Quick Answer
Start on the current PM Surya Ghar National Portal with the residential consumer's own account. Confirm the applicable DISCOM process, select a currently registered vendor, and approve a measured design with an itemised contract. Verify eligible equipment, document installation and tests, complete inspection and metering, retain every record, and track CFA without accepting any payment guarantee.
A PM Surya Ghar installation is an official consumer workflow and a rooftop construction project at the same time. The National Portal, the applicable DISCOM, the vendor, equipment suppliers, lenders, and the consumer each control different evidence. A finished array is not enough if the portal record, inspection, meter, bank information, or handover file is incomplete.
Quick answer: Start on the current PM Surya Ghar National Portal with the residential consumer’s own account. Confirm the applicable DISCOM process, select a currently registered vendor, and approve a measured design with an itemised contract. Verify eligible equipment, document installation and tests, complete inspection and metering, retain every record, and track CFA without accepting any payment guarantee.
The sequence below is based on the PM Surya Ghar National Portal, the June 2024 residential CFA operational guidelines, and the July 2025 amendment. Recheck later official changes and the consumer’s current DISCOM process before acting.
First Confirm That This Is the Right Route
The cited capex guidelines cover CFA for eligible residential consumers. They do not create a general benefit for commercial, industrial, government, agricultural, or off-grid connections. Separate guidelines govern RESCO and utility-led aggregation routes. A battery, loan, state benefit, vendor offer, or larger system does not change the connection category.
Before requesting proposals, record these facts:
| Control | Evidence to retain | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer | Name, consumer number, connection category, address, registered contact | Portal, DISCOM, invoice, bank, and inspection records must identify the right applicant |
| Existing system | Prior rooftop capacity, prior CFA, meter arrangement, equipment | Incremental eligibility and technical design can change |
| Site rights | Ownership, society or landlord consent, roof-use limits | The consumer needs lawful installation and maintenance access |
| Electricity use | Twelve months of bills where available, sanctioned load, phase, major future loads | Capacity should follow the home, not only a subsidy ceiling |
| Official route | Current portal status, DISCOM steps, regulator rules, required forms | Process and documents can differ by location and date |
| Finance | Cash or loan route, borrower, bank account, fees, payment milestones | CFA is not the same as vendor discount or loan approval |
The operational guidelines state that the scheme runs through 31 March 2027. That programme period does not guarantee that every application, state process, vendor, product, or funding case remains available. The current portal record and authority instructions control the live case.
Use the broader PM Surya Ghar guide for EPCs for policy context. Use the PM Surya Ghar subsidy calculator guide only after the consumer facts and current rule version are known.
PM Surya Ghar Installation Responsibility Matrix
No single party controls the whole installation. Assign each task before signing the contract. A responsibility can be shared, but one named party should own the next action and evidence.
| Stage | Consumer responsibility | Vendor responsibility | Authority or other responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Control account, consent, identity, bill, bank evidence, and declarations | Assist only within authorised access and disclose required inputs | Portal and DISCOM record the application and current process |
| Feasibility | Provide accurate connection and proposed-capacity facts | Supply technical information and resolve design queries | DISCOM or regulator applies the current approval or deemed-acceptance route |
| Survey | Give lawful access and disclose known roof, leak, load, and property conditions | Measure, photograph, label, record assumptions, and raise open items | Qualified roof or structural reviewer addresses matters outside installer competence |
| Design | Approve goals, equipment choices, locations, access, and visible assumptions | Prepare coordinated layout, electrical basis, equipment schedule, and revisions | Responsible professionals and authorities review the parts within their remit |
| Contract | Read scope, exclusions, price, milestones, substitutions, delay, and service terms | Identify legal entity, exact scope, tax, payment evidence, warranties, CMC, and changes | Lender, tax adviser, lawyer, or society reviews the areas that need specialist advice |
| Installation | Keep access safe, report property changes, and retain delivery/payment records | Install the approved system, control work quality, document changes, and correct defects | Inspectors and DISCOM personnel act under their current authority |
| Commissioning | Attend training and retain shutdown, monitoring, test, and escalation information | Perform required checks, record results, configure monitoring, and close defects | DISCOM installs or accepts metering and records the applicable commissioning stage |
| CFA and service | Track claim, bank, portal, maintenance, and fault records | Support accurate uploads, CMC, OEM claims, and service under written terms | MNRE, portal, DISCOM, bank, OEM, and grievance bodies decide their respective actions |
The matrix should be attached to the proposal or project file. Replace generic roles with legal names, contacts, due dates, dependencies, and acceptance evidence. Mark who pays every fee and who bears the cost of a failed submission, equipment substitution, roof repair, return visit, or delayed authority action.
