Tribune News Service
Dushyant Singh Pundir
Chandigarh, January 28
In a big push to generate green energy, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has given its approval to the installation of rooftop solar power plants on residential buildings free of cost.
About the project
- A third party (RESCO) will install solar power plant on consumer’s premises
- It will bear installation and commissioning costs of the system
- Power generated will be first supplied to and consumed by the house owner
- The excess power will be fed to the common grid
- RESCO will bear operation, maintenance cost during build, operate, transfer period
- After the completion of BOT period, plant will be transferred to consumer free of cost
- Thereafter, the consumer will bear the costs
Bids to be invited soon
- Bids will be invited soon from RESCOs for installing rooftop solar power plants on BOT model
- The bidding parameter will be the BOT period, instead of the tariff
- The entire process will be completed in two months
- Plants can be installed from the last week of March or from the first week of April
- CREST told to submit status report to JERC on completion three years of the project
City first to have such project
Chandigarh will be first in the country to introduce RESCO model of build, operate and transfer for houses. It will give a big boost to solar power generation in the city.Rs Debendra Dalai, CEO, CREST
House owners to get power at Rs 3.23 per unit
The owners will have to give space on the rooftop to the firm and they will get electricity at the rate of Rs 3.23 per unit during the BOT period. At present, domestic consumers have to pay Rs 2.75 per unit for 0-151 units, Rs 4.25 per unit for 151-400 units and Rs 4.65 per unit for consuming over 400 units.
The Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), which has been designated as an executing agency for renewable energy projects of the Department of Science and Technology, UT, had filed a petition before the JERC, seeking an approval for the installation of grid-connected rooftop (GCRT) power projects for domestic consumers by a third party under the Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.
Debendra Dalai, Chief Executive Officer, CREST, said the JERC had given approval to the implementation of the RESCO model. “Chandigarh will be the first in the country to introduce the RESCO model in residential houses. It will give a big boost to solar power generation in the city,” he said.
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