CEIG Approval in Telangana: Process for DG Sets, Solar and HT Installations

In Telangana, an electrical installation above the voltage notified by the state, and a generating unit above the capacity the state specifies, must be inspected and approved by the Electrical Inspector before supply starts. That covers most HT intakes, larger DG sets and solar plants. Below the notified voltage, the owner self-certifies. Confirm the current thresholds with the Telangana Electrical Inspectorate before you plan.

What does the law actually say about inspection?

The governing text is the Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2023, notified in June 2023. Three provisions matter for an owner in Telangana.

• Regulation 45 divides installations by a "notified voltage" that each state government sets. At or below that voltage, the owner, supplier or consumer inspects, tests and self-certifies the installation before supply starts and files the report with the Electrical Inspector in the Schedule II forms. Above it, the Electrical Inspector must inspect and test the installation before supply commences, or recommences after a shutdown of six months or more.
• Regulation 34 leaves the capacity above which generating units, including renewable plants, must be inspected before commissioning to the appropriate government's notification.
• Regulation 32 sets periodic inspection or self-certification, with the periodicity directed by the government and not exceeding five years.

The Regulations are available as a gazette copy hosted by KSEB. We could not retrieve Telangana's notification fixing the notified voltage and the generating-unit capacity from an official source. Treat any figure quoted by a consultant, including the common "above 10 kW" claim, as unconfirmed until the Inspectorate or your DISCOM confirms it in writing for your installation.

Which installations go to the Electrical Inspector?

What does the process look like step by step?

1. Appoint a licensed electrical contractor. Regulation 31 requires installation work to be carried out by a contractor licensed by the State Government, under a supervisor holding a certificate of competency.
2. Prepare the single-line diagram, layout and equipment data. The Inspectorate's documents list is the reference, but expect a single-line diagram, layout and earthing drawings, equipment ratings and test certificates.
3. Test before you apply. For installations above the notified voltage, Regulation 45(5) requires the owner to test every circuit, record the results and submit them. Manufacturers' type, acceptance and routine test certificates may be asked for under Regulation 48.
4. Apply and pay the fee. A Centre for Good Governance announcement on the Electrical Inspectorate website launch describes online application for installation certificates, document upload, online fee payment, status tracking and download of the signed certificate. The announcement is undated, so confirm the current portal and fee with the Inspectorate; we have not quoted a fee.
5. Inspection. The Electrical Inspector may direct further tests, before or after charging.
6. Approval, then charging. Supply commences only after approval in writing for installations that need inspection. DISCOM connection and the Inspectorate's approval are separate steps with a dependency between them, and your DISCOM will tell you the order it needs.

What goes wrong most often?

• Test records missing or unsigned. Without them the Inspector cannot accept the file. Keep insulation resistance, earth resistance, protection relay and DG change-over test sheets signed by the licensed contractor.
• Protection settings not documented. HT breakers and DG panels need settings and coordination records.
• Solar roof access. Regulation 121 asks for clear 75 cm pathways with hand rails for roof access and emergency exit, and for a manual disconnection switch outside the AC combiner box. Layouts that squeeze these fail inspection or get altered after.
• DG set interface. Sets running with solar need a documented synchronising and minimum-loading arrangement. Our note on solar with DG sets explains why, and what gets checked on DG sets lists the inspection points.

If the project is a factory, the Electrical Inspector's approval sits alongside the Fire NOC and pollution consents. The Telangana buyer's guides on solar EPC for factories and Fire NOC cover the other approvals, and our CEIG approval for factories guide describes the process as we handle it in northern states.

What obligations continue after approval?

Approval is not the end of the file. The Regulations keep the owner responsible in four ways.

• Periodic inspection or self-certification. Regulation 32 requires installations to be inspected or self-certified at the periodicity the government directs, and that interval cannot exceed five years. Put the due date in your maintenance calendar, because a lapsed certificate is easy to miss in a plant that otherwise runs well.
• Additions and alterations. Under Regulation 45(6), an addition or alteration may not be connected to supply until it has been approved in writing by the Electrical Inspector or self-certified, as the case requires. A new transformer bay, an extra DG set or a solar expansion all count.
• Restarting after a long shutdown. An installation that has been disconnected for six months or more goes through the same approval or self-certification before supply recommences.
• Rectification. If the Inspector points out defects and the owner does not rectify them within the time given, Regulation 32(7) allows disconnection after a notice of not less than forty-eight hours, unless an appeal under section 162 of the Electricity Act has been stayed by the appellate authority.

Owners also have a duty under the Regulations to keep installations free from danger and maintained as the manufacturer or relevant standards recommend. For a factory, a yearly preventive-maintenance and testing schedule, backed by an AMC, is the easiest way to show that duty is being met.

How Secured Engineers helps

Secured Engineers designs electrical systems in-house and files CEIG approvals, Fire NOCs and DISCOM net-metering applications in-house. MEPF and solar can be delivered under one contract, so the single-line diagram, DG interface and solar protection are drawn once and consistently. We have offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, and have delivered 535+ projects across 18+ states with 89.77% repeat clients. For Telangana we mobilise from Noida and Ludhiana, and this article is a buyer's guide, not a record of work in the state.

The most useful service for a Telangana file is a review before you apply. Send the single-line diagram, test sheets and equipment list, and we mark the gaps against the regulations above. Check your readiness with the CEIG readiness calculator, see our CEIG approval consultancy, then message us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817 or request a free proposal for the file review.