Credentials require a separate access matrix. Record who can view, upload, approve, change bank information, administer monitoring, open OEM claims, and receive alerts. Remove vendor access when it is no longer needed. Do not share one password across sales, installation, finance, and service teams.
The official-document index can change during a project. Review the MNRE rooftop programme page at defined milestones. Record the source, effective date, reviewer, and effect on the application. A sales template should never override a later official instruction.
PM Surya Ghar Installation: 12 Control Gates
Treat each gate as a release point. Do not move ahead because a salesperson says the next document will be fixed later. Close missing facts in writing, update the price when scope changes, and keep the consumer’s approval trail.
Gate 1: Create and Control the Consumer Record
The consumer should create or control the National Portal account. The registered phone, email, password, OTP, bank information, and consent should remain under consumer control. A vendor may assist through the permitted workflow, but assistance should not become account ownership.
Reconcile the electricity bill, identity, address, consumer number, connection category, and bank-account holder. Record any spelling or address difference before installation. Do not upload altered or incomplete evidence to make mismatched records appear consistent.
The application record should also identify any prior rooftop system or CFA. An extension project needs separate treatment from a first installation. The June 2024 guidelines describe incremental CFA limits for prior subsidised capacity; current portal and DISCOM treatment must be confirmed for the actual case.
Gate 2: Resolve the Applicable DISCOM Process
The guidelines refer to deemed acceptance of rooftop applications up to 10 kW under the amended Electricity (Rights of Consumers) framework. They also state that consumers may need to upload documents for feasibility while the provision is being operationalised by the applicable commission or DISCOM.
That distinction matters. Do not turn a national rule into a universal instruction to skip local steps. Capture the current process for the named DISCOM and connection. Save the portal status, application identifier, required documents, communication, and any approval or deemed-acceptance basis.
The current process may address sanctioned load, phase, transformer or feeder conditions, metering, protection, export, service upgrade, and agreement form. Technical and regulatory questions should be answered by the responsible DISCOM, regulator, inspectorate, or qualified professional.
Gate 3: Select a Current Registered Vendor
The operational guidelines require the consumer to select a vendor registered on the National Portal for the CFA route. Registration is a threshold, not an endorsement of price or workmanship. Verify the exact legal entity, current profile, service location, tax identity, bank account, survey team, subcontractors, and complaint contact.
Compare at least three providers with the same request. The PM Surya Ghar vendor verification guide explains the full shortlist method. A local reference is useful only when the project is recent, comparable, and independently contacted with permission.
Ask each candidate to document:
- The legal contracting and invoicing entity
- Current portal registration and applicable service area
- Employee and subcontractor responsibilities
- Exact survey, design, approval, installation, test, upload, and service scope
- Current module, inverter, structure, protection, monitoring, and optional battery evidence
- Price, tax, exclusions, substitutions, schedule, and payment milestones
- Comprehensive maintenance and separate manufacturer warranties
- Fault intake, escalation, labour, travel, freight, and replacement treatment
Gate 4: Complete a Measured Home Survey
A quotation based only on a bill photograph or map pin leaves material risk unresolved. The survey should measure the roof, obstructions, shade sources, parapets, tanks, access, drainage, and cable path. It should also record the inverter location, meter, service panel, phase, earthing, and proposed point of connection.
Record roof covering, apparent condition, known leaks, waterproofing details, framing or structural information, access restrictions, and future construction. A solar salesperson should not declare structural capacity without the evidence and competence required for that judgment. Escalate uncertain roofs to a qualified structural or roofing professional.
Photographs need labels and orientation. Dimensions need a source and checker. Consumer-provided facts should be marked as such. The survey should produce an open-items register rather than hiding assumptions inside the layout.
Use the rooftop structural assessment guide and residential solar design workflow to separate survey evidence from later engineering decisions.
Gate 5: Approve the Design Basis
Capacity should follow the eligible consumer’s goals, bill and load profile, usable roof, shade, sanctioned load, grid route, and budget. Do not size only to reach a headline CFA amount. A home may need less or more capacity than a common sales package.
