Distribution Companies (DISCOM) and electricity departments have been recommended by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to permit a DC capacity margin of up to 10 percent when processing rooftop solar net metering applications under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG:MBY).
The recommendations issued in March, 2026 targets cases where net metering were being rejected due to the installed DC capacity of solar modules being more than the applied system capacity or permitted inverter AC capacity. Therefore, MNRE has specified that the tolerance can be permitted, if the inverter's AC capacity does not exceed the sanctioned load or statutory caps.
The clarification by MNRE came amid the appeals from vendors and vendor associations regarding delays in commissioning of rooftop solar systems due to small differences between the total solar panel DC capacity and inverter AC capacity.
MNRE observed that varying market wattages for solar panels make it tough to strictly align total module DC capacity with prescribed inverter AC limits or approved power loads under current guidelines. Therefore, the ministry advised for tolerance of DC capacity of up to 10 percent above the applied system capacity while retaining the applicable limit on inverter AC capacity.
MNRE further demonstrated that for a 5 kW system, nine modules providing 4.86 kW DC or 10 modules providing 5.40 kW DC can be tolerated, meanwhile the inverter must remain restricted to 5 kW AC.
At the same time, 18 modules providing 9.72 kW DC or 19 modules providing 10.26 kW DC will be accepted for a 10 kW system and the inverter AC capacity can not exceed 10 kW.
