Pune : Rooftop solar consumers in state cross one lakh mark
Pune : Install rooftop solar project, get free electricity; MSEDCL appeals to avail subsidy
By: Pune Pulse
September 7, 2023
Pune: The number of electricity consumers in the state who generate electricity by installing solar energy generation panels on the roof has recently crossed the one-lakh mark.
As per information, Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis has given instructions to focus on solar power generation. The consumption of electricity generated by rooftop solar power generation i.e. rooftop solar project reduces the electricity bill of the concerned consumer. If more electricity is generated than required, it can be sold to Mahavitaran through net metering to get a discount on the water bill. Due to this, consumers who have installed rooftop solar projects sometimes get zero electricity bills.
As of September 6, the number of consumers using rooftop solar in the state has increased to 1,04,035 and the total power generation capacity has increased to 1,656 MW. This combined capacity is equal to a large thermal or hydroelectric plant.
In the financial year 2016-17, only 1,074 consumers had installed rooftop solar power generation projects in the state with a total capacity of 20 MW. After that, the number of consumers installing rooftop solar projects in the state increased rapidly due to the efforts of Mahavitaran. In the financial year 2019-20, the number of such customers increased to 26,017 and the total capacity reached 512 MW.
In just two years, in the financial year 2021-22, the number of these customers increased to 55,798 and the total power generation capacity was 1,017 MW. In one financial year from 2021-22 to 2022-23, there was an addition of 421 MW in power generation capacity through rooftop solar.
Domestic consumers get subsidies from the central government for rooftop solar projects. Mahavitaran helps customers to install these projects. Complete information about this has been given on the website https://www.mahadiscom.in/ismart of Mahavitaran.
Generally, a 3 kW solar power generation project is sufficient for a family. For this, the government gets a subsidy of around 43 thousand to 56 thousand rupees. Projects with a capacity of three kilowatts to ten kilowatts get a subsidy of about seven to nine thousand rupees per kilowatt after three kilowatts. Along with individual electricity consumers, housing societies also benefit from the rooftop solar scheme and get subsidies.
