On Republic Day (R-Day), Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL) escalated its efforts in adopting solar energy within its areas of operation, which is in line with national sustainable targets on renewable power generation.
The district-wide rooftop solar initiative is set to operate through two funding methods, namely tax benefits and grant incentives.The district-wide rooftop solar project will be implemented in two ways of financing, that is, tax incentive and grant incentive.
Under the programme, APSPDCL engaged in awareness campaigns and field campaign in six districts; Tirupati, Chittoor, Annamayya, SPSR Nellore, Kadapa, and Kurnool. The utility pointed out the advantages of the rooftop solar systems to domestic, commercial, and institutional consumers. According to the officials, APSPDCL has already enabled a total of more than 2.1 lakh rooftop solar connections, and the total capacity of these connections is approximately 750 MW under different schemes of the state and central government.
Focus on PM Surya Ghar Scheme
One of the central topics of the R-Day campaign was the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, according to which families can install rooftop solar systems with the capacity of 1 kW to 3 kW. According to the officials of APSPDCL, the annual savings that consumers of electricity can make are up to 15000 -18000, and the subsidies that consumers of electricity will gain are up to 78,000 per household, based on the size of the system.
Targets and Future Plans
APSPDCL expect to install around 500Mw of new rooftop solar power within the current financial year. The utility has established a target of being able to onboard at least 1 lakh new solar consumers by March, which will be in favor of the overall renewable energy roadmap of Andhra Pradesh. There were also special help desks that were established during the Republic Day to assist the consumers during registration of the consumers, the selection of the vendors, and the processing of the subsidies.
The United States is dedicated to undertaking clean energy transition.
According to the senior APSPDCL officials, the Republic Day push solar is an indicator of the states willingness to lower carbon emissions and enhance energy security. Andhra Pradesh is aiming to generate a large portion of its power through renewable sources and thus rooftop solar is being placed as one of the crucial pillars in the decentralised and affordable development of clean energy.
