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Going solar, Corporation saves Rs 10 lakh
The Greater Chennai Corporation, which had started installing solar panels in their zonal and other offices since 2015, have saved Rs 10 lakhs on their electricity requirements.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
This comes as a huge motivation, as the civic body is extending this programme to an additional 1,374 buildings under the Smart City funding. A senior Corporation official said that this practice started in 2015, as a pilot project, to search for a sustainable energy solution.
“Since we started, 60 Corporation buildings have 174 Kilowatt of solar panels installed. The savings, till now, have been Rs 10 lakhs,” said the official.
Spurred by its success, the proposal to install 5.6 MW solar panels was cleared under the Chennai Smart City Limited initiative for 1,374 Corporation buildings at an approximate cost of Rs 43 crores. According to the official, Tangedco’s net metering system allows the extra power generated to flow into the grid, which will be discounted from electricity tariff, used when solar power generation is insufficient.
However, Tangedco has sent a proposal to Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to severely slash the net metering system, which will in turn, reduce the economic benefits.
Vishnu Rao, solar policy expert from Citizen consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), said, “Tangedco’s current net metering system doesn’t involve cash transaction, as it is based on a system of power credits, which is deducted from the electricity bill. However, the proposal states that Tangedco will pay only half of the tender bid price for procuring solar energy from a private supplier.”
“For instance, if Tangedco procures 1,000 MW of solar power from a private agency at a quoted price of Rs 2 per unit, it will pay Rs 1 per unit for the residential generation. This move will hurt the economics of the solar business and is not feasible as it compares solar power plant generation to that of a residential unit,” he added.
SMART MOVE
- 60 Corporation office buildings have installed solar panel (174KW) since 2015
- Corporation saved Rs 10 lakhs since 2015
- Under the Smart City initiative, 1,374 Corporation buildings will be taken up at Rs 43 crores
- Tangedco’s present net metering system works on solar credits
- Metering policy change has been proposed for 50% payment on the tender for solar procurement
- If the policy changes, the future of solar power will be affected as the savings come down
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