Solar rooftop plants can prove win-win for power discoms to curb AT&C losses

Srinagar, Dec 1: In a transformative move, the introduction of rooftop solar plants in Kashmir is poised to reshape the region’s energy dynamics, offering substantial financial savings for power distribution companies.

Officials said that Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) and Jammu Power Development Corporation Limited (JPDCL) can benefit by motivating low-paying consumers to install rooftop solar plants, alleviating technical, financial, and operational burdens.

“The adoption of rooftop solar can prove advantageous in reducing commercial losses, particularly among non-metered consumers and non-obligated categories,” they said. "As power flow through the distribution network diminishes, congestion and loading decrease, alleviating the overall network burden. This, in turn, enables distribution companies (discoms) to defer capital expenditure, extending the lifespan of infrastructure and reducing operational costs."

Moreover, rooftop solar facilitates optimised power procurement scheduling, diminished power purchase costs, and delayed network augmentation expenses for discoms.

Substantial savings arise from the offsetting of subsidies to consumers for power injected from solar rooftops within their premises.

According to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), discoms currently procure electricity at an average cost of Rs 7.23 per unit.

Considering an average rate charged to non-government consumers of Rs 4, the companies provide a subsidy of Rs 3.23 per unit.

The introduction of solar rooftop plants within consumer premises curtails transmission and distribution losses, thereby reducing the quantum of subsidy.

Industry analysts predict that the discoms are poised to achieve a minimum annual saving of Rs 65 lakh with a 1 MW solar rooftop capacity, attributed to subsidies and reductions in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses.

This 1 MW solar installation is anticipated to produce approximately 130,000 units of electricity at a rate of 130 units per kilowatt per month.

Given the current 58 percent AT&C losses, discoms would be required to procure 205,400 units to meet the demand for 130,000 units at consumer premises.

Even with the successful implementation of reforms reducing AT&C losses to an optimal 20 percent, discoms would still need to procure 162,500 units for supplying the required 130,000 units of electricity to the consumers.

The revenue loss for the 130,000 units injected within consumer premises would be converted into a monthly saving of Rs 4,19,900 in subsidies at Rs 3.23 per unit, along with a saving of Rs 1,21,800 on 20 percent of T&D losses.

Experts said that over 25 years of the life span of solar plants, discoms would make a saving of Rs 16.20 crore on current rates.