Atishi directs officials to disburse solar subsidies within a month

Chief Minister Atishi has issued directions to disburse subsidies for the installation of rooftop solar panels, under the Delhi Solar Policy, to customers within a month. She issued the directive during a review meeting to assess the progress of the Delhi Solar Policy on Tuesday.

She asked the officials present during the meeting for clear directives for speeding up the implementation of the policy’s subsidy distribution process. “Subsidies under the Delhi Solar Policy should be disbursed within a month to consumers who install rooftop solar panels,” the CM said.

Senior officials from the Power Department and representatives from Delhi’s three electricity distribution companies attended the review meeting.

Atishi further directed these officials to ensure that the official guidelines for the distribution of subsidies were released within a week.

Under the policy, consumers get subsidies for each unit of electricity generated by the rooftop solar panels. Besides, the scheme states that consumers who generate excess electricity will have the corresponding subsidy amount transferred directly to their bank accounts. “Excess electricity generated by consumers will lead to subsidy transfer to their bank accounts within a week,” said Atishi.

The Delhi Government has set a target to source 20 per cent of the city’s electricity from solar energy by 2027.

“Our government aims to triple Delhi’s installed solar capacity from the current 1,500 MW to 4,500 MW by March 2027. By doing so, we hope to meet approximately 20 per cent of the city’s electricity needs through solar energy,” Atishi said.

She added that commercial and industrial consumers who install solar panels would see their electricity bills reduced by 50 per cent, and receive Re 1 per unit as a generation-based incentive for five years. The AAP has claimed that under the Delhi Solar Policy, individuals who install solar panels would see a drastic reduction in their bills, even if their consumption exceeds 400 units.

The policy also promises financial benefits for group housing societies and residential welfare associations (RWAs) with incentives of Rs 2 per unit for solar power generation.