India, Aug. 4 -- The Delhi government is preparing to overhaul its Solar Policy with a proposal that could drastically reduce the upfront cost of installing rooftop solar panels for households. Instead of releasing generation-based incentives over five years, the government plans to provide the benefit at the time of installation, a move aimed at accelerating solar adoption across the national capital. Power Minister Ashish Sood told Millennium Post that "the revised policy has been finalised by the department and will soon be placed before the Cabinet. The proposal seeks to address what the government considers the biggest obstacle preventing residents from switching to solar power, the high initial investment required to install rooftop systems." Also Read - Delhi to set up 'Arpan' centres at Metro stns for old clothes, recycling According to the minister, the revised framework will combine incentives available under the Centre and the Delhi government so that eligible households receive most of the financial support upfront. "The current subsidy model requires consumers to wait several years to receive the full benefit. We want to change that by extending the assistance at the beginning itself, bringing down the amount families need to invest," Sood said. He added that the subsidy package could cover nearly 90 per cent of the installation cost, leaving many households to contribute only a small portion, depending on the size of the system. "For a large number of homes, a 2-kW rooftop system is adequate to meet electricity needs. Under the proposed model, the consumer's financial contribution could come down to roughly Rs.15,000," he said. Also Read - Five rescued after fire breaks out in hotel's kitchen At present, residential consumers are eligible for financial assistance under both the Centre's PM Surya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana and the Delhi Solar Policy. While the Central scheme provides subsidies of up to Rs.78,000, the existing Delhi policy offers an additional capital subsidy of up to 30,000, taking the total available assistance to Rs.1.08 lakh for eligible applicants. The proposed policy also aims to significantly expand rooftop solar adoption. Sood said Delhi currently has around 500 MW of installed rooftop solar capacity and nearly 10,000 residential rooftop systems. The government now intends to achieve the Centre's target of installing around 2.30 lakh rooftop solar systems while setting annual capacity targets for the next five years. Also Read - SKA to protest at Jantar Mantar over sewer deaths, alleges underreporting of fatalities Consumers installing rooftop solar systems will continue to benefit from net metering, under which surplus electricity generated by the panels is supplied to the power grid. "Households will not only reduce their electricity bills but will also be compensated for excess electricity exported to the grid, with payments of around Rs.5 per unit," the minister said. Besides residential installations, the revised policy proposes expanding solar power generation on government buildings, including offices, with the aim of meeting a larger share of public sector electricity demand through renewable energy. Also Read - 41% turnout in MCD elections for Town Vending Committees The proposed changes build on recent measures taken by the Delhi government to simplify rooftop solar adoption. Last month, it launched the "Solarize East" campaign in partnership with BSES Yamuna Power Limited to help residents access subsidies, identify authorised vendors and complete installation and net-metering formalities. The initiative followed new regulations issued by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission that simplified the rooftop solar approval process by eliminating technical feasibility assessments for eligible systems of up to 10 kW and introducing faster online clearances.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.