PM Surya Ghar for Housing Societies: Rooftop Solar in NCR

Lifts, water pumps, corridor lights, basement ventilation and clubhouse air-conditioning make common-area electricity one of the biggest items in a housing society’s maintenance budget. For many NCR high-rises, the flat roofs above each tower are an unused asset. Under the central government’s PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, a group housing society or resident welfare association can now claim a subsidy for a rooftop solar plant that serves its common facilities.

This guide explains who is eligible, how much subsidy is on offer, how to size a plant, how net metering works with the local discoms in Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad, and how to get the proposal through the general body. Scheme terms change, so treat every rate here as correct only as of 20 October 2026, and confirm on the national portal before your society commits money.

What PM Surya Ghar offers housing societies

PM Surya Ghar was launched in February 2024 with a budget of about ₹75,021 crore and a goal of putting rooftop solar on about one crore homes. Most coverage focuses on individual houses, but the scheme has a separate line for group housing societies (GHS) and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

Two details in the society rule are easy to miss. First, the 3 kW per house formula means a small society may hit its limit before 500 kW: a 100-flat society can claim on up to 300 kW. Second, if some residents of a row-house or plotted RWA have already taken individual subsidies, their capacity counts against the society’s 500 kW ceiling.

Applications go through the national portal at pmsuryaghar.gov.in, where the society registers, selects its discom and an empanelled vendor, and later uploads commissioning details to claim the subsidy.

Check eligibility before anything else

• A common-area electricity connection in the society’s or association’s name. Many NCR societies still run on a single-point bulk connection that the builder or maintenance agency holds. If the connection has not been handed over to the residents’ association, sort that out first.
• Control of the roof. Roofs are usually common areas. Confirm in the society’s documents that the association, not the builder, controls them, and that no one has leased roof space to a telecom tower or advertiser.
• A registered body that can sign contracts. The applicant should be the apartment owners’ association or RWA with a bank account, a PAN and a resolution authorising the project.
• Structural soundness. A structural engineer should confirm that each roof can carry the mounting structures and wind loads, and that the waterproofing will survive the anchoring.

Sizing the plant

Three limits decide how big your plant can be. The plant should be the smallest of the three.

1. Usable roof area. UPNEDA, Uttar Pradesh’s renewable energy agency, says roughly 10 square metres of shadow-free roof are needed per kW. Water tanks, lift machine rooms, staircases and parapets all cast shadows, so the usable area on a tower roof is often well under half its total area.
2. Sanctioned load. In Uttar Pradesh, UPNEDA says the plant should not exceed 100% of the connection’s sanctioned load or contract demand. Check the equivalent rule with your Haryana discom.
3. Subsidy cap. Up to 500 kW, at 3 kW per house, for the subsidy. You can build larger, but the extra capacity will not attract the central subsidy.

It also makes sense to match the plant to daytime demand. Water pumping, lifts and common lighting in the day use solar power directly, while night-time loads draw from the grid against the credits earned in the day.

Worked example: a 400-flat society

The numbers below are illustrative. Every figure marked as an assumption should be replaced with your own bills and vendor quotes.

The payback looks quick, but treat it with care. It ignores annual cleaning and maintenance, gradual panel degradation, inverter replacement after some years, and the chance that the subsidy is paid later than expected. A conservative society would also test the numbers at a lower tariff and lower generation. Even then, the case is usually strong where common-area bills are high and the roof is free of shade.

Ask vendors for their own generation estimate for your location, and for a written performance guarantee on generation, not only on equipment.

Net metering with your discom

Net metering lets the plant export surplus daytime power to the grid and offset it against power drawn at other times. A bidirectional meter replaces the existing meter. Which company you deal with depends on where the society is:

Uttar Pradesh

UPNEDA’s guidance says that a bidirectional meter is required, that net-metering applications go through UPPCL’s online portal, and that any credits left unadjusted at the end of the settlement year (April to March) are paid at ₹2 per unit. That low payout matters: it means a plant sized far above the society’s own use earns little for its surplus. Size to consumption. UPNEDA also says systems up to 10 kW are exempt from an electrical inspector’s NOC; a society plant will be larger and will need one.

UPNEDA’s FAQ also mentions a state subsidy of ₹15,000 per kW, up to ₹30,000 per consumer, for private residential buildings. It is not clear from the agency’s material whether a society’s common-area connection qualifies, so ask UPNEDA’s district office directly.

Haryana

For Gurugram and Faridabad, DHBVN handles the connection and metering, under net-metering rules set by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission. We could not confirm the current settlement rate for surplus units or any state top-up for societies from official pages, so ask DHBVN’s local office and HAREDA for the rules in force before you finalise the plant size.

A note on Delhi

Delhi’s Solar Energy Policy 2023 adds a generation-based incentive of ₹2 per unit for housing societies and RWAs, alongside the central subsidy, and allows group and virtual net metering. Those benefits apply only to Delhi connections, not to societies elsewhere in NCR.

Getting the general body to approve it

The technical case is often easier than the internal one. A rooftop plant is a capital project spending residents’ money on common property, so it needs a clear mandate.

1. Form a small working group with one or two residents who understand electrical systems or finance.
2. Collect 12 months of common-area bills and work out daytime versus night-time use.
3. Commission a roof survey and structural check before seeking quotes.
4. Get at least three quotes from vendors empanelled on the national portal, on the same specification: panel make and wattage, inverter, mounting height, cabling, earthing and lightning protection, monitoring and five-year maintenance.
5. Present a simple paper to the general body with cost, subsidy, savings under cautious assumptions, payback, risks and how the money will be raised: from the sinking fund, a one-time levy or a vendor’s financing or RESCO model in which the vendor owns the plant and sells power to the society.
6. Pass a formal resolution in a general body meeting with the majority your bye-laws require for capital spending, and record who is authorised to sign.
7. Write maintenance into the contract. Panels need regular cleaning in NCR’s dust and smog; agree who does it and how often.

Expect questions about roof leaks, terrace access for residents, fire safety, and whether flat owners on the top floor will be affected. Answer them in writing. A roof plan that keeps a clear walkway and keeps panels away from water tank access usually settles most objections.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Oversizing. With surplus units in UP paid at only ₹2, a plant much larger than daytime use mainly benefits the discom.
• Ignoring shade. A single water tank shadow on one string of panels can cut that string’s output sharply. Insist on a shade analysis.
• Weak roof work. Poor anchoring causes leaks into top-floor flats. Specify waterproofing repair as part of the contract.
• No monitoring. Ask for online generation monitoring so the managing committee can spot faults quickly.
• Applying before the connection is in the society’s name. The subsidy follows the consumer on the electricity connection.

Is it worth it?

For most mature societies with a stable association, shade-free roofs and high common-area bills, rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar is one of the few maintenance savings that pays back within a few years. It is a weaker fit where the builder still controls the connection, roofs are crowded with tanks and towers, or the association is in dispute with the builder over handover.

If you are comparing societies to buy into, it is worth asking whether solar is installed and how much it saves on common-area power; it shows up in maintenance charges. Our Noida, Greater Noida West and Gurugram guides cover society living in those areas in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana – National Portal
• Delhi Solar Portal (Govt of NCT of Delhi) – Central subsidy under PM Surya Ghar, including GHS/RWA
• Wikipedia – Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
• UPNEDA Solar Rooftop Portal – FAQ
• UPNEDA Solar Rooftop Portal – Discom contact list
• Delhi Solar Energy Policy 2023 (Delhi Gazette, March 2024)
• Wikipedia – Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam
• HAREDA – Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency

Updated 20 October 2026. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice; check current rules and project details before you decide.