Unpaid dues, slow approvals, bureaucratic hurdles plague rooftop solar program in Telangana

Telangana Solar Energy Association (TSEA) president B. Ashok Kumar Goud explained that when a new solar panel is installed on a residential building, the priority is to adjust any surplus energy generated against the following month's usage. After six months, the discom is required to compensate the customer for any remaining surplus units as per their agreement.

Hyderabad: Though the grid connected rooftop solar programme has been promoted as a source for additional income generation by the Centre, the scheme which is being promoted under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana implementation in Telangana is being affected by official apathy.

A large section of people who have installed rooftop solar panels on their residences are complaining that though they have opted to get payments for the additional solar power supplied to the grid they are not being paid in time.

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According to Telangana Solar Energy Association (TSEA) president B Ashok Kumar Goud, whenever a new solar panel was installed on a residential building the first priority was given to adjust the reserve unit with the next month’s usage and after six months, the discom had to pay for the buffer units, for which it entered an agreement with the customer.

A customer could earn Rs 4.50 per kW by selling the additional solar power, he said, adding that the TSEA had already asked the Discoms to automatically start paying the customers supplying additional solar power to the grid after six months so that they could get the benefit of installing solar panels.

“Paying the consumers for additional solar power will encourage people to go for rooftop solar panels. This will also help in increasing the power generation capacity of the State,”he said.

Even the commercial solar power generators are not so happy with the State run power utilities as it is not paying them regularly. Recently, Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) has imposed a penalty of Rs. 2.50 lakh on Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana (TGSPDCL) for failing to comply with a previous order mandating the settlement of unpaid energy bills and Late Payment Surcharges (LPS).

There are also complaints of delay in receiving the feasibility report, inspection report and installation of the net meter. People are complaining that the local Assistant Engineer knowingly delayed the process of installing solar panels on houses.

The people argue that on one hand the government claimed that it wanted to encourage installation of solar panels on all the residential buildings and on other the Discom officials were creating hurdles for the interested consumers by delaying the process. People are blaming authorities of the concerned government departments for hindering the success of the clean energy programme.