How to Choose a Solar Installer in MP: The Verification Checklist

Choosing a solar installer is not like buying an appliance. The panels are on your roof for 25 years, the net metering has to clear the DISCOM, and the subsidy on a home only comes through a registered vendor. So the company matters more than the brand of panel it fits — a good installer sizes the system right, gets the paperwork through, and is still around when the inverter needs attention in year seven. This is the checklist I would use if I were the customer: how to verify empanelment and registration, how to read a quotation, what warranties to demand, and the signals that separate a serious installer from a quick sale. If you also want the fraud angle, our guide on how to spot a solar subsidy scam in Bhopal is the companion to this one.

Verify DISCOM empanelment first

In Madhya Pradesh, your net metering and — for a home — your PM Surya Ghar subsidy are processed through a vendor registered with the distribution company. For Bhopal and central MP that is MPMKVVCL. An installer who is not empanelled cannot take your application through the official channel, which means you either cannot get net metering cleanly or you are relying on someone else's registration behind the scenes. Ask for the exact company name as registered with the DISCOM, then check it against the empanelled-vendor list published on the MPMKVVCL portal. Do not accept a verbal claim — the list is public, so verification takes minutes and a genuine installer will point you to it themselves.

Check the GSTIN and the legal entity

A registered business has a GSTIN, and that number tells you the entity is real, tax-compliant, and can issue a proper invoice — which you need for warranty claims and, for a business, for depreciation and GST input credit. Ask for the GSTIN on the quotation and confirm the company name and constitution match the entity you are contracting with. An installer who cannot or will not put a GSTIN on a written quote is a problem: you have no tax-valid invoice, no clean paper trail, and little recourse if the work is defective. For reference, ours is GSTIN 23CLUPP5452Q1Z4, printed on every quotation we issue. This is a basic hygiene check that quietly filters out the fly-by-night operators.

Read the quotation properly: red flags

A vague quote is a warning in itself. A serious quotation names the make and model of every major component, states quantities and the system size in kW, and separates supply, installation and net-metering charges. Watch for these red flags.

Red flag on the quote	What it usually hides
Panel and inverter listed by wattage only, no brand or model	Cheap or unbranded equipment you cannot warranty-check
No mention of mounting structure spec or cable make	Under-built structure and thin cabling that fail early
Warranty stated as one blanket number	Panel, inverter and workmanship cover being blurred together
Subsidy shown as already deducted, with a residential figure on a commercial job	A wrong or misleading eligibility claim
No GSTIN, no company letterhead, price only on WhatsApp	No tax-valid invoice and no accountable entity

Insist on a written, itemised quotation on company letterhead. If you cannot compare two installers line by line on make, model and warranty, you are not comparing price — you are comparing marketing.

Understand the warranty structure

People say "25-year warranty" as if it is one thing. It is three, and they come from three different parties.

• Panel performance warranty — typically around 25 years, from the panel manufacturer, guaranteeing the panels still produce a stated percentage of rated output over time.
• Inverter warranty — usually 5 to 10 years, from the inverter maker; the inverter is the component most likely to need replacing in the system's life, so this one matters a lot.
• Workmanship warranty — from the installer, covering the mounting structure, wiring, earthing and the quality of the installation itself.

Get all three in writing with their durations. The gap to watch is the workmanship warranty, because that is the one that depends entirely on the installer still existing and honouring it. A ten-year panel warranty is worthless if the company that mounted it wrong is gone in two years.

Ask about AMC and after-sales terms

A solar plant needs cleaning and periodic checks to hold its output, and inverters occasionally need service. Ask what happens after commissioning: is there an annual maintenance contract, what does it cover, what does it cost, and what is the response time if generation drops or the inverter trips? Some installers include a year or two of maintenance and then offer an AMC; others hand you the keys and vanish. Neither is automatically wrong, but you should know which one you are buying. Clarify who you call when there is a fault, and whether monitoring is included so a drop in generation is caught by them rather than by you noticing a higher bill months later.

Judge the site survey quality

The site survey is where you can tell a real installer from a salesperson, before any money changes hands. A proper survey means someone comes to the roof and measures the shadow-free area, checks the roof structure and orientation, reads your sanctioned load and connection type off the bill, and looks at where the inverter and cable runs will go. That is how the system gets sized correctly and how net metering clears without surprises. A number quoted over the phone with none of this is a guess dressed as a proposal — and wrong sizing is expensive: too small and you under-save, too large and you export cheaply or fail the sanctioned-load check. Treat the thoroughness of the survey as a preview of how the whole job will be done.

The questions to ask before you sign

Bring this short list to every installer and compare the answers side by side:

• Are you empanelled with MPMKVVCL, and what is your registered company name?
• What is your GSTIN, and will it be on the invoice?
• Exactly which panel and inverter make and model are you quoting?
• What are the separate panel, inverter and workmanship warranty durations?
• Who handles the net metering application, and how long does it take?
• What after-sales and AMC terms apply once the system is commissioned?
• Can I see the itemised quotation on your letterhead before deciding?

An installer who answers these clearly and in writing is one you can trust with a 25-year asset. Hesitation or vagueness on any of them is your answer.