DISCOM guide · Punjab
If you searched “PSPCL solar subsidy”, start here. Punjab homes get central CFA only (up to ₹78,000 at 3 kW+) — no state top-up. Apply on the national portal with PSPCL, then finish metering on PSPCL’s RTS portal. Free units raise the bill threshold; Chandigarh UT is not PSPCL. Sealix is not PSPCL.
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Fast triage: Subsidy = ₹30k / ₹60k / ₹78k by size · no fee up to 10 kW · net-metering agreement online. Always inside 300 free units/month? Weak payback. Crossing 600 units a cycle? Solar can pull you back under. Amounts hub: Punjab solar subsidy · check Ludhiana bill.
This guide is for domestic consumers whose electricity bill shows PSPCL — Punjab State Power Corporation Limited — across Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali / SAS Nagar and district towns. State context: Punjab hub · metro depth: Ludhiana.
Comparing other DISCOM guides: JVVNL, MSEDCL, BESCOM, Delhi DISCOMs, TANGEDCO.
Registration, empanelled vendor selection, document upload and central CFA tracking start on the national portal — overview: PM Surya Ghar guide. Select State Punjab and utility PSPCL. PSPCL still owns feasibility, inspection, bidirectional meter commissioning and settlement under PSERC rooftop regulations.
PSPCL also publishes a dedicated rooftop-solar / net-metering web path (consumer account, sanctioned load, processing fee, registration number). Installers who treat “national portal submitted” as “job done” often discover missing PSPCL steps weeks later. Confirm live circulars and fee schedules on PSPCL notices when you apply — amounts and URLs change.
Portal OTP fails most often when the consumer number is truncated, copied from an old tenant’s bill, or confused with a temporary reference on WhatsApp from a vendor. Open the latest PSPCL bill PDF or app screenshot and match character for character.
Chandigarh UT uses CED, not PSPCL — even when your office is in Sector 17 and your home feels “the same city.” Mohali and most Punjab-side suburbs are PSPCL. See Chandigarh guide if the bill header is not PSPCL.
Documents checklist (national): PM Surya Ghar documents required. Vendor due diligence: empanelled vendor — how to choose.
Punjab gives domestic consumers 300 free units a month (the figure PSPCL officials cite for weak solar uptake; confirm your own bill’s treatment). Solar displaces units you would otherwise pay for. Inside the free block you mostly face fixed charges; a plant can generate and export while looking mediocre on amount payable. Homes well above the free block — especially those hitting higher slabs — are the ones where bill-first sizing still works.
The free units are not a simple discount. Under PSPCL's notification, a general-category domestic consumer who uses more than 600 units in a two-month cycle pays energy charges on all units, plus fixed charges, meter rent and taxes. SC, BC, BPL and freedom-fighter households (meeting the self-declaration conditions) pay only for the units above 600. PSPCL bills rooftop-solar homes monthly, and reporting on the notification says they get a zero bill when billed consumption stays within 300 units a month.
| General-category home, monthly use | Without solar | With a 3 kW plant (~330–390 units / month) |
|---|---|---|
| About 250 units | Zero bill already | Little to save — usually not worth it |
| About 400 units (800 a cycle) | Pays for all 800 units | Billed units fall to around or under 300 in most months → zero or near-zero bill |
| About 600 units | Pays for all units | Still billed, but on a much smaller number — size 4–5 kW if the roof allows |
Generation is roughly 110–130 units per kW per month in Punjab, lower in November–January haze, so a winter month can tip back over the line. Confirm with PSPCL how your billed units are worked out under net metering before you size. Your own twelve-month bill decides it: free PSPCL bill check.
Demand a savings model built on twelve months of amount payable after the free block, not on total units × average tariff. Run the bill first: free home check. Price bands: 3 kW · 5 kW · 3 kW vs 5 kW.
November–January smog across the Indo-Gangetic plain cuts generation versus clear-sky brochure charts for weeks each year. That does not cancel a good bill case — it means vendor “Punjab average” slides need a haircut. PM Surya Ghar central CFA still requires ALMM-listed modules; PSPCL inspection teams compare labels and capacity to the approved application. Photograph module labels on delivery day.
Net metering explainer: net metering in India. Society terraces: society NOC.
We are an independent advisory. We do not represent PSPCL, we do not log into your portal account, and we do not install. Official CFA amounts, PSPCL charges and RTS circulars always come from pmsuryaghar.gov.in and PSPCL / PSERC published notices.
Often, if you are a general-category home just over the free-unit line. Punjab's 300 free units a month work as a cliff: a general-category domestic consumer who uses more than 600 units in a two-month cycle pays for every unit, not just the excess (SC, BC, BPL and freedom-fighter households pay only for units above the line). PSPCL bills rooftop-solar homes monthly, and reporting on PSPCL's notification says they get a zero bill when billed consumption stays within 300 units a month. A home using about 400 units a month that adds a 3 kW plant (roughly 330–390 units a month in Punjab, less in winter haze) can fall back under that line in most months. Confirm how your billed units are calculated with PSPCL before you size. Table: the 600-unit cliff.
Central CFA registration and empanelled-vendor selection run on the national PM Surya Ghar portal with utility PSPCL selected. PSPCL separately runs its own rooftop-solar / net-metering workflow for technical feasibility, inspection and bidirectional metering under PSERC rules. Treat them as linked tracks — portal submitted is not the same as PSPCL commissioning complete.
No. Chandigarh Union Territory uses the Chandigarh Electricity Department (CED), not PSPCL. Mohali, SAS Nagar and most Punjab-side tri-city suburbs are PSPCL. Match the licensee name printed on your latest bill before you register — wrong utility selection stalls OTP and feasibility.
Not pointless, but they raise the bill threshold. Solar saves money by displacing units you would otherwise pay for. Units covered by a free monthly block cannot be displaced at retail tariff. Households that already sit inside the free block mostly pay fixed charges — a plant can generate well and still look weak on payback. Verify current free-unit terms against twelve months of amount payable.
No. As reported in September 2026, Punjab does not add a state-specific top-up; homes get central CFA only (₹30,000 for 1 kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, ₹78,000 for 3 kW and above). PEDA is the state nodal agency and PSPCL handles feasibility, net metering, inspection and commissioning. What Punjab has done is cut friction: PSERC waived application fees and meter testing charges for domestic systems up to 10 kW, and from August 2026 the net-metering agreement can be signed online through the portal.
PSPCL domestic bills show a consumer / account number (labels vary slightly by bill format). National portal OTP and PSPCL RTS registration both depend on matching that number and the registered mobile exactly as printed. Do not invent digits from an old paper bill or a neighbour's account.
No. Sealix is an independent advisory — not PSPCL, not Punjab government, and not your installer. We help you read the bill and decide whether economics justify a plant before you pay a vendor. Official feasibility, net metering and subsidy release sit with PSPCL and the schemes on pmsuryaghar.gov.in.
