The PM Surya Ghar scheme is frequently described as providing 300 units of free electricity per month. That phrase gets repeated in a lot of coverage and it causes a specific misunderstanding worth clearing up: the government is not giving you 300 free units. Your own roof is generating them.
Here is what the phrase actually describes. A 3 kW rooftop system in Indian conditions generates roughly 300 to 400 units a month averaged across the year. A household consuming around 300 units a month will therefore find its bill reduced to near zero once such a system is running with net metering. The "free electricity" is the electricity your panels produce, which you no longer buy from the DISCOM.
What the government provides is the subsidy that makes installing that system affordable: Rs 30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW plus Rs 18,000 for the third, capped at Rs 78,000. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh add state top-ups that can take the total past Rs 1 lakh. That is the assistance. The units come from the sun.
Why this distinction matters practically. If your household consumes 600 units a month, a 3 kW system will not zero your bill. It will roughly halve it. Understanding this prevents the disappointment of expecting free power and receiving a reduced bill instead. Run our solar calculator with your actual consumption rather than relying on the headline.
The role of net metering in making it work. Your generation and consumption rarely coincide. Panels produce most at midday; households often consume most in the evening. Net metering resolves this by crediting exported surplus against later imports. Without it, you would only benefit from what you happened to use while the sun was shining. This is also why off-grid systems are excluded from the scheme.
What still appears on your bill. Fixed charges generally remain regardless of consumption. Your bill goes to near zero on the energy component, not to literally zero. This is normal and not a sign that something has gone wrong.
Seasonal reality. Generation drops during the monsoon and during heavy winter smog in Delhi NCR, and peaks in the clear months. A system that zeroes your bill in October may not in July. Annual averages are what matter for payback; monthly variation is expected.
What happens to surplus you never use. Monthly surplus credits typically carry forward. At annual settlement, any remaining surplus is compensated at a rate set by your state regulator, which is generally lower than the retail tariff you pay for imported units. This is a good reason to size close to your consumption rather than well above it: the last few kilowatts of an oversized system pay back slowly.
The honest summary. The scheme makes it affordable to install a system that can cover a typical household's consumption. For a home using around 300 units a month, that genuinely does mean a near-zero energy bill, which is a remarkable outcome. For a home using considerably more, it means a substantially reduced bill, which is still excellent. Neither is free electricity from the government, and understanding that difference is the mark of someone who will not be oversold.
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Last updated 27 July 2026 · Reviewed by the RenSetu team