HMWSSB to install solar power rooftop plants

Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board will be setting up a combined capacity of 31.12 MW Solar Power Rooftop Power Plants at over 70 premises of the board

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) will be setting up a combined capacity of 31.12 MW Solar Power Rooftop Power Plants at over 70 premises of the board, including sewage treatment plants (STPs), pump houses and office buildings.

The Water Board will be implementing the project with the help of Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO). The Redco has been designated as the nodal implementing agency for the State under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) programme. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), an agency authorised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), would be overseeing the implementation of the solar rooftop power plants.

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According to Redco officials, the solar PV systems would be installed on vacant building rooftops of pump houses, reservoirs, sewage and waste treatment plants, and office buildings of HMWSSB and will be equipped with net metering. Currently, about 25 STPs plants are working the Greater Hyderabad limits and another 31 STPs are at various stages of construction and once completed solar panels would be installed on them too, the officials said.

According to sources, the Redco officials are working on finalising the details of the project. The HMWS&SB has been trying to implement the project for the last four years, but due to various reasons it got delayed. In fact, in 2019 March, Redco has floated a tender for implementation of 31.12 MW Grid Tide Solar Rooftop Power Plants for HMWS&SB, but it could not be finalised as the tender amount was too high, an official informed.

The Water Board is likely to save a lot of energy and power bills once the solar panels are installed. Through the proposed solar plant the water board would be saving over Rs 10 crore per annum on power bills, the sources added.