DG set AMC and diesel contracts for housing societies: what to check
How a housing society should structure a DG set AMC and diesel supply, from run-hour logs and exclusions to fuel theft checks, for any society in India.
Written by the Societly team
Last verified 2 November 2026
The diesel generator is the asset a society ignores for 360 days a year and depends on completely for the other five. Then comes a long power cut, the set fails to start or trips after twenty minutes, and the committee learns what its maintenance contract actually said.
This guide is for any housing society in India. A caution up front: there is no statute that defines what a "DG set AMC" must contain, and we are not citing one. What follows is how these contracts are commonly structured and where they commonly go wrong. Your authority is the document you sign, so make it say what you think it says. If you need a view on emission or noise rules for your generator, ask the supplier for the set's compliance documents and check them with your state pollution control board, since requirements depend on the set and the place.
What a DG set AMC actually buys
An annual maintenance contract (AMC) is a service agreement: a technician visits on a schedule, changes oil and filters, checks coolant, belts, battery and the auto-start panel, and runs the set on load. It is maintenance. It is not a guarantee that the set will start on the night you need it.
Most disputes come from one gap. The committee thinks it bought reliability; the vendor sold visits.
The two structures you will be offered
Vendors use varied labels, so ignore the label and read the scope.
| Labour-only / service AMC | Comprehensive AMC | |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled service visits | Yes | Yes |
| Consumables (oil, filters) | Often charged separately | Often included |
| Breakdown repair labour | Sometimes included | Usually included |
| Spare parts | Charged extra | Some or most included, with exclusions |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
Treat this table as a common pattern, not a rule. Some "comprehensive" contracts exclude the alternator, the engine overhaul and the battery. Some "service" AMCs include breakdown labour. Only the written scope tells you.
The same trap appears in lift contracts, and we cover it in detail in lift AMC contracts: comprehensive vs non-comprehensive. The reading discipline carries over.
Clauses that decide your real cost
1. Service frequency, defined by run hours as well as calendar
A set that runs 15 hours a year and one that runs 400 hours a year should not be serviced on the same calendar. Ask for service intervals expressed as whichever comes first: N months or N run hours, so heavy use triggers service early.
2. The parts list, named
"Spares" is not a scope. Ask the vendor to list, by name, what is included and what is not: fuel filters, air filter, oil, coolant, belts, starter motor, battery, radiator, AVR, alternator, control panel, ATS or changeover. Anything unnamed will be argued about later.
3. Exclusions
Read these twice. Commonly excluded items include major overhaul, damage from poor fuel or water in diesel, damage from a flooded or badly ventilated room, and anything "caused by negligence". Ask for each exclusion to be specific enough that you could decide in advance which side of the line a failure would fall on.
4. Response time
Specify how quickly the vendor must attend a breakdown call, and what happens when they do not. A contract with a response time and no consequence has no response time. Agree a credit or the right to engage another technician and deduct the cost, in writing.
5. Load test and monthly run
Require a regular on-load run, not just idling. A set that idles fine can fail on load. Ask the technician to record voltage, frequency, oil pressure and temperature, and have the security supervisor or a committee member countersign.
6. Battery
The starting battery is a classic hidden failure. Decide whether it is in the AMC, and who tests it. A dead battery is the cheapest possible reason for a set to fail on the night.
7. Termination and renewal
Do not accept automatic multi-year renewal with no exit. Keep the term to a year, renewable by a fresh resolution, with notice you can actually give.
Diesel: where the money quietly goes
For many societies, annual diesel spend is larger than the AMC. It is also where leakage is easiest, because the tank is rarely observed by anyone with an incentive to count.
Keep a run-hour and fuel log
For each run, record: date, start and stop time, hour-meter reading before and after, diesel level before and after (or litres added), and who signed. This log does three things:
- It gives you litres per hour for your set, so a sudden jump stands out.
- It makes fuel reconciliation possible: litres purchased against litres accounted for.
- It is evidence if you ever need to challenge a vendor's claim that the set was heavily used.
If your hour meter does not work, fix that first. Without it, every number below is a guess.
