Sanctioned Load: Why It Caps Your Rooftop Solar Size

Every PSPCL connection has a sanctioned load: the load, in kW, the connection is approved to carry. In Punjab a rooftop solar system connected under net metering can be at most 100% of it. A home with 3 kW of sanctioned load can install up to 3 kW of solar, however large the roof or the bill.

That makes sanctioned load the first thing to check, before roof space and before price. It is also one of the commonest reasons a solar application gets stuck.

Where to find it

Your sanctioned load is printed on your PSPCL bill, in kW, near your consumer number and tariff category. Take it from the latest bill. If you have had the load changed, the old figure on an earlier bill is no use.

Why the cap catches people out

Most homes are sized from the bill. You add up a year of units, work out how many kW of panels would bring the bill down to where you want it, and arrive at a size. The cap applies after that sum, and it ignores your units entirely.

A typical case: a family with a large summer bill works out that they need 5 kW, but the connection was taken years ago at 3 kW. Under the rule, 3 kW is the most they can install until the load is raised. An application for more than the sanctioned load is the kind PSPCL sends back, which holds up the subsidy as well.

When the system you need is bigger

You have two choices.

1. Install what fits now. A system at your full sanctioned load still cuts the bill, just by less than the larger system would have. For many homes near Punjab’s 300 free units a month, it is enough.
2. Apply for a load enhancement first. PSPCL processes the request, and once the higher load is approved and showing on your connection, the solar application can go in at the larger size. Do it in that order. Starting both at once, or quoting a system on a load you have only applied for, is what delays files.

Raising the load can change what your connection costs, so ask PSPCL what applies to you before you decide.

Building a new house?

Ask for enough load when you apply for the connection, with the solar system in mind: 5 kW of load for a 5 kW system. It is much simpler than raising it later. Planning a new house for solar covers this and the other things to settle while the house is going up.

How we check it

Before we quote, we ask for a recent bill and read the sanctioned load off it. Our solar calculator asks for it too, caps the system at it, and tells you when you would need a load enhancement first. If your units call for more than your load allows, we quote both options: the system that fits now, and the larger one once the load is raised.

For the full sizing method, see how to size a home solar system in Punjab. For what happens at the inspection, see what PSPCL checks at net metering.