₹1,000 crore. Because of the cap, applying early matters more than in states with open-ended top-ups. Check that the state component shows on your application, and compare other states on our state top-up page.
Subsidies are paid after commissioning, so you fund the plant first. The state also points to collateral-free loans of up to ₹2 lakh at about 5.75% for plants up to 3 kW: rooftop solar loans.
NBPDCL and SBPDCL jointly asked BERC to relax the processing-charge clause of its 2018 net and gross metering regulations. On 9 July 2026 (Case 29 of 2026) the Commission agreed. For domestic rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar, the charges listed in the FY 2026-27 tariff order for application processing and meter testing no longer apply.
The waiver does not cover commercial consumers or projects under the ULA-RESCO mode. So a "DISCOM application fee" line on a home quote under PM Surya Ghar should now be questioned.
Broadly, NBPDCL (North Bihar) serves the districts north of the Ganga, such as Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Saran, Samastipur and Purnia. SBPDCL (South Bihar) serves Patna and the south and central districts, such as Gaya, Nalanda, Bhagalpur and Munger. District and border cases are on our Bihar hub. On the portal, select the company printed on your bill, with your CA number exactly as shown.
Bihar is installing free 1.1 kW plants on Kutir Jyoti homes through the DISCOMs under PM Surya Ghar's utility-led (ULA) mode. The first phase covers about 2.5 lakh homes (about 275 MW) across 9 SBPDCL and 9 NBPDCL circles; SBPDCL tendered the work in January 2026. Officials put the cost at about ₹60,000 per plant, ₹33,000 from the central scheme and the rest from the state.
Consent was collected in the Suvidha app (the "Rooftop Solar Panel Installation Consent (Kutir Jyoti)" option, CA number and OTP) or free at electricity offices and Vasudha Kendras. The first-phase deadline was 31 March 2026. If you missed it, ask your section office about the next phase. A shade-free pucca roof is required, and nobody should charge you for this route.
Monsoon cloud from June to September and winter haze in December and January cut output in those months, and summer heat trims afternoon peaks. Size to your yearly units rather than a peak-month estimate, and ask for a raised mounting structure for flood-prone or waterlogged areas. Power cuts are a separate problem: a standard grid-tied plant switches off when the grid fails, so ask about a hybrid inverter only if backup is a real need. Guide: on-grid, off-grid or hybrid.
An independent advisory: not NBPDCL, not SBPDCL, not BREDA and not an installer. We don't file applications or sell panels. We read your bill and tell you whether solar pays after the 125 free units: free bill check for Bihar homes.
The central PM Surya Ghar subsidy (₹30,000 for 1 kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, ₹78,000 for 3 kW and above) plus a Bihar state amount approved by the cabinet in August 2026: ₹10,000 per kW, capped at ₹20,000 per home. Totals are ₹40,000 for 1 kW, ₹80,000 for 2 kW and up to ₹98,000 for 3 kW or more. The state amount is limited to the first 5 lakh eligible homes, first come, first served.
Only if you pay for a meaningful number of units. Since 1 August 2025, domestic consumers using up to 125 units a month pay nothing for them, and about 1.67 crore of Bihar's 1.86 crore domestic consumers fall in that band. If your bill is already near zero, solar has almost nothing to save. Homes that regularly use 250 units or more a month are where a 2 to 3 kW plant pays back.
Yes for PM Surya Ghar homes. On 9 July 2026 BERC (Case 29 of 2026) approved the joint petition of NBPDCL and SBPDCL to waive application processing and meter-testing charges for domestic rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar. The waiver does not cover commercial consumers or projects under the ULA-RESCO mode.
Bihar is installing free 1.1 kW rooftop plants on Kutir Jyoti (BPL) homes through the DISCOMs under PM Surya Ghar's utility-led mode, about 2.5 lakh homes in the first phase. Consent was collected through the Suvidha app or at electricity offices, and the first-phase deadline was 31 March 2026. Households who missed it should ask their electricity office about the next phase. Nobody should charge a fee for this.
Related: Bihar hub · Patna · State top-up subsidies · SC/ST solar subsidy · Net metering India · How to apply
