DGVCL net-meter process for rooftop solar in south Gujarat

If the customer's bill says DGVCL, the file runs through the national PM Surya Ghar portal and a DGVCL sub-division. This post covers what DGVCL asks for, what it charges, and what each solar unit is worth on a south Gujarat bill. Every figure comes from a DISCOM, regulator or government document; where one is not confirmed, we say so.

Who this is for

Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (DGVCL) is the state DISCOM for south Gujarat. Its company page lists seven districts: Bharuch, Narmada, Surat (except part of Surat City), Tapi, Dangs, Navsari and Valsad, with the head office in Surat. The same page counts 23 towns and 3,634 villages, as of July 2026.

Read the bill first. Part of Surat city is served by Torrent Power, with its own tariff and charges (see our Torrent post), and town and village homes pay different rates.

The steps, from registration to subsidy

Our DGVCL net-meter guide lists the nine PM Surya Ghar stages with Hindi labels. In short, from clause 6 of the MNRE scheme guidelines:

1. Register on pmsuryaghar.gov.in with the consumer number from the bill, and pick a registered vendor.
2. Install and upload. System details and geo-tagged photos go on the portal from the consumer's login (clause 6(j)).
3. Net-meter and inspection. DGVCL fits the bi-directional meter, inspects, and approves, sends the file back for corrections, or rejects it with reasons (clause 6(k)).
4. Subsidy. It is processed within 15 days of DGVCL's approval (clause 6(t)).

The guide marks DGVCL's office details and typical days as not yet verified.

Documents: MNRE's list and DGVCL's

MNRE's office memorandum of 11 January 2024 fixed what a DISCOM may ask a home for: one electricity bill from the last six months at feasibility; then the project completion report, a photograph and the consumer-vendor agreement at commissioning. The completion report carries only the panels' make, watts, count and serial numbers, and the inverter's make, capacity and serial number. No other documents are to be sought.

DGVCL's solar page carries that memorandum in a four-page note with two GUVNL letters and DGVCL's own list. Beyond MNRE's three, the list asks for:

• a copy of the invoice, to establish who owns the system (GUVNL letter of 28 March 2024);
• the receipt for the net-meter and connectivity charges, and the consumer's bank details;
• terrace rights or the co-owners' consent, where the roof is shared;
• the CEI drawing approval and inspection report, only above 10 kW;
• the interconnection agreement on ₹300 stamp paper, with the applicant's self-attested ID and two witnesses.

The agreement is the only paper copy. GUVNL's letter of 10 July 2024, in the same note, says everything else is uploaded and verified on the portal.

The ₹300 stamp paper

GERC's fifth amendment, published in the Gujarat Gazette on 3 November 2025, says no separate written connectivity agreement is needed for PM Surya Ghar systems. The agreement starts on the commissioning date, and the DISCOM confirms that date and the surplus rate in writing (GERC Notification No. 10 of 2025, clause 3). DGVCL's list and its provisional agreement still show stamp paper. If the sub-division asks for it, show the notification.

Fees and the meter

GUVNL set one PM Surya Ghar schedule for the four state DISCOMs, in a letter addressed to DGVCL's managing director among others (GUVNL letter of 15 February 2024). For 1 to 6 kW: net or generation meter ₹1,014, meter box ₹318, meter testing ₹118 and connectivity ₹1,500, a total of ₹2,950. Above 6 kW and up to 25 kW the total is ₹13,410, of which ₹10,000 is connectivity. Confirm the amount on DGVCL's firm quotation and show it as its own line in your quote.

The consumer may buy the meter, which the DISCOM tests and installs (Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, rule 11(10)); DGVCL's solar page lists meter specifications and vendors. Strengthening lines and transformers for a system up to 6 kW is charged to the DISCOM's revenue requirement, not the customer (GERC Notification No. 13 of 2024, Regulation 5.1). DGVCL's provisional agreement still says the consumer pays for upgrades (clause 8), so quote the regulation if a small home is asked to pay for a transformer.

Timelines the law sets

From the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2024, which bind every DISCOM:

• Feasibility within 15 days, or presumed feasible (rule 11(7)). Up to 10 kW, a complete application is deemed accepted and DGVCL carries out any load enhancement needed (rule 11(7A)).
• Commissioning within 15 days of the installation certificate (rule 11(9)).
• Delay without just cause: at least ₹500 a day to the consumer (2020 rules, rule 11(12)).

