BERC Waives Residential Application and Meter-Testing Fees to Drive PM Surya Ghar Adoption in Bihar

On July 9, 2026, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) issued a definitive order in Case No. 29/2026, approving the waiver of application processing and meter-testing charges for domestic consumers. This regulatory intervention is designed to eliminate front-end financial barriers to the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, a central flagship scheme targeting massive residential rooftop solar expansion. The decision follows a joint petition filed on June 22, 2026, by the state’s distribution utilities, North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL), seeking to align state procedures with national solar adoption targets.

Context and Regulatory Action

To facilitate this waiver, the Commission exercised its powers to relax Regulation 8.1 of the BERC (Rooftop Solar Grid Interactive Systems Based on Net and Gross Metering) Regulations, 2018. The regulatory action, effective as of April 1, 2026, was adjudicated by a bench comprising BERC Chairman Amir Subhani and Legal Member P.S. Yadav.

This shift is driven by severe fiscal pressures and a mandate for grid stabilization. Bihar currently carries an annual power sector subsidy burden of approximately ₹23,000 crore—a figure that stands in stark contrast to Uttar Pradesh, which provides only ₹6,000 crore despite having twice Bihar’s population. With the state’s power demand surging from 500 MW in 2005 to over 9,000 MW today, BERC’s action aligns with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) communication dated January 8, 2026, which urged states to simplify administrative hurdles to reach the national target of one crore installations.

Identified Barriers to Adoption

The DISCOMs argued that miscellaneous charges, previously codified under Case Nos. 50/2025 (NBPDCL) and 51/2025 (SBPDCL), acted as a deterrent for economically weaker households. Prior to the waiver, the following financial and procedural hurdles were identified:

• Application Processing Fees: Upfront administrative costs for enrollment.
• Load Change Charges: Fees associated with modifying sanctioned load to accommodate solar generation.
• Meter Testing Fees: Technical verification costs for bidirectional infrastructure.
• Equipment Replacement Charges: Maintenance and hardware update costs.

The Commission justified the waiver by noting that peer states, including Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, have achieved superior adoption rates by providing similar exemptions.

Implementation Details and Scope

A critical distinction exists in the regulatory framework: while the fee waiver (Case No. 29/2026) applies broadly to all domestic residential applicants to reduce entry barriers, the energy accounting and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) framework (Case No. 26/2026) specifically manages the back-end operations for 2.5 lakh Kutir Jyoti households under the Utility-Led Aggregation (ULA) RESCO model.

Technical and Financial Framework for Bihar Rooftop Solar

For this model, BERC directed the replacement of “Net Metering” with the term “Import-Export Metering” to accurately reflect the RESCO ownership structure. The billing formula approved on July 13, 2026, in Case No. 26/2026 is defined as:

Total Monthly Consumption = Imported Energy + Solar Generation – Exported Energy

Under this arrangement, Kutir Jyoti consumers are entitled to 125 units of free electricity. Any solar generation exceeding this threshold is purchased by the state government, acting as a “distributed buyer” to stabilize utility revenue requirements.

Official Directives and Financial Safeguards

BERC maintained that the waiver would not jeopardize DISCOM liquidity, citing the ₹4,950 crore MNRE incentive fund allocated to compensate utilities for operational revenue losses. To date, approximately ₹2,100 crore of this fund has been released to DISCOMs nationwide.

The Commission issued the following operational mandates to ensure implementation integrity:

• Energy and Payment Sharing: NBPDCL and SBPDCL must provisionally share generated energy and associated payments in a 54:46 ratio until annual accounts are finalized.
• Developer Payment Timelines: Provisional payments to RESCO developers must be disbursed within 30 days based on Remote Monitoring System (RMS) data, subject to quarterly physical verification.
• Strict Regulatory Oversight: BERC rejected Clause 5.2.1 of the draft PPA, which would have allowed DISCOMs to increase installations by 100% without further review. The Commission ruled that all capacity expansion must remain strictly tied to the central CFA (Central Financial Assistance) limit of ₹33,000 per system; any deviation requires fresh regulatory approval.

The rollout is scheduled against aggressive administrative milestones. Phase 1 targets 2.5 lakh installations by November 20, 2026, with the overarching objective of reaching 25 lakh households by November 20, 2027—a date marking the two-year milestone of the current state administration.

Official Sources & Regulatory Portals

• Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) The statutory body responsible for determining electricity tariffs and approving power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Bihar. Website: www.berc.co.in
• South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) The nodal state utility responsible for the technical execution and management of the 275 MW rooftop solar programme. Website: www.sbpdcl.co.in
• Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) The holding company governing state power utilities and the SUVIDHA application used for solar applications. Website: bsphcl.bihar.gov.in
• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana The National Portal for the central government’s flagship rooftop solar subsidy scheme. Website: pmsuryaghar.gov.in

Key Regulatory Orders and Petitions

• BERC Case No. 29/2026: Official order approving the waiver of application fees and meter-testing charges for domestic consumers under the PM Surya Ghar scheme.
• BERC Case No. 26/2026: Regulatory approval of the revised PPA and Energy Accounting Framework for the 275 MW project targeting 2.5 lakh Kutir Jyoti households.
• BERC Tariff Order (March 18, 2026): Statutory determination of the Retail Tariff for FY 2026-27 for SBPDCL and NBPDCL.
• SBPDCL Tariff Petition (FY 2026-27): Official submission for the True-up of FY 2024-25 and the Annual Revenue Requirement for the 2026-27 period.