Reconcile purchases against consumption
Each month, compare diesel bought with the estimate from run hours and your own litres-per-hour figure. Do not expect an exact match; look for a gap that grows. Illustrative only: if a set that normally burns around a certain number of litres per hour suddenly appears to use well over that for the same logged run time, something is wrong, whether a leak, a mis-logged run, or fuel leaving the tank. Your own history is the benchmark, not a number from the internet.
Buy diesel with a paper trail
Prefer invoices from a licensed fuel dealer over informal supply, record delivery quantities against the tank dip, and have two people witness deliveries. Keep invoices with the monthly accounts so the auditor can tie them to the log. Our housing society audit checklist shows the kind of supporting records an auditor will ask for.
Keep the stock modest
Stored diesel can degrade and water can collect in the tank. Hold enough for your typical outage duration plus a margin, and ask your vendor what turnover they recommend for your tank. Do not stockpile a year of fuel.
Who is allowed to touch the set
Name the people who may start, stop or refuel the generator. Keep keys under control. Where the set is run by a security agency staff member, say so in the security contract; our guide to security agency contracts covers what to check there, including duties beyond the gate.
Budgeting and who pays
Generator costs are typically a mix of fixed (AMC, insurance, periodic overhaul reserve) and variable (diesel). Decide before the next outage how diesel for common areas is funded and whether any part of it is recovered from users who benefit directly, such as lift or water pumping. Putting a line in the annual budget for generator AMC and a separate reserve for a major repair prevents an emergency levy. Whether you may charge differently for flat-level backup depends on your bye-laws and your state law, so check those with your advocate or auditor before changing the basis.
Also check what your society insurance covers for machinery; see housing society insurance in India.
A simple annual routine
- Before the monsoon: a full service, battery test and a load run, with technician and committee signatures.
- Monthly: a logged on-load run, even if there has been no outage.
- Each delivery: quantity checked against the invoice and the tank dip.
- Each quarter: diesel purchased against litres accounted for, reported to the committee.
- Each year: re-quote, compare scopes (not just prices), and renew by resolution.
If your committee runs this by WhatsApp, the breakdown call and its response time get lost. A helpdesk ticket with an owner, a status and a timestamp gives you the record you need to enforce the response clause. Societly's complaints and staff modules are built for that kind of tracking.
Common questions
Is a comprehensive DG set AMC always better for a housing society?
Not always. It costs more, and its value depends on what it excludes. If the exclusions cover the alternator, battery and overhaul, you may be paying a premium for very little extra protection. Compare the written scope, not the label.
How often should a society service its DG set?
There is no single legal interval that we can cite. Ask for service by whichever comes first, a number of months or a number of run hours, and follow the manufacturer's manual for your set.
How can a society check whether diesel is being stolen?
Keep a run-hour and fuel log, work out your set's own litres per hour, and compare monthly purchases with logged consumption. A growing unexplained gap is the signal to investigate. The log cannot prove theft by itself, but it tells you when to look.
Should the AMC include the battery?
Decide this explicitly. A weak starting battery is a common reason a set fails to start, so either include it with a named test schedule or assign a separate owner for testing it.
Do DG sets in housing societies need any approvals?
This depends on the set and on state pollution control and local rules, which we have not verified here. Ask your supplier for the set's compliance documents and confirm with your state pollution control board or your advocate.
In short
- Read the scope, not the label: name the parts, name the exclusions.
- Service by months or run hours, whichever comes first, with a defined response time.
- Keep a signed run-hour and fuel log and reconcile diesel monthly.
- Buy fuel with invoices and witnessed deliveries.
- Renew yearly by resolution, comparing scope as well as price.
This article is general guidance on contract practice, not legal advice. For questions about your bye-laws or statutory duties, speak to an advocate in your state.
Keep the paperwork where the next committee can find it
Declarations, bye-laws, audited accounts and builder correspondence in one place, alongside the notices and complaint trail that prove what the committee actually did. Committees rotate every couple of years; the record should not leave with them. Free for societies up to 25 units.
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