SECI Tenders BoS Package for 700 MW Solar Project in Gujarat

Germany Adds 16.4 GW of Solar Capacity in 2025

HPERC Sets Levelized Tariffs for Solar Projects Up to 5 MW Capacity

Andhra Pradesh Greenlights ₹158 Billion Clean Energy Project Proposals

Asahi India Glass to Procure 20.8 MW Wind-Solar Power from Adani Green

Hartek Secures EPC Contract for 280 MW Solar Plus 80 MW/320 MWh BESS Project

LEAPTING to Supply Module Cleaning Robots for Waaree’s 1 GW Solar Projects

Bihar Notifies Deviation Settlement Mechanism Regulations, 2025

CREST Invites Bids to Set Up 3 MW Rooftop Solar Projects in Chandigarh

Daily News Wrap-Up: RERC Denies Rebate for Cement Company’s Solar Project


					<table id="amazon-polly-audio-table">
						<tr>
						<td id="amazon-polly-audio-tab">
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-label">Listen to this article</div>
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-container">
			<audio class="amazon-ai-player" id="amazon-ai-player" preload="none" controls   controlsList="nodownload" >
				<source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/amazon_polly_88627.mp3?version=1767187062">
			</audio>
		</div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-subscribe-tab"></div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-by-tab"></div>
						</td>
						</tr>
					</table><p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) has amended guidelines for disbursing service charges under the PM Surya Ghar program, introducing operational clarifications for state and model solar village implementation agencies, while retaining the program&#8217;s overall financial framework.</p>
<p>The PM Surya Ghar program aims to enable 10 million residential rooftop solar installations across India during its implementation period up to the financial year (FY) 2026-27, with a total outlay of ₹750.21 billion (~$9.04 billion).</p>
<p>Of this, ₹6.57 billion (~$79.2 million) has been earmarked as service charges, equivalent to 1% of the central financial assistance (CFA) component provided to residential consumers, to support administrative, technical, and monitoring functions at national and state levels.</p>
<p><strong>Clarified role of SIAs on the portal</strong></p>
<p>Under the amended provisions, distribution companies (DISCOMs) remain designated as state implementation agencies (SIA) in their respective jurisdictions, with an explicit requirement that they be onboarded to the PM Surya Ghar Portal.</p>
<p><strong>Expanded eligibility for additional SIAs</strong></p>
<p>State governments are now specifically permitted to nominate a state renewable energy development agency as an additional SIA, replacing the earlier, broader provision that allowed nomination of a &#8220;different SIA.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Execution focus shifted to DISCOM field units</strong></p>
<p>The amendment also specifies that SIAs deploy dedicated resources to DISCOM field-level units, rather than to unspecified national and regional field units, to strengthen ground-level implementation capacity.</p>
<p><strong>Service charge allocation</strong></p>
<p>The base service charge allocation for SIAs remains unchanged at ₹2 billion (~$24.1 million) out of the total service charge pool of ₹6.57 billion (~$79.2 million). This amount is to be distributed among SIAs in proportion to the number of domestic consumers in the respective state or union territory, based on the latest &#8216;Central Electricity Authority General Report on the Power Sector&#8217;, subject to a minimum allocation of ₹5 million (~$60,200)/SIA.</p>
<p>The wording has been updated from SIAs “liable to receive” the service charge to “eligible to receive”, reinforcing that disbursement is contingent on compliance with program conditions.</p>
<p>The amendment clarifies that the domestic consumer base is to be counted at the state and union territory (UT) level, addressing potential ambiguity in interpretation. Disbursements continue to be structured as three equal annual instalments, released at the beginning of each financial year.</p>
<p><strong>Reallocation rules strengthened</strong></p>
<p>The revised guidelines also modify the framework for reallocating service charges when multiple agencies within a state or UT undertake PM Surya Ghar-related work. While state or UT Energy or Power Departments retain the authority to issue reallocation orders from the overall service charge accruing to SIAs, such reallocations must now conform to modalities determined by the Mission Director, adding a layer of supervision.</p>
<p><strong>Model solar villages disbursement mechanism</strong></p>
<p>For model solar villages, the definition of the model solar village implementation agencies remains unchanged, with the role usually assigned to the state renewable energy development agency or another agency designated by the state government.</p>
<p>The service charge remains at ₹500,000 (~$6,020) per model solar village for general states and ₹750,000 (~$9,040) for special category states and UTs, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the Northeastern states, including Sikkim, and island territories such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.</p>
<p>However, instead of releasing the service charge only after completion, the amendment introduces a phased disbursement mechanism, i.e., 50% of the service charge is released upon the district-level committee&#8217;s selection of the village for preliminary activities, such as detailed project report preparation. The remaining 50% is released upon completion, along with the final CFA instalment.</p>
<p>In October this year, MNRE <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-introduces-1-of-cfa-as-service-charge-under-pm-surya-ghar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> 1% of the CFA component will be imposed as a service charge on rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar to provide financial support to implementing agencies.</p>
<p>In June this year, MNRE <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/operational-guidelines-pm-surya-ghar-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> operational guidelines for implementing the PM Surya Ghar&#8217;s component for CFA to residential consumers.</p>


