Solar in Karnataka
Flat terraces that make installation straightforward, dust that makes cleaning matter, and an open access framework that changes the maths for industry.
What’s different about installing here
Roofs are easier. Flat RCC terraces are common, which means an elevated tilted frame at the correct angle and a straightforward installation. It also leaves the roof usable underneath. The trade-off is that shallow-mounted panels collect more dust and need cleaning more often than steeply tilted ones.
Dust is the main output thief. Drier air, more construction and more traffic dust than coastal Kerala, and much less rain to wash it off. Cleaning frequency genuinely affects your annual generation here, which is why we build it into the AMC rather than treating it as optional.
Apartment blocks and layouts. Bengaluru has a lot of multi-dwelling buildings where the roof belongs to the association rather than the resident. That’s a different conversation, and PM Surya Ghar has a separate provision for housing societies covering common facilities.
Industrial load is a different product. Karnataka has a large base of high-tension industrial and commercial consumers whose roofs can’t come close to their load. For them the answer is usually open access or captive generation rather than rooftop. See Wheeling and Captive Solar.
BESCOM, the ESCOMs and KERC
Rooftop applications are processed by your local ESCOM. BESCOM for Bengaluru, and the relevant ESCOM elsewhere in the state, under the framework set by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission.
KERC has been reforming this space. Notably it removed the requirement to sign a power purchase agreement for low-tension domestic consumers up to 150 kW, which takes a real obstacle out of the way for most homes. DISCOMs are also required to finalise virtual and group net metering agreements within fifteen days of application.
For anything above rooftop scale, wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharge and banking rules are set by tariff order and revised periodically. We model projects on the order in force the day we quote, and show you the assumptions.
One thing worth knowing if you’re a smaller commercial consumer: rooftop avoids open access charges entirely, so below a certain scale it gives better economics per unit than a wheeled project. We’ll tell you if that’s your situation, even though the wheeling job would be the bigger contract for us.
Where we work in the state
Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi and surrounding districts. TODO: confirm the full district list. Ask if you’re not sure.
We also work with Karnataka-origin families based in the Gulf who own property here. See our page for NRIs in the GCC.
Send us a BESCOM bill
One recent bill gives us your consumption pattern and tariff category, which is most of what a first estimate needs.