Soon, house owners in Chandigarh can get rooftop solar panels installed for free

Soon, house owners in Chandigarh can get rooftop solar plants installed without shelling out a single penny. The UT administration is set to roll out the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, under which a private firm will be responsible for developing, installing, financing and operating the rooftop solar power plant.

While consumers (house owners) won’t be charged for installation, RESCO will own the rooftop solar plants for 15 years, after which the ownership will be transferred to the consumer. During the 15-year period, the consumer will be entitled to electricity at ₹1.5 less than the normal rate per unit.

Also, the surplus power generated, after consumption at the house, will be transferred to the grid and paid for by the department. The revenue generated from the sale of electricity to the department will be shared by RESCO and consumer.

JERC nod awaited

With the UT electricity department already on board, and only a formal nod of the joint electricity regulatory commissioner (JERC) awaited, the RESCO model will soon be made effective in the city, said Debendra Dalai, director, Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST).

CREST had proposed the RESCO model last year after the subsidy scheme failed to motivate people to install solar plants. After the administration’s nod, it had submitted the RESCO model for JERC’s clearance.

It had also prepared the model agreement - Quadripartite Agreement (QPA) – to be signed by the RESCO, consumer, CREST and the electricity department. The agreement, which will define the power tariff for consumers, functions and responsibilities of RESCO, costs involved, and role of CREST and electricity department, is to be approved by JERC.

“During the bidding process for a firm to be designated as RESCO, the company that will quote the minimum built-operate-transfer (BOT) period, that is, after what time it would hand over the plant to the owner, will get the work,” said an official.

In its submission before JERC, the electricity department has agreed to RESCO model, the terms and conditions under quadripartite agreement, except a provision relating to banking of power.

CREST and the electricity department has submitted that after resolving the issue of banking of power, they will submit initialised QPA to the commission for its consideration within a week.

City aims to generate 75MW solar power by Aug 2023

The Ministry of new and renewable energy had enhanced the city’s solar power generation target from 69MW to be achieved by 2022 to 75MW to be met by August 15, 2023. UT has so far achieved a generation of around 47MW.

The UT administration, in a notification issued on May 18, 2016, had made installation of rooftop solar power plants mandatory in residential units measuring 500 sq yd and above and group housing societies. However, even after announcement of subsidy scheme for the rooftop solar units, the response from the household still remained low because of several bureaucratic bottlenecks.

“In housing societies too, the plants can be installed provided they have internal agreement as to the rights of the rooftop. They can share the electricity generated among members of the cooperatives, the residents in the society as per pre-decided terms and conditions or for communal facilities,” said the official.