The CM Punjab Solar Scheme gives free solar systems to Punjab households that used up to 200 electricity units a month, chosen by a computerized ballot. Its official name is the CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme. As of 14 September 2026, the official portal says “Registrations for the CM Solar Scheme are now closed”, so you cannot apply now. This guide explains who was eligible, what winners get, how to check your ballot result, and how “Roshan Gharana” is different.
The scheme is a Government of Punjab initiative listed by the Punjab Energy Department. Its portal, cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk, was built by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). Registration was always free, and winners were picked by ballot, so no agent can promise you a panel.
What is the CM Punjab Solar Scheme?
Rising electricity bills hit low-income homes the hardest. Under this scheme, the Government of Punjab said it would give up to 100,000 solar systems free of cost to poor households using 0 to 200 units a month, through transparent balloting. The Punjab Energy Department lists the scheme’s cost as Rs 9.97 billion.
The portal calls them “standalone” solar systems. The size you get depends on how much electricity your home used in June 2024. Once installed, the system lets your home make some of its own power and lower its monthly bill.
Two different things: the free scheme and Roshan Gharana
Many websites mix up two things. Here is the difference:
| What | CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme | Roshan Gharana (2024 announcements) |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Homes using up to 200 units on the June 2024 bill, load up to 2 kW | Homes using about 50 to 500 units |
| Cost to you | Free | Announced as 90% paid by the government and 10% by you, in instalments over five years |
| How to apply | Portal or SMS to 8800 (now closed) | No official application route found |
| Status in September 2026 | Registration closed. Ballot held in March 2025. | No application window found |
Roshan Gharana was the name used in 2024 announcements. In March 2024, the Chief Minister unveiled a Roshan Gharana program of 50,000 one-kilowatt systems for protected consumers using up to 100 units. In July 2024 she approved a wider plan for consumers using 50 to 500 units, with the government paying 90% of the cost and the consumer paying 10% in easy instalments over five years, as APP reported. The scheme that actually opened for registration, in December 2024, was the free scheme for homes using up to 200 units.
As of September 2026, we could not find an official portal, SMS code or application window for the paid, subsidised part for 201 to 500 units. If your home used more than 200 units in June 2024, you were not eligible for the free scheme.
CM Punjab Solar Scheme eligibility
These are the official criteria from the portal. Eligibility was based on your June 2024 electricity bill. You had to be a domestic (home) consumer:
- Using up to 200 units a month, in one of these bill categories: up to 50 units (lifeline), 51 to 100 units (lifeline), 0 to 100 units (protected or unprotected), or 101 to 200 units (protected or unprotected)
- With a sanctioned load of up to 2 kW
- Registered on the scheme’s portal or through SMS to 8800
You were not eligible if:
- You were involved in electricity theft
- Your meter was defective
- Your home had more than one meter at the same address
- You paid your bill late more than 3 times in the last 12 months
Other official points:
- The scheme covered all districts of Punjab.
- Only one application per household was allowed, even in joint families.
- You could apply even if the meter was in someone else’s name. After the ballot, a verification team checks your residence and your relationship with the meter owner.
What you get
The official FAQ lists two system sizes, and both are free:
| Your June 2024 use | System size |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 units a month | 550 watts |
| 101 to 200 units a month | 1,100 watts (1.1 kW) |
In the first phase, 94,483 systems were set for installation: 47,182 of 0.55 kW and 47,301 of 1.1 kW, according to Dawn. The government assigns authorised vendors to install the systems at winners’ homes. Dawn reported that the panels and inverter are linked to the consumer’s CNIC to protect them from theft.
How registration worked
Registration opened in December 2024 and closed on 5 January 2025, according to The News. There were two ways to register, and both are now closed:
- Portal: you created an account with your name, email, mobile number, CNIC and a password, verified your email, signed in, and entered your electricity bill reference number.
- SMS: you sent your bill reference number, a space, and your CNIC number to 8800. This helped people without internet.
About 861,000 consumers applied, Business Recorder reported. The portal’s FAQ still shows a deadline of “5th Jan, 2024”, which appears to be a typing error for 2025.
If you cannot find your bill reference number, our LESCO bill check guide shows where it is printed and how to print a duplicate bill.
How selection by ballot works
Demand was far higher than the number of systems. So the Chief Minister held a computerized digital ballot in early March 2025 to pick winners fairly from eligible applicants. The official stages are:
- Registration on the portal or by SMS
- Adding details
- Eligibility check
- Balloting of registered consumers
- Physical verification of qualified consumers by the district administration
- Installation
This means:
- Being eligible did not guarantee a system. With about 861,000 applicants and fewer than 100,000 systems, most people were not selected.
- No one can move your name up the list or add it after the ballot. Anyone who claims they can, for a fee, is running a scam.
Status as of September 2026
- Registration: closed. The portal says so, and we found no announcement of a new registration round.
- Installation: in April 2026, ProPakistani reported that the Chief Minister extended the scheme from June 2026 to December 2026, to deliver more than 94,000 systems at a cost of nearly Rs 10 billion. The Energy Department’s page still shows an older completion date of 30 September 2025.
- Result check: the Application Result page on the portal still works.
How to check your ballot result
- Go to cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk and click Application Result.
- Enter your electricity bill reference number and the captcha code.
- Click Submit to see the result for your connection.
Documents to keep ready
If you were selected, keep these ready for the verification team:
- Your CNIC
- Your electricity bill, with the reference number you registered
- If the meter is in someone else’s name, be ready to show that you live at the address and how you are related to the meter owner
Stay safe from fraud
- Registration was free, and it is now closed. Any site or person offering to “register” you now is not official.
- Nobody can add your name to the winners’ list for money. Winners were chosen by ballot.
- Never share an OTP, photos of your CNIC or your portal password with anyone who calls or messages you.
- The official website ends in .punjab.gov.pk. Look-alike sites with “solar scheme” in their name are not official.
If someone asks you for money, report it through the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal.
Contact
- Portal: cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk
- Email: support@cmsolarscheme.punjab.gov.pk
- Helpline: 042-99030204, as listed in the official user guide
Related support
- Apni Chhat Apna Ghar, Punjab’s interest-free housing loan
- 8070 SMS check, which Punjab schemes have used which SMS codes
- PSER registration, Punjab’s socio-economic registry, used by many other programs
- All Punjab government schemes, the full list
To see what else your household may qualify for, try our free eligibility checker.
GoPunjab is an independent information website. We are not the Punjab Energy Department or PITB, and we cannot register you, select you or install a solar system. We only explain how the official scheme works.