BHUBANESWAR : The Tata Power-managed four power distribution companies (discoms) on Monday rolled out the one-kilowatt rooftop solar (RTS) scheme under utility-led aggregation (ULA) model of PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
The ULA model, a first-of-its-kind in the country, will enable domestic consumers with one-kilowatt contract demand to adopt rooftop solar at a substantially reduced upfront cost, making renewable energy accessible to middle-class and low-income households.
“Setting up a 1 kW solar system typically requires an investment of Rs 65,000 to Rs 75,000. Under the ULA model, consumers are required to make a one-time payment of Rs 5,000 and the bulk of the cost is met through central and state subsidies, aggregated and facilitated by Tata Power-led discoms,” said Gajanan S Kale, head of the company’s Odisha distribution business.
He said the central and state governments are providing a subsidy of Rs 55,000 (Rs 30,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively) for a one-kilowatt rooftop solar system. The beneficiary of the scheme will bear the cost of the solar generation meter while the discoms will provide the net meter.
Kale, also the CEO of TPNODL, said, “This initiative has been designed to benefit households who aspire to embrace solar energy but find the upfront cost prohibitive. With a 1 kW rooftop solar system, households can generate around 100 units of electricity per month, leading to average annual savings of nearly Rs 5,000. This will also support the state’s renewable energy ambitions.”
The scheme will benefit around 85 per cent of the power consumers whose monthly consumption is 100 units or less. The consumers are required to just provide a consent form and make the one-time contribution. After inspection by discoms, the subsidy amount will be released within 48 hours, he said.
Tata Power will ensure end-to-end execution including installation, quality assurance and after-sales service. The company will also provide a five-year warranty on system components and 25 years on the solar panels, he added.
The state has set a target to instal rooftop solar system on three lakh households under PM Surya Ghar. The state has so far received 1,32,450 applications out of which 53,543 have selected vendors and RTS have been installed on 12,790 households. The PM Surya Ghar scheme, launched on February 13 last year has an implementation period up to March 31, 2027.
TPCODL CEO Arvind Singh, TPSODL CEO Amit Garg and TPWODL CEO Praveen Kumar Verma were also present.