Dr Asangba Tzudir
The Government of Nagaland has launched the rooftop solar mission under PM – Surya Ghar scheme. Further it has announced that it will provide an additional subsidy of up to Rs. 50,000 for rooftop solar installations up to 3 kilowatts (KW) supplementing the central subsidy available under the PMSG: MBY Scheme (Prime Minister Surya Ghar : Muft Bijli Yojana). It is aimed at cutting household electricity expenses significantly by up to 300 units per month, with additional income from surplus power. The Power department has also informed that, 247 Applications have been received online to avail of the rooftop solar installation scheme.
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved by the Government of India on 29th February, 2024 to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and is to be implemented till Financial the Year 2026-27. The scheme will be implemented by a National programme Implementation Agency (NPIA) at the National level and by the State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) at the state level. The Distribution Utility (DISCOMs or Power/Energy Departments, as the case may be) shall be the State Implementation Agencies (SIA) at the State/UT level. Under the scheme, the DISCOMs shall be required to put in place several facilitative measures for promotion of rooftop solar in their respective areas such as availability of net meters, timely inspection and commissioning of installations, vendor registration and management, interdepartmental convergence for solarizing government building etc.
The scheme provides for a subsidy of 60% of the solar unit cost for systems up to 2kW capacity and 40 percent of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3kW capacity. The subsidy has been capped at 3kW capacity. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3kW systems or higher.
There are certain eligibility criteria where the applicant must be an Indian citizen; must own a house with a roof that is suitable for installing solar panels; the household should have a valid electricity connection, and the household must not have availed for any other subsidy for solar panels.
Now with the central and state subsidy 1 Kilowatt rooftop solar system will only have a net cost of 2000/- for the household with a household generation of 120-150 Units (kwh) which is good to provide basic lighting and ceiling fans and devices charging; For 2 Kw Rooftop solar system the net cost to the household will be Rs. 34,000 which will give a monthly generation of 240-300 units (kwh) which can additionally power Television and refrigerator. For 3Kw rooftop solar system the net cost to the household will be Rs. 64,200/- and which will give an estimated monthly generation of 360-450 units (kwh) and this can, in addition, be able to rum washing machine and small water pumps.
Now, beyond the central and state subsidies, the process of registration and subsequent installation, it is the current electricity situation in Nagaland that is depressing and also alarming in the context of this year’s hot summer as predicted by IMD, and this rooftop solar system should be seen as a saving grace to revive Nagaland out of the present electricity deficit and dependency syndrome. The status of electricity demand in the State in September 2024 reached 211 MW and only 69% of the demand could be met. And considering the electricity dependency syndrome, the launching of the rooftop solar mission through an additional state subsidy is very encouraging because a pathway has been opened up to really harness solar energy into electrical energy and which is going to greatly contribute to alleviating electricity shortages that have been plaguing the state for years. And since the scheme is going to be implemented till the financial year 2026-2027, the next two years are very crucial in the implementation of this rooftop solar mission, and also for Nagaland to tackle the issue of electricity. To this end, relevant information needs to be widely circulated as an important means of reaching out to the masses.
(Dr Asangba Tzudir writes a weekly guest editorial for The Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
