Delhi to Offer Eligible Households 3 kW Rooftop Solar Systems at Zero Upfront Cost

Delhi is set to offer eligible households rooftop solar systems of up to 3 kW without requiring them to pay the installation cost upfront, under a revised solar policy approved by the Delhi Cabinet.

The programme targets around 2.3 lakh households and aims to add 500 MW of rooftop solar capacity by March 2027, according to The Economic Times.

Under the revised policy, domestic consumers with average monthly electricity consumption of up to 400 units during the 2025-26 financial year will be eligible for the scheme, subject to technical feasibility. The initiative is designed to address one of the biggest barriers to rooftop solar adoption: the high upfront cost of installation.

For a 3 kW rooftop solar system, the Central government subsidy available under the PM Surya Ghar scheme is ₹78,000. The Delhi government will provide an additional ₹78,000 as capital subsidy, along with further financial support to cover the gap between the subsidy amount and the tendered cost of the solar plant.

The result, according to the policy framework outlined in the report, is that eligible consumers will not have to arrange the installation cost upfront.

The revised programme will also allow eligible households to continue receiving Delhi's existing electricity subsidy. For consumers using up to 200 units of electricity a month, the existing 100% electricity subsidy will continue even after a rooftop solar system is installed, according to The Economic Times.

Households that generate more electricity than they consume will also be able to export surplus power to the grid through net metering. Consumers would be paid for exported electricity at the applicable rate linked to the distribution company's average power purchase cost.

The government-installed systems will come with free operation and maintenance for the first five years. After that period, consumers can opt for maintenance and insurance services through their electricity distribution companies.

The policy also seeks to speed up the administrative side of rooftop solar adoption. The residential net-metering process has been reduced from around 75 days to 25 days, while application and registration fees for residential solar systems of up to 10 kW have been waived.

However, residents hoping to benefit from the newly announced zero-upfront-cost programme will need to wait for further details on how to enrol.

The Delhi government has not yet announced a separate application process or registration window specifically for the new scheme covering 2.3 lakh households. While residents can currently apply for rooftop solar through existing PM Surya Ghar channels, applying through the existing system does not automatically mean enrolment in the newly approved Delhi programme.

The rollout is expected to use a utility-led aggregation model, with Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited (IPGCL) involved in vendor selection, installation coordination, consumer assistance and grievance redressal.

For Delhi households, the policy represents a significant attempt to move rooftop solar beyond government buildings and into ordinary homes. The success of the programme will now depend on how quickly the government launches the application process and delivers installations at the scale it has promised.