Government of India issues Operational Guidelines for Implementation of ‘Incentives to DISCOMs’ under PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana – EQ
In Short : The Government of India has issued operational guidelines for implementing ‘Incentives to DISCOMs’ under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. These guidelines aim to promote the scheme effectively, encouraging renewable energy adoption and providing free electricity to households.
In Detail : The Scheme Guidelines for implementation of ‘Incentives to DISCOMs’ under PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana have been notified by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 18th July 2024.
The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and is to be implemented till FY 2026-27. Under the scheme, DISCOMs are designated as State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) responsible for facilitating various measures including net meter availability, timely inspection, and commissioning of installations. The total financial outlay for the ‘Incentives to DISCOMs’ component is Rs 4,950 crore, subsuming the previous outlay under the Grid Connected Roof Top Solar (GCRT) Phase II programme.
DISCOMs will receive incentives based on their achievement in the installation of additional grid-connected rooftop solar capacity beyond a baseline level. It also has provision of indicative rewards system to recognize and motivate the field staff of DISCOMs. Specifically, the incentives are structured to reward DISCOMs with 5% of the applicable benchmark cost for achieving an additional capacity of 10% to 15% over the installed base and 10% for capacities beyond 15%. This progressive incentive mechanism aims to drive higher participation from DISCOMs and ensure robust growth in rooftop solar capacity.
Background:
PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved by the Government of India on 29th February 2024, with the aim to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity.