The design basis should state:
- Module DC capacity and inverter AC rating
- Exact module, inverter, racking, monitoring, and optional storage models
- Array location, orientation, shade basis, access, setbacks, and maintenance space
- String arrangement, voltage and current checks across expected temperatures
- Isolation, overcurrent, surge, earthing, lightning, labeling, and shutdown approach
- Cable routes, conductor assumptions, voltage drop, service connection, and metering interface
- Structure, attachment, roof-penetration, waterproofing, corrosion, and drainage treatment
- Expected generation method, weather source, losses, uncertainty, and exclusions
- Battery operating modes, backup loads, transfer behavior, and compatibility where relevant
The CEA safety regulations provide a national safety baseline. The exact project still needs the current state, DISCOM, inspectorate, manufacturer, and qualified-person requirements.
Gate 6: Freeze the Commercial Scope
The consumer and vendor mutually agree system and financial terms under the cited guidelines. Put those terms in an itemised contract. A one-line price does not identify exclusions or protect against substitution.
Normalize these commercial items:
| Price area | Required detail |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Exact make, model, rating, quantity, document revision, included communications and accessories |
| Construction | Structure, fasteners, civil work, roof work, cable route, protection, earthing, labels, access equipment |
| Official process | Application help, documents, inspection attendance, meter scope, fees, corrections, claim support |
| Tax and logistics | Tax treatment, freight, unloading, storage, damage, insurance, return process |
| Payment | Legal payee, tax invoice, milestone evidence, retention or final release, refund and cancellation |
| Service | Commissioning, monitoring setup, training, CMC, OEM registration, labour, travel, freight, spares |
| Change | Substitute approval, design revision, site change, price adjustment, delay, authority comment |
Show gross system price separately from estimated CFA, state support, finance, and consumer cash contribution. CFA is not an unconditional discount. Never send money to a personal or mismatched account. Retain the quotation, contract, purchase evidence, tax invoice, and receipts.
Read the solar installation cost breakdown before comparing bids. Use current written lender terms for any loan; do not accept an assumed interest rate, approval, EMI, or subsidy adjustment.
Gate 7: Verify Equipment Before Procurement
The June 2024 guidelines make domestic-content-compliant modules an essential CFA condition. The current MNRE ALMM records, later clarifications, and the exact application date must be checked. A brand name alone does not establish the model, manufacturing route, list entry, or eligibility.
Relevant equipment categories may also require an exact current registration under the BIS Scheme II route. Match applicant, brand, model, standard, status, and validity. Do not infer one model’s record for another family member.
Before ordering, reconcile the quote, design, datasheets, manuals, certificates, list entries, warranties, and compatibility statements. For batteries, require the inverter manufacturer and battery manufacturer to support the exact model, voltage, current, BMS protocol, firmware, operating mode, and warranty combination in writing.
Set a substitution rule. No model, rating, structure, logger, protection device, battery, or warranty should change without updated technical checks, official eligibility review, price treatment, and consumer approval.
Gate 8: Inspect Delivery and Installation
At delivery, record labels, model numbers, quantities, serial numbers, visible damage, and document matches before materials disappear onto the roof. Store modules and electronics safely under the agreed storage method. Preserve evidence for any freight or warranty claim.
Installation supervision should cover worker safety, roof loading, access, attachment location, fasteners, sealing, and corrosion compatibility. It should also cover cable support, bend radius, connector matching, polarity, enclosure entries, separation, labeling, clearances, earthing, protection, and housekeeping.
Do not photograph unsafe work for the portal and treat the photo as quality proof. The responsible installer and qualified reviewers should inspect the construction against approved drawings, approved instructions, applicable rules, and site conditions.
Use the solar installation quality inspection guide to create hold points. Record deviations and corrections before concealment or energisation.
Gate 9: Test Before Portal Completion
The commissioning plan should be agreed before installation. Test scope depends on the architecture, manufacturer, authority, and responsible person’s procedure. It may include visual inspection, torque records, polarity, continuity, insulation, earthing, protective devices, inverter startup, and communications. Other checks may cover meter direction, export controls, shutdown, alarms, and monitoring.
Record the test method, instrument, calibration status where relevant, result, acceptance criterion, date, person, and corrective action. A green inverter light does not prove that every safety and performance condition passed.
For backup or hybrid systems, test the defined load circuit, grid-loss response, transfer behavior, battery limits, restoration, generator interaction where applicable, and safe isolation. Do not promise outage duration from nominal battery capacity alone.
Gate 10: Update the Portal With Controlled Evidence
The operational guidelines state that the consumer updates installed-system details and uploads required documents, including geo-tagged photographs, after installation. The vendor may assist through the consumer login. Keep a copy of every final upload and the portal acknowledgment.
