BENGALURU: Electricity consumers generating solar rooftop power and selling it to the grid will now get more per unit. According to directions from the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), consumers selling solar rooftop power to the grid will get Rs 3.89 per unit, without subsidy, up from Rs 3.86 per unit earlier. The KERC, on August 25, issued orders determining the tariff for Distributed Solar Photovoltic Plants (DSPV) and Solar Photovoltic Plants (SPV), having different metering mechanisms from August 25 to June 30, 2029.
However, the subsidy under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has been slashed. Consumers with 1-2 kW power will now get Rs 1.96 per unit, between 2 and 3 kW, Rs 2.14 per unit and those above 3 kW will get Rs 2.58 per unit, down from the earlier Rs 2.30, Rs 2.48 and Rs 2.93 per unit, respectively.
KERC Chairman P Ravi Kumar said there has been a marginal fluctuation in the tariffs because the cost of materials for solar panels has reduced, including the cost of panels. He added that just like the power tariff, the rate of solar power generation has also been fixed for the next five years, instead of the annual revision.
Though there is a government order encouraging all consumers -- domestic, commercial, industrial, educational and government buildings -- there are just a few takers. Admitting this, Kumar said the number of government buildings installing solar rooftop panels in very low.
The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department has started some initiatives for buildings in rural areas, but the numbers are very less.
He added that in parallel, the large consumer base of industrial and commercial establishments installing rooftop solar panels above 5 kW is increasing because of the high power tariffs.
The orders also stated that Karnataka has an installed solar power capacity of 6354.74 MW under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), out of which 920.74 MW is DSPV capacity as on April 30, 2026. Small consumers have not shown much interest in installing DSPV units, even though the potential for installation of small capacity DSPV units especially for domestic consumers is higher. The orders said the KERC adopted the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) expenses as 1% of the capital cost with an annual escalation of 5.72% from first year of operation for the benefit of consumers.