I Went to Chandigarh Myself to Open Our First Live Solar Experience Centre.
1 October 2014 — Chandigarh was going green under the Solar City push. We already had PEC’s 1 MW on that map. I went myself to open the first Live Solar Experience Centre.
By Kunwer Sachdev · CEO & Managing Director, Su-Kam (at the time) · Founder 1988–2018 · Published September 28, 2026 · Historical era: 1 Oct 2014 · FB Community archive
Archive — Su-Kam Community post (1 October 2014): “Today Su-Kam's first Live Solar Experience Centre inaugurated by MD Sir in Chandigarh… Sales and Service… On Grid and Off Grid… channel partners…” Preserved on this site’s Facebook Archive card and screenshot. No separate trade-press leaf found naming the centre — FB-first record.
Chandigarh Was Going Green — We Had to Be First
The Chandigarh administration had put the city on a Solar City / green path — MNRE’s Model Solar City through CREST, master-plan targets, rooftop push, the public message that the UT would go solar. Under my leadership as CEO & MD, that was not background noise. It was a race for who the channel and the city would trust when green became policy.
We already had skin in that city: PEC’s 1 MW rooftop. Su-Kam was not a visitor to Chandigarh’s green story. So when the administration’s push made a live experience centre matter, it was important for us to be the first — open the room where on-grid and off-grid actually ran, in the same city that was going solar.
I Was Personally There
The post says “inaugurated by MD Sir.” That was me. I went to Chandigarh myself to open our first Live Solar Experience Centre on 1 October 2014. Bouquets, outdoor greetings, a room with a whiteboard and a desk — the archive photos are not stock. They are the day we told the channel: the city is going green, we already had PEC’s 1 MW there, and now you can touch the systems you will sell.
I did not send a deputy for a soft launch and call it strategy. If dealers were going to stake their reputation on on-grid and off-grid kits in a Solar City market, the Managing Director should stand in the room where those kits ran live. That is why I was there.
Live On-Grid and Off-Grid — Not a Brochure Wall
The point of the centre was written into that post: help Sales and Service understand features and benefits of solar solutions — both On Grid and Off Grid — and help channel partners know how the systems actually work. Touch the switch. See the load. Ask the awkward questions before the customer does. In 2014 that was still rare. Most “experience” was a poster and a price list. We built a place you could walk into and believe.
Chandigarh was the only city that made sense. Policy said green. We already had PEC’s 1 MW. The Experience Centre said the channel would not be left guessing.
Education Built Into the Business
Under my watch Su-Kam was never only a factory. We trained soldiers who would run plants — Assam Rifles O&M classrooms — and we trained dealers who would stand in front of Indian homes and factories. The Live Solar Experience Centre was that instinct made local: a Chandigarh room where the channel could learn without guessing. India’s “first” is a claim the Facebook post made that day; what I own as founder is simpler — I opened it in person, and I wanted every partner who walked in to leave knowing on-grid and off-grid as systems, not slogans.
What I Want on Record
Kunwer Sachdev — CEO & MD of Su-Kam. 1 October 2014, Chandigarh: I personally inaugurated Su-Kam’s first Live Solar Experience Centre — live on-grid and off-grid for Sales, Service and channel partners. Founder framing: Chandigarh’s Solar City / green push made being first essential; we already had PEC’s 1 MW on that map. Primary record: Facebook Community archive. Policy context: CREST / Model Solar City.
Verified Sources
- Facebook Archive — India’s First Live Solar Experience Centre (Chandigarh)
- IT Voice (24 Jan 2014) — Su-Kam bags 1 MW PEC Chandigarh (CREST Solar City frame)
- Indian Express — Chandigarh Model Solar City / CREST green push
- Companion — PEC Chandigarh 1 MW grid-tied rooftop
- Companion — Assam Rifles training (channel/O&M education parallel)
- KunwerSachdev.com — When No One Wanted Solar (PEC / SECI essay)
Related
- PEC Chandigarh 1 MW
- Assam Rifles — training the operators
- IFFCO — Chandigarh companion press cited
- Facebook Archive — Live Solar Experience Centre
FAQ
What was Su-Kam’s Live Solar Experience Centre?
Su-Kam’s first Live Solar Experience Centre in Chandigarh — a working showroom where sales, service and channel partners could see live on-grid and off-grid solar solutions, not just brochures. A Facebook Community post dated 1 October 2014 recorded the inauguration.
Who inaugurated it?
Kunwer Sachdev, then Managing Director / CEO & MD of Su-Kam. The archive post says it was inaugurated by “MD Sir” in Chandigarh. His founder account: he was personally there to open the centre.
Why did it matter?
Chandigarh’s administration was pushing a Solar City / green-city programme (CREST / MNRE Model Solar City). Kunwer Sachdev’s founder line: it was important for Su-Kam to be first with a live experience centre there — Su-Kam already had the PEC 1 MW rooftop on that map. Dealers needed live on-grid and off-grid demos as the city went green.
How does PEC connect to the Experience Centre?
Same city, light context only: Su-Kam already had PEC’s 1 MW plant under Chandigarh’s Solar City frame. The Experience Centre (Oct 2014) was the channel half — teach on-grid and off-grid live where the administration wanted a green city. Full PEC story is on its own blog.
When was it opened?
1 October 2014, per the Su-Kam Community Facebook post (Ankush Sharma) preserved in this site’s Facebook archive / screenshots. The facebook.astro card dates the founding-era entry October 2014.
Is there trade-press coverage?
No dedicated Energetica/NCN-style article naming the Experience Centre was found. The primary contemporaneous record is the Facebook archive post and photo collage.
How does this sit next to other Chandigarh stories?
Different job: PEC is the institutional 1 MW rooftop (covered separately); the Experience Centre was channel training and live demonstration under the MD’s own inauguration.
Historical Documentation Notice:
This article documents historical innovations and events under the leadership of Kunwer Sachdev during his tenure as Founder & Managing Director of Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. (1988–2018). Kunwer Sachdev exited the company in 2019 under the IBC process and holds no association, affiliation, or liability with Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. or its subsequent management. Personal presence at the inauguration is founder recollection aligned with the contemporaneous “MD Sir” Facebook post.