Reconcile installed module DC capacity, inverter rating, make, model, serials, invoice, photographs, bank details, and application. Correct mismatches transparently. Do not edit a document to conceal a substitute or missing item.
Create one indexed folder for portal records. Use consistent filenames, dates, version numbers, and owners. Preserve rejected or replaced documents with status so the history remains explainable.
Gate 11: Complete DISCOM Inspection, Metering, and Commissioning
The cited guidelines assign physical inspection and portal approval to the DISCOM. They also describe the applicable metering agreement and meter installation route. Current state regulations and DISCOM procedures determine the exact meter, agreement, tests, fees, and sequence.
The consumer or authorised representative should attend the inspection. Record observations, corrections, meter details, seals, direction, readings, agreement, commissioning status, portal update, and remaining actions. A vendor statement that inspection is done should not replace authority evidence.
Do not energise or export contrary to the responsible authority’s instruction. Keep the as-built single-line diagram, layout, equipment schedule, labels, settings record where shareable, test results, and shutdown instructions aligned with the inspected installation.
Gate 12: Control CFA, Handover, and Five-Year Service
The cited guidelines describe CFA processing after DISCOM verification and portal approval. They also require consumer bank evidence and address loan-account handling. These provisions do not create a vendor guarantee. Bank validation, portal records, available programme rules, authority action, and case facts can affect the result and timing.
The consumer should track the claim from the controlled account and retain status screenshots or downloads. Use the official grievance route for unresolved portal or authority issues. Do not give OTPs to an unknown caller or pay an unofficial release fee.
The operational guidelines require registered vendors to provide five years of comprehensive maintenance from commissioning under the scheme terms. The vendor CMC and the module, inverter, battery, structure, monitoring, and workmanship warranties are separate documents. Map who handles each fault, what remedy applies, and who pays labour, travel, removal, freight, reinstallation, and roof work.
Stop Conditions Before Money or Submission Moves
A stop condition pauses the next milestone until named evidence closes the risk. Agree these conditions before work starts. The party raising a stop should identify the missing fact, owner, deadline, affected price or schedule, and required approval.
Stop for consumer-record conflicts
Pause when the consumer name, connection, address, bank holder, property right, prior CFA, or existing capacity conflicts across records. The vendor should not guess which value an authority will accept. Obtain the responsible correction or written treatment and retain the history.
Pause if someone asks the consumer to surrender login control or share an OTP outside an active authorised step. Also stop for a false declaration or unofficial claim-release payment request. Use the portal and official grievance route. Preserve the request without publishing personal information.
Stop for site and roof uncertainty
Pause when roof dimensions, shade, covering, framing, leak history, access, drainage, ownership, or planned construction could change the design. An unverified satellite trace should not release equipment procurement. Record whether a qualified structural, roof, society, or property review is required.
New cracks, water ingress, corrosion, loose sheets, damaged tiles, or unsafe access need an assigned response. Solar work should not conceal a pre-existing roof problem. The contract should identify who documents existing conditions and who approves repairs before attachments are installed.
Stop for electrical or equipment mismatch
Pause when the module count, string values, inverter, battery, protection, phase, service, meter, point of connection, or cable route differs between the design and order. Repeat the affected checks before approving a substitute.
The solar inverter sizing guide explains why module DC capacity and inverter AC rating answer different questions. The solar panel warranty comparison shows why a product warranty must be read as a remedy document, not a lifespan promise.
Pause when a certificate, ALMM entry, DCR basis, compatibility statement, or warranty cannot be matched to the exact item and relevant date. A screenshot from a seller is not enough when an official or OEM record is available.
Stop for commercial inconsistency
Pause when the quotation, contract, invoice, bank account, tax identity, delivered goods, or payment request names different entities. Resolve who sells, installs, warrants, services, and receives money. Do not rely on an informal promise that an affiliate will fix the paperwork later.
Pause when a milestone is requested without its agreed evidence. Examples include equipment payment without model confirmation, installation payment before defect closure, or final payment without tests and handover. Document any accepted exception and its remaining protection.
Stop for authority or portal inconsistency
Pause when the installed capacity, equipment, photographs, invoice, inspection, meter, agreement, bank record, or portal fields do not match. Correct the source record through the responsible route. Do not make separate files look consistent while leaving the actual project inconsistent.
Use the net-metering installer reference to organize utility questions. The current DISCOM and regulator still control the project-specific answer.
Stop for incomplete service transfer
Pause final acceptance when the consumer cannot access monitoring, identify shutdown steps, locate warranties, open a service request, or understand which party owns a fault. Test the phone, email, portal, and OEM route before the installation team leaves.
