Registration for the CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme is not open right now: applications closed on 5 January 2025, winners were picked through computerised balloting, and no fresh general registration round has been officially confirmed since. This guide sits inside our Solar and Energy Schemes hub and our Punjab Schemes collection, and it explains who was eligible, how registration and balloting worked, how to check your ballot result on the official portal, and what to do if anyone offers to register you for a fee.
The scheme, also called the Roshan Gharana Programme, was launched by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and is run by the Punjab Energy Department with systems support from PITB. It promised free complete solar systems, meaning panels, an inverter and a battery, to Punjab households with the smallest electricity bills. The target was 100,000 households, with a budget of about Rs 10 billion. The idea was simple: families who use the least electricity get a small solar system that covers their basic needs, so their monthly bill falls close to zero.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scheme | CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme (Roshan Gharana Programme) |
| Run by | Punjab Energy Department, with PITB systems |
| Who it was for | Domestic consumers using 0 to 200 units per month |
| System sizes | 550W for 0 to 100 units; 1100W for 101 to 200 units |
| Cost to the household | Free |
| Target | 100,000 households |
| Budget | About Rs 10 billion |
| Registration | Portal cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk or SMS to 8800 |
| Registration status | Closed on 5 January 2025 |
| Helpline | 0800-02345 |
CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme Eligibility: Who Could Apply
Eligibility was tied to the electricity bill, not to income paperwork. The scheme was open to domestic consumers in Punjab whose monthly consumption was between 0 and 200 units, with eligibility referenced to the June 2024 electricity bill. The consumer’s sanctioned load had to be up to 2kW. In practice this meant a home with one meter, a small sanctioned load and a consistently low bill: exactly the households for whom a 550W or 1100W system can cover fans, lights and small appliances.
Four exclusions applied. Consumers involved in electricity theft were out. A defective meter disqualified the connection. Having more than one meter at a single residence disqualified the household, because the scheme counted one home as one beneficiary. Bill defaulters were also excluded. If your household fell in the 0 to 200 unit band on the reference bill, had a clean meter record and had no unpaid default, you were in the eligible pool for balloting.
Free Solar Panel Scheme Registration: How Applications Were Taken
When registration was open, there were two official channels. The first was the online portal at cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk, where the applicant entered the CNIC and the electricity bill reference number. The second was SMS: the applicant sent the CNIC and bill reference number to 8800. Questions could be asked on the helpline, 0800-02345. There was no fee at any stage, and no agent or shop was authorised to submit applications on anyone’s behalf.
That registration window closed on 5 January 2025. The portal and the SMS route belong to that closed round. If a website, agent or social media page tells you today that fresh registration has opened and asks for a processing fee, that claim does not match any official confirmation, and the money will not come back.
CM Punjab Solar Panel Scheme Ballot Result: How Winners Were Picked
Because eligible households were far more than the 100,000 systems available, selection was made by computerised balloting rather than first come, first served. Balloting kept the process out of the hands of local influence: the system drew names from the eligible pool, and the results were published for checking on the same portal, cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk. Applicants from the closed round can still use the portal to check their ballot result status with their CNIC and bill reference details.
If your name came up in the ballot, the process moved to verification of the meter and the connection before installation. If your name did not come up, there was no appeal window announced for the closed round, and your details simply remain part of the record of who applied.
What Winners Receive: The 550W and 1100W Free Solar Systems
Winners receive a complete installed system, not just panels. Each package includes the solar panels, an inverter and a battery, sized according to the household’s consumption band. Households using 0 to 100 units a month were assigned the 550W system. Households using 101 to 200 units a month were assigned the larger 1100W system. The sizing logic matches the load: a low-usage home runs lights, fans and a small fridge or TV on the smaller kit, while the bigger kit gives the 101 to 200 unit band enough headroom for the same basics with more comfort.
The system is free. The household does not pay for the equipment or the installation, and there is no installment plan attached to this scheme. That is what separates Roshan Gharana from solar loan products, where the same kind of hardware is paid for over time.
Is CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme Registration Open in 2026?
This is the question most readers arrive with, so here is the honest status. Installations from the closed round have continued. According to APP reporting in June 2026, Punjab Energy Minister Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that about 90,000 households had received solar systems under the scheme, at a cost of about Rs 9.7 billion. APP also reported that the scheme has been extended until December 2026. An extension of the scheme, however, is not the same thing as a new registration round, and no fresh general registration round has been officially confirmed.
Our advice is plain. Do not pay any agent, shopkeeper or website that claims it can register you now. When and if the Punjab government opens a new round, it will be announced through the Punjab Energy Department and the official portal, and registration will again be free. Until that announcement exists, the correct status is: installations continuing for ballot winners, registration closed.
Using More Than 200 Units? Solar Financing and Net Metering Options
Households above the 200 unit line were never part of this scheme, and waiting for it is not a plan. The realistic route is to buy a system through bank financing and cut the bill with net metering. Our SBP Solar Financing Scheme guide explains how the State Bank’s renewable energy financing works through commercial banks, what markup structure applies and who can borrow. With net metering, the excess units your system produces in the day are exported to the grid and adjusted against your night usage, which is how most mid-sized homes in Punjab bring their bills down. Between the closed free scheme and a financed system of your own, the financed route is the only one actually open today.
CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme FAQs
No. Registration closed on 5 January 2025, and no fresh general registration round has been officially confirmed. Anyone charging a fee to register you is not authorised. Watch the Punjab Energy Department announcements and the official portal, cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk, for any genuinely new round.
Domestic consumers in Punjab using 0 to 200 units per month, with eligibility referenced to the June 2024 electricity bill and a sanctioned load of up to 2kW. Consumers involved in electricity theft, those with a defective meter, homes with more than one meter at one residence and bill defaulters were excluded.
Ballot results from the closed round can be checked on the official portal, cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk, using your CNIC and bill reference details. Selection was made by computerised balloting from the eligible applicant pool.
It depends on the consumption band. Households using 0 to 100 units a month receive a 550W system, and households using 101 to 200 units receive an 1100W system. Each package is a complete system with panels, an inverter and a battery.
No. The system and its installation are free for ballot winners, and registration was also free through the portal or by SMS to 8800. There is no processing fee, so any payment demand connected with this scheme is a warning sign.
This scheme does not cover you, but you can still cut your bill with your own rooftop system. Read our SBP Solar Financing Scheme guide for bank financing options, and look into net metering so the units you export in the daytime are adjusted against your bill.
Keep exploring: Solar and Energy Schemes · Punjab Schemes · All Government Schemes
Last updated: November 4, 2026