Govt issues norms for Rs 4,950 cr incentive to Discoms under PM-Surya Ghar

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said the New & Renewable Energy Ministry has issued guidelines to provide Rs 4,950 crore incentive to discoms under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.

Criteria for incentivising Discoms include achievement of installation of additional grid-connected rooftop solar capacity beyond the baseline level, the New & Renewable Energy Minister said in a post on X.

"Rs 4,950 crore incentives to Discoms under @PMSuryaGhar. The guidelines have been issued for effective disbursal of incentives," he said.

The scheme guidelines for implementation of incentives to Discoms were notified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) last week on July 18, an official statement said.

The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and will be implemented till FY 2026-27, MNRE said.

Under the scheme, Discoms are designated as state implementation agencies (SIAs) responsible for facilitating various measures, including net meter availability, timely inspection, and commissioning of installations.

The total financial outlay for the 'Incentives to DISCOMs' component is Rs 4,950 crore, subsuming the previous outlay under the Grid Connected Roof Top Solar (GCRT) Phase II programme, the statement said.

"The scheme also has the provision of an indicative rewards system to recognise and motivate the field staff of Discoms. Specifically, the incentives are structured to reward Discoms with 5 per cent of the applicable benchmark cost for achieving an additional capacity of 10 per cent to 15 per cent over the installed base and 10 per cent for capacities beyond 15 per cent," it added.

This progressive incentive mechanism aims to drive higher participation from Discoms and ensure robust growth in rooftop solar capacity.