Panaji: Consumers keen to adopt green energy but, worried about their applications getting stuck in bureaucratic procedures, will soon be able to lay those apprehensions to rest.
A single window clearance portal for grid connected rooftop solar installations has been developed for consumers in Goa by EU-India technical cooperation energy project in coordination with the Asian Development Bank technical assistance programme. The project has been supervised and supported by the ministry of new and renewable energy and Goa energy development agency (GEDA).
A round of training has already been conducted for the staff of the power department on the workings of the online platform that will handle applications and the approval process. Additional training sessions will also be conducted in future.
Once launched, the platform will eliminate the need for consumers to coordinate with the two stakeholders — the electricity department and the Goa energy development agency (GEDA). All they will have to do is log onto the portal and key in details like their address, email id and mobile number after which they will be contacted on email and SMS, and guided through the process.
This is expected to simplify the otherwise tedious procedure and reduce the level of communication between the consumer, the GEDA, the power department and even between various divisions within the department. Instead of going from the circle office to the division office and then to the subdivision office, the application will directly reach the concern subdivision in-charge, who will either approve it or provide feedback on it, while the higher-ups will be able to monitor the process through the portal. A list of empaneled installers will also be a click away for consumers on the portal.
“It was chaos for consumers waiting for the file to move. We tried to reduce the communication time and make the process easier for them. It has been specially designed for Goa, with certain processes being standardized keeping in mind the national framework,” an official said.
Such a portal is necessary, believes Nigel Coelho who recently had to make multiple trips to the power department’s meter and relay testing division in Margao, the head office in Panaji, the subdivision office in Taleigao as well as the GEDA office, to set up a grid connected rooftop solar installation in Dona Paula.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
