Solar power may light up houses in remote areas

MANDI: The state government is mulling illuminating Dalit households in the remote rural areas from solar energy.

The state government is mulling illuminating Dalit households in the remote rural areas from solar energy. It has also earmarked a budget of Rs 1 crore to execute the project.

This was stated by Ashutosh Garg, Chief Executive Officer, HIMURJA, the state’s energy development agency, while taking to The Tribune here on Monday.

He said the state government was encouraging people to install rooftop solar panels to meet the demand of electricity for domestic use. Extra power could be sold to the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board (HPSEB).

“A subsidy of 80 per cent (70 per cent by the Centre and 10 per cent by the state) is being provided to install rooftop solar panels for domestic use,” he said, adding that there was no such subsidy for commercial users.

Power Minister Anil Sharma said solar street lights would be installed at villages in the coming days.

“The state government is committed to providing access to electricity to all in the rural areas. The HPSEB has decided not to charge any money for providing power lines to meters of consumers, though it will put an extra burden of Rs 300 crore on the HPSEB,” he remarked.

The minister said unemployed youth could set up their own ventures by establishing solar panels for commercial use, provided they had their private land.

He said HIMURJA would soon launch a portal for the online submission of applications for rooftop solar panels.

According to information, 150 persons across the state have so far set up rooftop solar panels to generate energy.

Source: The Tribune