MNRE Amends PM Surya Ghar Service Charge Rules


					<table id="amazon-polly-audio-table">
						<tr>
						<td id="amazon-polly-audio-tab">
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-label">Listen to this article</div>
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-container">
			<audio class="amazon-ai-player" id="amazon-ai-player" preload="none" controls   controlsList="nodownload" >
				<source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/amazon_polly_71132.mp3?version=1728473514">
			</audio>
		</div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-subscribe-tab"></div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-by-tab"></div>
						</td>
						</tr>
					</table><p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) has said 1% of the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) component will be imposed as a service charge on rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to provide financial support to implementing agencies.</p>
<p>The government has allocated ₹6.57 billion (~$78.24 million) to cover service charges associated with implementing the program’s various components. The funds will be utilized by REC and state implementing agencies (SIA).</p>
<p>The Mission Directorate, headed by a joint secretary in charge of rooftop solar, will be responsible for the program’s implementation. It will have the authority to utilize the entire outlay for the service charge component of the program to deploy IT systems and manpower and to conduct seminars and meetings.</p>
<p>REC will provide secretarial, managerial, and implementation support to the Mission Directorate in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It will be eligible for a base service charge of 5% of the overall financial outlay of the service charge component of ₹328.5 million (~$3.91 million). This charge will be disbursed to REC over three equal annual installments at the beginning of each financial year. It will also be eligible for management and infrastructure support charges of up to 5% of the overall financial outlay of the service charge component.</p>
<p>MNRE/Mission Directorate can also ask REC to undertake services that may be outsourced/ contracted out through an open, transparent, competitive, tender-based rate discovery process or awarded on a nomination/limited inquiry basis. In such cases, REC will request funds under the service charge component.</p>
<p>Ministries and government-owned entities may mutually decide the terms of reference and the transaction rate. The REC will be authorized to incur expenditures under the service charge head.</p>
<p>SIAs will be allocated ₹2 billion (~$23.81 million) out of the service charge outlay as base service charge. The state-specific allocation for base service charge will depend on the number of domestic consumers or ₹5 million (~$59,547) (whichever is higher) per the General Report on the Power Sector by the Central Electricity Authority. SIAs will receive the funds in three equal annual installments at the beginning of each financial year.</p>
<p>In case multiple agencies are working for PM Surya Ghar-related works, the state Energy/Power Department may issue orders for the reallocation of service charges within its subordinate agencies from the overall service charge accruing to the state SIAs.</p>
<p>The relevant agencies selected by the state governments to implement model solar villages will be given a service charge of ₹500,000 (~$5,954)per model solar village. This will be further increased to ₹750,000(~$8,932)per Model Solar Village for the implementation of model solar villages in certain states.</p>
<p>MNRE recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/pm-surya-ghar-vendor-registration-to-include-brand-owners-channel-partners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> provisions for including brand owners and channel partners in vendor registration to accelerate rooftop solar installations</p>
<p>In July, the ministry <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-guidelines-incentives-discoms-pm-surya" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> the operational guidelines to implement the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana for the component ‘Incentive to Power Distribution Companies.</p>


MNRE Introduces 1% of CFA as Service Charge Under PM Surya Ghar

service-charge

Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.

RECENT POSTS