How to Read Your Electricity Bill Before Going Solar

Before we can recommend a system size, the first thing we ask for is a recent electricity bill — not because of the total amount due, but because of a few specific figures printed on it.

Units consumed (kWh) is the most important number. It reflects your actual energy usage for the billing cycle and is the real basis for sizing a system, since bill amount alone can be misleading if your tariff slab or fixed charges have changed recently.

Sanctioned load or contract demand tells us the maximum power draw your connection is approved for, which matters for net-metering approval and inverter sizing, particularly for commercial and industrial connections.

Tariff category (residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural) determines the per-unit rate you're charged and therefore how much each unit of solar generation actually saves you — this is why the same system size can produce very different savings for a home versus a shop.

If you're unsure which numbers on your PGVCL bill matter, bring it to a consultation and we'll walk through it with you before any system design begins.