Record the first planned maintenance contact and escalation deadline. The consumer should know what information to capture when an alarm, leak, breaker trip, monitoring gap, damage event, or generation concern appears. Service starts with a reproducible record, not a verbal assurance.
The Consumer Handover File
Do not release the final commercial milestone until the agreed evidence is complete. The handover file should include:
- Consumer application, approvals, communications, portal status, and bank evidence
- Signed contract, change orders, invoices, receipts, tax records, and finance documents
- Final layout, single-line diagram, equipment schedule, structural or roof records, and as-built changes
- Module, inverter, racking, protection, logger, meter, and battery model and serial register
- Datasheets, manuals, exact certificates or list evidence, and compatibility statements
- Delivery inspection, installation QA, deviations, corrections, and commissioning test results
- Meter details, agreement, inspection, commissioning, and permission records where applicable
- Monitoring owner login, data access, alerts, privacy settings, and account recovery method
- OEM warranty registrations, vendor CMC, workmanship and roof terms, and claim procedures
- Shutdown, emergency, cleaning, maintenance, access, escalation, and complaint instructions
Train the consumer to read generation, grid exchange, alarms, and basic shutdown information. Explain which readings are not a utility bill. Confirm who receives monitoring alerts and how access is transferred if the installer closes or the property changes hands.
How to Handle Heaven Green Energy
Heaven Green Energy states that it serves residential solar customers in parts of Gujarat. Treat that as company evidence, not official proof of current portal registration, pincode coverage, equipment availability, scheme eligibility, price, or service quality.
Disclosure: SurgePV and Heaven Green Energy have a commercial relationship. Apply the same portal, legal-entity, survey, design, equipment, contract, payment, installation, CMC, warranty, reference, and service checks to Heaven Green and every alternative.
Review Heaven Green Energy’s published residential scope, then verify its live portal record and project evidence. Choose another registered vendor when its measured design, contract, equipment, local references, service route, or total terms are stronger.
SurgePV can help an EPC prepare design and proposal inputs. It is not MNRE, the National Portal, a DISCOM, regulator, lender, inspector, or CFA approval system. Official decisions remain with the responsible institutions.
A Practical Final Decision Rule
Proceed only when four files agree:
- The official file identifies the eligible consumer, current route, application, approvals, inspection, meter, and claim status.
- The technical file identifies the measured site, approved and installed design, exact equipment, safety checks, tests, and as-built records.
- The commercial file identifies gross price, support assumptions, tax, payment evidence, changes, warranties, CMC, and exclusions.
- The service file identifies monitoring access, maintenance schedule, fault ownership, response route, remedies, and escalation.
Any mismatch should return to the responsible gate. Correcting it before payment or inspection is usually easier than reconstructing evidence after a fault or rejected claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should a PM Surya Ghar installation start?
Start with the residential consumer’s own account on the current National Portal, then follow the applicable DISCOM and regulator process for that connection.
Should installation begin before feasibility is resolved?
Follow the current portal and DISCOM sequence. Do not start work while a required approval, deemed-acceptance condition, site fact, or contract dependency remains unresolved.
Can an installer guarantee CFA payment or timing?
No. Eligibility, compliant equipment and work, portal records, inspection, DISCOM action, bank validation, available scheme rules, and authority processing control payment and timing.
Does National Portal vendor registration prove installation quality?
No. Registration is a scheme threshold, not proof of design quality, fair price, local service, financial strength, equipment availability, or future performance.
Is CFA based on module capacity or inverter capacity?
The cited operational guidelines calculate CFA from eligible installed module DC capacity, not merely the inverter rating or total invoice value. Verify the current rule for the application.
Can a PM Surya Ghar system include a battery?
The cited guidelines allow additional components, but CFA remains tied to eligible module capacity. The exact architecture still needs current regulator, DISCOM, safety, and equipment approval.
What service must a registered vendor provide?
The cited guidelines require five years of comprehensive maintenance from commissioning, subject to current scheme terms. Obtain the exact service scope, exclusions, response route, and OEM warranties in writing.
Who should control the portal login and bank details?
The consumer should retain login rights, registered phone and email, consent, bank evidence, approvals, uploads, invoices, receipts, and claim records even when a vendor assists.
When is a PM Surya Ghar installation complete?
Completion requires the agreed technical tests, applicable inspection and metering records, working monitoring, consumer training, corrected documents, warranty and CMC evidence, and a usable escalation route.
