How to track DISCOM approvals and net metering across projects
Installation takes days. Feasibility, inspection and the net meter take weeks, and each DISCOM behaves differently. A tracker design that shows which project is waiting on whom, for how long.
- Approvals are the longest unmanaged queue in a rooftop business. Make the queue visible.
- One workflow per DISCOM. Documents, portals and delays differ by state.
- Record who each project is waiting on, not just a status word like pending.
- Do not install before feasibility is approved; one practitioner source warns DISCOMs may refuse net metering if you do (reported).
- Practitioner-reported ranges are a starting guess. Your own history per DISCOM is the real benchmark.
Quick answer
Track every rooftop project through a fixed set of external steps: application, feasibility, sanction, installation, inspection, meter installation and commissioning. For each step record the date started, the date done and who it is waiting on, and keep a separate workflow per DISCOM because documents and delays differ. The number to put on your wall is days waiting per project. Practitioners report feasibility in days to about two weeks and net metering in one to four weeks, but timelines vary by DISCOM, so measure your own.
Why do approvals need their own tracker?
Because installation is the short part. A crew can finish a residential system in a day or two. The project then waits on parties you do not control: the DISCOM for feasibility, the inspector, the meter installer, and for scheme projects the national portal. While it waits, nothing looks wrong on site and money stays unbilled. See why this drives cash.
What are the stages?
External steps on a typical rooftop project (our model; names differ by DISCOM)
Step 1
Application and consumer details
Consumer number, sanctioned load, category and owner or society consent for the roof.
Step 2
Feasibility
DISCOM checks transformer and service line capacity. Do not install before this is approved.
Step 3
Design, order and installation
BOM uses compliant equipment; serial numbers and photos are recorded on site.
Step 4
Commissioning upload
Completion report, photos and component details submitted.
Step 5
Inspection
DISCOM inspects. Backlogs here are a known delay.
Step 6
Net meter installed
Bidirectional meter fitted; project can export.
Step 7
Subsidy claim and final billing
Where applicable. See the subsidy tracking article.
How long does each step take?
It depends on the DISCOM, and published service levels are patchy. One practitioner guide aimed at EPCs reports, from the author’s experience rather than any official standard: feasibility in a few days to about two weeks; inspection and net metering roughly one to four weeks after installation; and two to four months end to end for scheme projects including subsidy. Treat these as a starting guess.
The better benchmark is your own history. Once you record dates for every project, you can see that DISCOM A averages nine days to feasibility and DISCOM B averages twenty. That tells you how to schedule crews and what to promise customers.
What should the tracker record?
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| DISCOM and state | Selects the workflow and document list |
| Consumer number and sanctioned load | Many states cap net-metered capacity at sanctioned load, so confirm before sizing |
| Date applied, date feasibility approved | Starts and stops the first clock |
| Date installed | Starts the inspection clock |
| Inspection date, meter installed date | Marks export-ready |
| Documents submitted, documents rejected | Rejections are the hidden delay |
| Waiting on | A person or body, not the word pending |
| Next action and owner | Without an owner, a queue is just a list |
| Days waiting | The headline number |
What should the view look like?
One screen, sorted by days waiting, grouped by DISCOM. At the top: projects that have waited longest. A project that has been with the DISCOM for more than your usual turnaround is a call to make today. A manager should be able to read it in two minutes without opening a project.
What goes wrong most often?
- Out-of-order installation. A source warns DISCOMs may refuse net metering if work starts before feasibility. Add a hard stop to scheduling.
- Mismatched data. Consumer number, serial numbers and bank details differing between forms cause rejections. Enter each once.
- Nobody owns the chase. Name a person per DISCOM.
- No evidence trail. Keep dated copies of every submission so disputes are quick.
Where does this not apply?
Large utility-scale projects have their own regulatory and transmission process, with far longer timelines (see the market piece). This page is about rooftop and small C&I net-metered projects.
What to do this week
- List every project currently waiting on an external body, with the date it started waiting.
- Calculate your real turnaround per DISCOM from the last ten projects.
- Assign one owner per DISCOM for follow-up.
Part of the guide Running a solar EPC business on connected systems.
The stage list and tracker fields are our own model. Timelines and the out-of-sequence warning come from one vendor practitioner guide to PM Surya Ghar for EPCs (SurgePV), which says its figures are the author’s experience and discloses a commercial relationship with an installer. They are not official service levels. Check your DISCOM’s rules and the national portal.
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