Chandigarh to install solar plants on houses free of cost

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir
Chandigarh, April 14

The city is going to be the first in the country where private players will be roped in for installing rooftop solar plants on private residential buildings free of cost.

After witnessing a lukewarm response from city residents, who were not willing to shell out for a rooftop solar plant, the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), the nodal agency for the installation of solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants on rooftops, proposed the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) with a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

Later, CREST filed a petition before the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for approval of the business model framework for installation of grid-connected rooftop power projects for domestic consumers by a third party under the RESCO BOT business model as per provisions of the JERC.

During a recent hearing in the JERC, the petitioner (CREST) submitted that the issues raised by the UT Electricity Department (respondent) have been addressed and further, the department has agreed to the new business model submitted to the commission for its approval.

The Electricity Department submitted that the business model had been agreed to by them. The department has also agreed to the terms and conditions under the Quadripartite Agreement (QPA) except a provision relating to banking of power in the said QPA. The petitioner and the respondent have also submitted that after resolving the issue of banking of power, they would submit the initialised QPA to the commission for its consideration within a week.

Debendra Dalai, Chief Executive Officer, CREST, said the UT was expected to soon get approval for the implementation of the business model in the city from the JERC. He said the city was all set to have the RESCO model to be implemented on private residential houses “It is going to be a unique model to give a big boost to solar power generation and Chandigarh will be the first city in the country to implement it,” he said.

Under the model, a private company will install solar panels without taking any money from house owners. The owners will have to give only space on the rooftop to the firm and they will get electricity at nearly Rs. 1.50 per unit less than the existing rates for the next nearly 15 years. After the completion of the BOT period, the company will hand over the solar plant to the owner. The firm will recover the cost by selling the energy produced from the plant. All maintenance of the plant will be carried out by the firm during the BOT period, he said, adding that excess power left after utilisation by the house owner will be transferred to the grid.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had enhanced the city’s solar power generation target from 69 MW to be achieved by 2022 to 75 MW to be met by August 15, 2023. Till date, the UT has achieved a generation of around 47 MW.

Owners to get power for Rs. 1.50 per unit less

• A private company will install solar panels without taking any money from house owners. The owners will have to give only space on the rooftop to the firm and will get ower at nearly Rs. 1.50 per unit less than the existing rates for the next nearly 15 years.
• After the completion of the BOT period, the company will hand over the solar plant to the owner. The firm will recover the cost by selling the energy produced from the plant. All maintenance of the plant will be carried out by the firm during the BOT period and excess power left after utilisation by the house owner will be transferred to the grid.

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