A Six-Line EPC Scorecard for Solar Lenders: Score What Drives Repayment
Most NBFCs empanel solar EPCs on track record, financials and paperwork. Few score what drives repayment: how close past projects came to their projected savings. A six-line, 0-to-2 scorecard puts every EPC on the panel into a clear lane.
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Two EPCs. Same track record, same financials, same paperwork. Say one's projects deliver 95% of the savings they promised and the other's deliver 70%. On an empanelment form, they look identical. In a loan book, they are not the same risk.
Most NBFCs empanel solar EPCs on track record, financials and paperwork. Very few score what drives repayment: how close past projects came to what the EPC projected. Every EPC looks good above the waterline; credit risk sits below it.
Why scoring EPC delivery pays off
Lenders who start scoring delivery get to:
- fast-track proposals from EPCs who deliver;
- give the rest a second look before disbursal, not after;
- grow the solar book with fewer surprises.
And the best EPCs tend to bring their best projects to the lender who says yes fastest.
The EPC scorecard: six lines, score each 0, 1 or 2
- Projection accuracy (projects deliver the generation and savings they promised): 0 = not tracked, 1 = anecdotal, 2 = tracked on 5+ projects. Evidence: generation data vs the original proposal.
- Proposal completeness (savings split, downside case and assumptions all shown): 0 = one number, 1 = partial, 2 = complete. Evidence: the last five proposals.
- Evidence quality (claims backed by bills, meter data and fuel invoices): 0 = verbal, 1 = some, 2 = documented. Evidence: attachments in recent files.
- Cost discipline (cost per kW and per kWh in line with the market): 0 = often high, 1 = mixed, 2 = consistent. Evidence: quotes against a market benchmark.
- Performance risk taken (stands behind output with a guarantee and O&M): 0 = none, 1 = O&M only, 2 = guarantee + O&M. Evidence: contract terms.
- After-sales data (lender can see generation data after handover): 0 = no, 1 = on request, 2 = standard. Evidence: a monitoring portal or a data-sharing clause.
Reading the total score (out of 12)
- 0–5: a second look on every file.
- 6–9: standard review.
- 10–12: fast-track proposals.
Re-score each EPC once a year. A note on line 1: projection accuracy needs past proposals compared with what the projects actually delivered. Few panels score it today, yet it most directly drives credit risk.
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