NDPL Promotes Consumer Initiated Solar Power Production Schemes

Very soon the consumers of Discom NDPL will get a possibility to give its consumers the choice of installing solar (Photo-Voltaic) panels on the rooftop. The Delhi govt. is ready to cover 40% of solar panels cost to overcome the power crisis. By now Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) is working on new tariff for the power generated in a new way and as soon as it is ready the project starts. Because of this move, in a few months, inhabitants of North Delhi will be able to generate their own electricity and even put it up for sale it to Discom, if they do not want to use it. This scheme is highly profitable as consumers not only will get reduced electricity bills, but will also have the choice to sell excess power or bank it with Discom for later use at night time. DERC has to establish the tariff for power generated by the consumer besides other. Such power systems can give from 1 KW up to a few MWs. Two different meters will count the electricity provided for the Grid and amount of electricity used by the consumer. The preliminary investment cost of Rs. 1.5 lakh is steep, and this may put off consumers. If each of twenty thousand consumers will produce 5 KW the energy production will reach 100 MW by the end of 2009. Discom and his partner, the company Tata BP Solar are staring a new 1 MW solar power plant.this project will be held to life in a small plot of land Keshavpuram. The plant is to be on by 31st December, 2009. The project complies with the climate change agenda for 2009-2012 and has received consent on behalf of the DERC. Two solar plants already work at Discom’s office and at the Rohini training center having cpapcities of 4 and 15 KW correspondingly. A new 25 KW solar plant will be installed at the DERC office. Each solar unit mounted on the rooftops needs only 200 square yards of space and its capacity is 1,400 units per year worth Rs. 7,500-8,000 for the end user. The consumer will pull through up to Rs. 8,000 p.a. though an investment of Rs. 1.5 lakh might be out of reach for the common man. The long-term advantage is that even if power costs were to rise, the consumer will still be receiving power at a rate of about Rs. 5 per unit until the installation cost is back.