These are legal maximums, not typical days.

How the bill works after the net-meter

DGVCL's provisional agreement settles each billing cycle like this (clause 7):

• Solar units are set off against units consumed, not against load. Fixed charges stay.
• Net imports are billed at the normal tariff.
• Net exports are bought at ₹2.25 a unit for the first five years, then at 75% of the average tariff GUVNL discovers for non-park solar in the previous six months.
• The money is credited against later bills; a year-end balance over ₹100 is paid on request.

A sunny month's surplus becomes money at ₹2.25, not units kept for a cloudy month.

The tariff, and what each solar unit is worth

GERC's schedule for the four state DISCOMs, effective 1 April 2026 (GERC tariff schedule, pages 3 and 4), post-paid energy charges per unit each month:

• Urban (RGP): first 50 units ₹3.05, next 50 ₹3.50, next 150 ₹4.15, above 250 ₹5.20.
• Rural (RGP-Rural, homes in a gram panchayat area): ₹2.65, ₹3.10, ₹3.75 and ₹4.90 on the same slabs.
• Fixed charge: ₹15 a month up to 2 kW of connected load, then ₹25, ₹45 and ₹70 for the 2 to 4, 4 to 6 and above-6 kW bands.

Smart pre-paid meters pay slightly less per unit, and electricity duty is extra. Because net units are billed from the first slab up, solar takes units off the top of the bill first.

Worked example: a 250-unit home, in a town and in a village

Energy charge only:

• Town: 50 × ₹3.05 + 50 × ₹3.50 + 150 × ₹4.15 = ₹950.
• Village: 50 × ₹2.65 + 50 × ₹3.10 + 150 × ₹3.75 = ₹850.

Each solar unit used at home saves, in a billing month: ₹4.15 (town) or ₹3.75 (village) for the first 150, then ₹3.50 or ₹3.10 for the next 50, then ₹3.05 or ₹2.65 for the last 50. Any unit beyond the home's 250 earns ₹2.25.

What 2 kW costs. MNRE's benchmark is ₹50,000 per kW for the first 2 kW, so ₹1,00,000. It is a reference, not a market price, and the guidelines do not say whether it includes GST, so we add GST at the blended 8.9%: ₹8,900. The central subsidy for 2 kW is ₹60,000, and Gujarat adds no state top-up. The customer pays ₹48,900.

If the system covers the home's 250 units in a month, the energy charge goes to zero and the fixed charge stays. The town home saves ₹950 a month and pays back in about 51 months; the village home saves ₹850 and pays back in about 58.

Whether 2 kW covers 250 units on a given roof is the one number here we have not confirmed; use the generation of your own installations nearby. Every village unit is worth ₹0.40 less, about six months more payback, so quote from the tariff line on the bill.

What goes wrong on south Gujarat files

• The connection is in another name. GUVNL's firm-quotation conditions for PM Surya Ghar require the name change at the sub-division before the rooftop application (GUVNL letter of 28 March 2024, condition 1).
• A shared roof. A common roof needs a no-objection certificate from all owners (condition 2). Collect it at the survey.
• The installed kW drifts. The same conditions allow plus or minus 5% of the registered capacity (condition 5). MNRE's advisory of 25 March 2026 asks DISCOMs to allow up to 10% extra panel (DC) capacity if the inverter's AC capacity stays within the allowed limit. Above 5%, ask the sub-division in writing which rule it applies.
• The file sits. MNRE's notice of 24 August 2026 advises vendors not to hold applications over 60 days without a valid reason. Our application risk checker turns amber at 45 days, our own early warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is the subsidy different in DGVCL areas?

No. The central subsidy is ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third, capped at ₹78,000 (MNRE guidelines, effective 13 February 2024). Gujarat adds no state top-up.

Can a DGVCL home install more than its sanctioned load?

Yes. GERC allows a home's rooftop system irrespective of sanctioned load (GERC Notification No. 2 of 2022, Regulation 6.2(c)(i)). DGVCL's solar page still links an older procedure, starting with GEDA registration, that caps a system at 50% of sanctioned load; the 2022 regulation is the later rule.

The DGVCL steps with Hindi labels are in our net-meter guide. Run your customer's bill through the solar cost calculator before you quote the saving.