Govt Requires PM Rooftop Solar Inverters to Link with National Grid

• Rooftop solar inverters under PM Surya Ghar must connect to national servers via M2M SIMs.
• MNRE flags cybersecurity risks from data sent to foreign or third-party servers.
• Integration testing starts Sept 1, 2025; OEMs must ensure compliance.

According to a compliance order issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), rooftop solar inverters installed under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG: MBY) will now be required to connect to national servers through machine to machine (M2M) SIM based connectivity.

The PMG: MBY is a scheme that will offer 30 Gigawatt (GW) cumulative capacity rooftop solar (RTS) systems to one crore of total households. The Ministry has expressed concerns regarding grid stability and security regarding computer systems, given inverters sending data to international servers / foreign owned components or relying on third-party software and platforms.

In the memorandum, MNRE stated, "To ensure secure and reliable data transmission, all inverter communication devices/dongles/data loggers deployed under the scheme shall have Machine-to-Machine (M2M) SIM communication protocol".

Given sensitive data is leaving India, and specifically from inverters, the MNRE has expressed concern for the implications to national energy sovereignty, as well as the increased opportunities for unauthorized access and remote manipulation of other systems, putting safe power generation and grid behaviour at risk.

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The ministry added, "In this regard, multiple rounds of deliberation have been done with major stakeholders to implement a framework to track generation benefits of RTS installations as well as for the centralisation of RTS data on a National Software Platform hosted on servers located in India and managed by MNRE or any other Government Agency".

The ministry is taking action to mitigate risks by developing a vendor-neutral open communication protocol with associated security guidelines for real-time monitoring and controls in support of the National Portal.

By September 1, 2025, integration testing of inverter communication devices will begin. "A separate communication in this regard shall be issued shortly", the ministry noted. Following this date, all Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) included under the scheme shall ensure that their inverters are directly connected to the National Servers or MNRE-designated software platforms, which will be announced via a future notification.