Over 2.23 Lakh Rooftop Solar Units Installed Under ULA Model of PM Surya Ghar Scheme

New Delhi: The Centre has stepped up efforts to expand rooftop solar adoption among low-income and vulnerable households through the Utility-Led Aggregation (ULA) model under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, with over 2.23 lakh installations completed across five States and Union Territories.

According to official data, 2,23,446 rooftop solar installations have been completed under the ULA mechanism, with ₹525.69 crore in subsidies released so far. Andhra Pradesh leads the programme with 1,41,242 installations, followed by Odisha with 73,867 and Telangana with 7,442 installations.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also accorded final ULA sanction approval to 12 States and UTs for around 16.58 lakh additional rooftop solar installations.

The government has set a target of installing 30 lakh rooftop solar systems through the ULA mechanism as part of the overall national target of one crore rooftop solar installations by March 2027.

The ULA model has been designed to address the financial barriers faced by low-income households in installing rooftop solar systems. While the broader PM Surya Ghar scheme has crossed 44.88 lakh installations across 53.5 lakh households, generating around 15.86 GW of capacity, a majority of installations have been in the larger 3 kW category.

The trend has highlighted limited participation from economically weaker households, many of whom struggle to arrange the upfront investment of around ₹1-2 lakh for a rooftop solar system.

Under the ULA model, the responsibility for arranging finance, selecting vendors and managing operations is shifted from individual homeowners to electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) and state agencies.

By aggregating demand from thousands of households, DISCOMs can undertake bulk tenders and bring down the per-unit cost of solar equipment. The mechanism primarily targets low-income, BPL and subsidised households for rooftop solar systems of up to 3 kW.

The framework has two models — the Utility-Owned Model and the Consumer-Owned Model.

Under the Utility-Owned Model, the DISCOM funds the installation and retains ownership and operational responsibility for at least five years, following which ownership is transferred to the homeowner.

Under the Consumer-Owned Model, the homeowner retains ownership from the beginning, while bulk procurement and central subsidies cover most of the installation cost. The consumer's contribution is capped at around 10 per cent, or approximately ₹5,000 per kW.

The MNRE has also mandated developers to provide five years of free Comprehensive Maintenance Services. Domestic Content Requirement norms have been made mandatory to promote the use of locally manufactured solar modules and cells.

A dedicated ₹100 crore Payment Security Mechanism has also been established to protect developers against delays in payments by utilities exceeding 15 days.

The ULA model is expected to reduce the power subsidy burden on states while expanding rooftop solar coverage among economically weaker sections, as the government works towards providing households with up to 300 units of free electricity every month under the PM Surya Ghar scheme.

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