CHENNAI: In a move to promote renewable energy, the Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation (TNGEC) has announced it will waive the requirement of a technical feasibility report for rooftop solar installations up to 10 kilowatts. The decision, aimed at simplifying the process for consumers, was made public on Monday.
At present, rooftop installations above 3 kW require a technical feasibility report, which usually checks factors such as available space, roof structure, and grid connection infrastructure like power lines, transformers in the vicinity. It helps to decide if a project is possible from an engineering point of view and it normally takes at least two weeks to get it done.
However, TNGEC has now decided to waive this report up to 10 kw for solar installation and will directly start processing consumers’ applications. The field engineers concerned will usually take the feasibility report.
The move is expected to encourage more households to adopt solar energy by making it easier to install solar panels. The decision is in line with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission’s guidelines, which focus on boosting the use of clean energy across the state.
A senior official from TNGEC told TNIE, “Under the Prime Minister’s Solar Rooftop Scheme, we are targeting 25 lakh consumers within the financial year. To attract more consumers, we decided to waive the feasibility report for installations up to 10 kW.”
The scheme offers a government subsidy of up to Rs 78,000 for solar systems with a capacity of 3 kW or more. In addition, TNGEC has directed superintending engineers to conduct door-to-door campaigns across districts to increase consumer participation in the solar scheme.
Highlighting the importance of expanding rooftop solar installations, another official explained, “The corporation’s debt is steadily rising and currently stands at Rs 1.5 lakh crore. When power demand peaks, we are forced to buy electricity at higher rates due to insufficient local power generation. Promoting rooftop solar systems will help reduce power purchases and make consumers self-reliant.”
TNPDC to hike additional charges for open-access consumers in state
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation (TNPDC) has filed a petition with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to increase the additional surcharge for open-access consumers, predominantly industries, sourcing power from exchanges and third party sources.
TNPDC has proposed to hike the additional surcharges to Rs 1.06 per unit, which is 3.7 times more than the present Rs 0.29 per unit for the period from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. TNPDC is also collecting Rs 1.92 per unit from open access consumers as cross subsidy. As of now, TNPDC has nearly 5,000 open-access consumers.
Industry sources said TNPDC collects these charges for using their network to supply the power bought from exchanges or third-party sources based on the assurance that the supply will be uninterrupted. However, they alleged scheduled and unscheduled load shedding has become a common affair off late.