BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Centre has been pushing aggressively for wider adoption of rooftop solar power under the PM Surya Ghar scheme that aims to provide free electricity for 300 units to households every month, Odisha has emerged as one of the laggards with a poor application-to-installation conversion rate.
Sources said the installation rate in the state stood at merely seven per cent (pc) against the national average of 21 pc. Of around 1.21 lakh applications received under the scheme, only 8,596 installations have been completed so far.
The Odisha government had rolled out the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana last year for promoting residential solar rooftops at a negligible price or for free in response to the previous BJD government’s election promise of 100 units of free electricity to every household every month.
Although the state fares well in inspection timelines, loan uptake and vendor performance were found to be key bottlenecks. The inspection period for installation of solar panels was an average 12 days as compared to the national average of 23 days. There is a large gap between vendor selections and actual installations. Only 8,596 installations have been completed despite the selection of 48,883.
Officials attributed the shortage of solar panels and technicians for the delay in installations. Despite advance payment, there is a delay of around two months in delivery of solar panels. The availability of collateral-free loans notwithstanding, only 22 pc of the loan-based installations have been completed so far.
Under the scheme, consumers with an average monthly electricity consumption of 150 units are eligible for a system of one to two kilowatt with a central financial assistance (CFA) of Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 and state financial assistance (SFA) of Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000. For average monthly electricity consumption of 150 to 300 units and an installed capacity of two to three kilowatt, the CFA is up to Rs 78,000 and SFA up to Rs 60,000.
Sources said the issues were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja and attended by Union New and Renewable Energy secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi last month. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has granted in-principle approval for 1.5 lakh installations of rooftop solar in the first tranche under utility led aggregation model. Meanwhile, the chief secretary has directed the electricity distribution companies to expedite application-to-installation conversion rate and increase daily installation rate to match with the national average. Banks have also been asked to liberalise loan processing, sanction and not to insist on collaterals as provided in the scheme.