Landed cost is the price you actually pay for one unit (kWh) of solar power once it reaches your meter. It is the price in the solar offer plus every fee and loss between the plant and your building.
What goes into it
- The solar price in your offer (the PPA tariff)
- Grid fees: wheeling, transmission and scheduling charges
- Surcharges: cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge, unless you co-own the plant
- Power lost on the way and units deducted when you bank power
One unit is one kilowatt-hour, the same unit printed on your electricity bill.
A worked example
A developer offers solar power at ₹3.75 a unit. In Karnataka the published wheeling charge is ₹0.29 a unit. If you co-own the plant, your landed cost is about ₹4.04 a unit. If you simply buy the power, the ₹0.60 cross-subsidy surcharge and ₹0.40 additional surcharge are added, and the landed cost rises to about ₹5.04. Against a grid price of ₹8.50, both still save money, but the gap between them is a full rupee on every unit.
Why it matters
Comparing an offer price with your bill is misleading. Depending on the state, grid fees add ₹1.50 to ₹3.50 on top of the offer. Always compare landed cost with what you pay today, and ask the developer for the landed cost in writing.
Related: open access, cross-subsidy surcharge, wheeling charges.
Sources
Figures last checked on 26 September 2026.