Load checks, EV meters and shared wiring for older housing societies
TL;DR Societyplug does the electrical groundwork that makes older housing societies say no to EV charging - a load study, a separate EV supply and meter from the DISCOM, metered points in the parking and a controller that shares limited power fairly. After that, residents plug in whatever charger brand they like.
Most EV energy in India comes from home. A study by a charging-software firm and AEEE of more than 80,000 home installations puts home charging at 80–90% of daily EV energy, yet only about 55% of would-be buyers can charge where they live without first upgrading wiring, load or safety[1]. Some 70–75% of urban households live in apartments, where the blockers are shared meters, no assigned parking and a nervous managing committee.
The wiring itself is the quiet risk. The same study found floating neutrals, poor earthing and cars charged off 15A sockets on extension cords. Yikes. Metering is a mess too, because power from a flat's own meter isn't meant for the parking lot[2], and in Delhi only 2% of EV owners have a separate EV meter[1].
What it does, in regulatory terms: electrical contracting, metering and billing for private charging in a housing society. Societyplug does not sell public charging. Wiring must be done under a licensed electrical contractor and signed off as your state's electrical inspectorate requires.
The first visit is a paid load study covering sanctioned load, transformer headroom, the evening peak, parking layout and basement fire exits. From that comes a written plan the committee can vote on. Societyplug then applies to the DISCOM for a separate EV supply with its own meter, runs a common feeder to the parking and fits metered points at each bay that asks for one. A load controller caps total draw, so 30 cars can share a supply sized for 10 by slowing everyone down a little after 10 p.m. Residents pay per kWh through an app and the RWA sees one clean bill.
I've narrowed the original idea. Several firms already sell shared chargers with an app to societies. The work nobody wants is the wiring, the DISCOM paperwork and the committee politics in buildings put up before anyone thought about EVs.
The managing committee signs off the society plan and usually funds the common feeder from its sinking fund or a one-time levy. Each resident pays to switch on their own bay and then pays per kWh. For comparison, one mobile-charging service sells mobile DC sessions to Gurugram residents at ₹20,999–54,999 a year[3]. My test prices are assumptions to check - a fixed fee per load study and a per-bay activation fee.
EVs are moving into ordinary housing. In FY26, 4.25% of 47 lakh passenger vehicles retailed were electric, about 2 lakh cars, along with 6.54% of two-wheelers[4]. Public money is going elsewhere though - PM E-DRIVE set aside ₹2,000 Cr for public charging in September 2024[5], with nothing for society wiring. That same AEEE report in July 2026 named electrical upgrades and RWA approval as the main barriers[1].
I found no published figure for India's housing-society EV wiring or metering market. The narrowest useful number comes from the AEEE study, where about 30% of prospective EV buyers could charge at home only after an electrical upgrade[1]. Put that next to 24.52 lakh EVs retailed in FY26[4] and the queue of upgrade jobs looks long. Treat that as direction and not a market size.
One charging-software firm sells society charging with RWA approval help, shared billing and a revenue share for the association[6]. A large charger network runs 100,000+ chargers, and its society clients already ask for more points[7]. Mobile-charging vans skip the wiring altogether by driving a DC unit into the basement[3]. Every one of them needs a building that can take the load, and none sells the electrical retrofit as its main product, independent of charger brand.
| Difficulty | Moderate (44/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹55–95 L |
| Time to launch | 4–6 months |
The engineering is ordinary. The pain is DISCOM approvals that crawl and differ by city, and committees that meet once a month and worry about fires. Fixed-price quotes are risky in old buildings, where you don't know what's inside the walls until you open them.
Yes. You're doing electrical work in occupied buildings, so wiring and metering need sign-off.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't trust AI on electrical safety or fire compliance. A licensed engineer signs off every design.
Want to work out the AI layer for Societyplug? Talk to Yash →
I think this is a solid fit for an electrical contractor or a facility-management operator who already knows RWAs in one city. If you want to build an app company then look elsewhere. Before raising money, prove two things - 10 societies will pay for a load study, and the DISCOM grants a separate EV supply within 60 days.
Plan for roughly ₹55–95 L, mostly on an engineering team, load controllers and working capital for the first installs.
Yes for the wiring. It has to be done under a licensed electrical contractor and inspected as your state requires, and the DISCOM handles the separate EV meter.
Yes, older apartment blocks everywhere face the same wiring problem. Check your local electrical licensing, utility metering and fire rules before quoting.
The free Societyplug validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the metering and electrical-safety checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for committees and residents, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Societyplug or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting DISCOM approvals moving fast enough to keep a committee's vote alive, and I'm happy to look at your plan for that. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.