The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana portal now requires households to approve rooftop solar agreements before installation, enhancing transparency and consumer protection amid India’s push for widespread solar adoption.
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana portal has added a consumer-approval step that requires households to sign off on rooftop solar agreements before installation can move ahead, a change designed to tighten oversight of pricing, equipment details and contract terms. According to Renewable Mirror and SolarQuarter, vendors must now upload the Vendor-Consumer Agreement through the portal’s “My Applications” section, after which the customer receives a notification and must review the document through their own login before work can proceed.
The revised workflow places a stronger emphasis on transparency at a stage that previously depended largely on vendor submissions. Under the new process, the agreement must include the total cost of the rooftop solar installation, inclusive of taxes and other charges, and that figure must align with the quotation submitted at the feasibility stage in relevant cases, including loan-backed applications and systems above 10 kW. The portal then marks the file as “Agreement sent to Consumer for Confirmation” until the customer either approves or rejects it, according to the reports.
Installation cannot advance until the consumer has given confirmation, and the portal keeps the “Upload Installation” stage disabled in the meantime. If the agreement is rejected, vendors can see the consumer’s comments and submit a revised version. The process is reset if any changes are made after approval, meaning a fresh round of consumer verification is required. SolarQuarter said vendors have been told to check that pricing, product specifications and brand information are correct before upload, while Renewable Mirror said the aim is to give households clearer visibility over costs and contract terms.
The update sits within a broader rooftop solar framework that the government says is intended to speed up adoption while protecting consumers. The Cabinet approved PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana with an outlay of Rs.75,021 crore to support rooftop solar for one crore households and provide up to 300 units of free electricity a month, according to a government announcement. Guidance published by industry and installer websites says the scheme already follows a structured process involving registration, DISCOM feasibility approval, vendor selection, installation, metering, inspection and subsidy disbursement, with Central Financial Assistance available through the national portal. The new approval step adds another layer of verification to that chain.
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