Solar EPC for Factories in Telangana: DISCOM Rules, Approvals and Cost

A Telangana factory planning 50 kW or more of rooftop solar mostly deals with one rulebook: the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission's Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive Systems Regulation, 2025, applied by the two state DISCOMs (TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL). Net metering is capped at 500 kWp, gross metering at 1 MWp, and capacity is capped at 80% of sanctioned load or contracted demand.

Which rulebook governs a factory rooftop in Telangana?

The Commission notified the Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive Systems Regulation as Regulation 1 of 2025 in the Telangana Gazette Extraordinary of 15 November 2025. It repealed the 2016 net metering regulation (No. 6 of 2016). It applies to the distribution licensees, to eligible consumers and to third-party owners of rooftop systems, which matters if you want a leased or RESCO-style plant.

The licensees are the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company (TGSPDCL) and the Northern Power Distribution Company (TGNPDCL). Which one supplies you is printed on your electricity bill. Application forms, the connection agreement and the online portal are hosted by the DISCOM. The Commission's regulation list and the DISCOM portals are where you should confirm the current text, because regulations are amended; this article reflects the gazette text of November 2025.

Net metering, gross metering or open access: which route and what cap?

For industrial and commercial consumers, rooftop capacity is limited to 80% of sanctioned load or contracted demand. A 500 kWp plant therefore needs a sanction of at least 625 on the same unit basis. The regulation says "sanctioned load/contracted demand" without spelling out how a kVA contract demand converts to kWp, so ask your DISCOM which basis it applies. Our sanctioned load calculator shows the headroom before you size anything.

Two more limits can stop a good plan. Total rooftop solar on an LT distribution transformer is limited to 50% of its rated capacity, and on an 11 kV or 33 kV feeder to 50% of the feeder's permitted load or of the substation capacity. The licensee must publish available capacity on its website and update it quarterly, so check it before you commission drawings.

What does the approval sequence look like?

1. Application: filed with the Assistant Divisional Engineer (Operations) for LT consumers and the Divisional Engineer (Operations) for HT consumers, with the form and processing fee set out in the regulation (₹2,500 for LT, ₹15,000 for HT at the time of the 2025 notification).
2. Acknowledgement: within seven working days, with any deficiencies listed.
3. Feasibility: the licensee assesses the transformer or feeder within 15 working days. An application not acted on in that time is deemed approved. The feasibility stays valid for four months unless extended.
4. Estimate: if network strengthening is needed, you pay the estimate within 15 days or the application is cancelled.
5. Connection agreement: within 15 days of approval.
6. Safety certification: above 56 kWp the Chief Electrical Inspector to the Government (CEIG) must certify protection and safety, within 15 working days of receiving the information. Up to 56 kWp, the consumer inspects and self-certifies. Our CEIG guide covers the file.
7. Commissioning: after you submit the installation certificate, the licensee must sign the agreement, fit the meter and commission within 15 days.

Plants above 56 kWp may connect to the 11 kV or 33 kV feeder serving the consumer. The regulation also references the Central Electricity Authority connectivity standards for distributed generation and the CEA safety regulations. Timelines in a regulation are targets the licensee must meet; real files lose time on deficiency letters, so submit a complete application the first time.

What does a plant cost at 100 kW, 500 kW and 1 MW?

Our published benchmark for turnkey C&I rooftop solar is ₹24,000 to ₹32,000 per kW, excluding GST, and it falls as plants get larger. At 100 kW the band on our 100 kW cost page is ₹28,000 to ₹32,000 per kW. At 500 kW it is about ₹26,000 per kW, roughly ₹1.30 crore (see 500 kW). At 1 MW it is ₹24,000 to ₹26,000 per kW, or ₹2.40 to ₹2.60 crore (see 1 MW). These are indicative, ex-GST, rooftop figures. They exclude HT-side works where needed, roof strengthening, batteries and statutory fees.

In Telangana the figures that move the economics most are not the module price. They are the surplus settlement rule (net metering rewards self-consumption, so size to your daytime load), whether your sanctioned load allows the size you want, and whether HT works are needed at 500 kW and above. Run your bill through the solar calculator for a first view, then ask for a load-profile based design.

Where do the factories sit, and what does the roof need?

Telangana's industrial parks are developed and managed by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), which publishes its list of industrial areas and park-wise vacant plots; many other factories sit in private estates. Whichever applies, the roof question is the same: structure, orientation, shadow-free area and the age of the sheeting. Confirm roof rights with the landlord or industrial area authority if you do not own the building outright.

One national rule affects module selection. MNRE's office memorandum of 4 August 2026 says net-metering projects, which it defines to include gross metering, are exempt from the cell-list (ALMM List-II) requirement only if commissioned by 31 December 2026. The module list (List-I) still applies. Behind-the-meter plants used only for captive consumption by private consumers are outside both lists. Your EPC contractor must tell you which category your plant falls in, and the date you can realistically commission.

How Secured Engineers helps

This is a buyer's guide, and it cites no Telangana project of ours. We are a pan-India EPC contractor that mobilises from our offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana. We design in-house, file Fire NOC, CEIG and DISCOM net-metering applications in-house, and take MEPF and solar under one contract. Our record is 535+ projects across 18+ states with 89.77% repeat clients. For a Telangana plant, we would start with your last twelve bills, your sanctioned load and the transformer or feeder headroom, then tell you which route and size make sense.

See our solar EPC service for scope, or send us your bills on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or request a free proposal.