In Short – The implementation of the Prime Minister’s solar scheme in Tamil Nadu is encountering delays, causing a slowdown in its progress. Despite initial plans, unforeseen challenges have arisen, prolonging the time frame for completion. Authorities are working to address the issues promptly to ensure the successful execution of the scheme and its benefits to the region.
In Details – PM’s rooftop solar scheme aims to cover one crore households across the country within a year, providing up to 300 units of free electricity monthly. The Prime Minsiter’s rooftop solar scheme is faced with delays in Tamil Nadu. Of the 40,000 registered for the scheme in the state, only 5% have received their panels. The PM’s rooftop solar scheme, announced by the Union government in this year’s budget, aims to cover one crore households across the country within a year, providing up to 300 units of free electricity monthly. TNIE had earlier reported that Tangedco is pursuing an ambitious target of covering 25 lakh households within a year, following a letter sent in this regard by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
A senior official told TNIE, “Despite having nearly 40,000 registrations on the union government’s online portal, only 5% of people have received their panels in Tamil Nadu. Though hundreds of vendors are using solar panels in Chennai and Coimbatore, the numbers are very low in other districts. Tangedco has initiated measures to bolster the number of vendors using solar energy across the state.” Another official said that as elections are under way, field officials were orally instructed to temporarily halt the process of spreading awareness about the scheme, which is associated with the Union government. “Considering Tangedco’s financial strain and increasing power demands, measures should be expedited to implement rooftop solar projects and mitigate power procurement costs,” officials suggested. If Tangedco had connected 50,000 consumers to the grid through solar panels, it could have procured two lakh units of electricity per day at `2 per unit (assuming a household generates four units of power daily with an installed capacity of 1 Kw), slightly alleviating the burden of purchasing power at `10 per unit from private players during the summer.
