Promise of ‘zero electricity bill’ fuels PM’s rooftop solar scheme rollout

Gujarat resident benefits from PM solar scheme, reduces electricity bill to zero with rooftop solar installation.

September 16 was a red-letter day for Jagshibhai Suthar, a resident of Gandhinagar in Gujarat. He had Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his rooftop admiring his newly installed solar installation.

“We have installed 3.24 kW (kilowatt) solar panels on the terrace and now our [electricity] bill has been reduced to zero. Additionally, I have received a credit of ₹248 in the bill,” he told The Hindu.

Mr. Suthar is a beneficiary of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSY), a ₹75,000 crore, Centre-led scheme to install at least one crore rooftop solar installations (RTS) across India. The scheme is the latest iteration of a push by governments for at least two decades to coax more households to install such RTS. Apart from encouraging use of fossil fuel-free electricity, more RTS means that fewer people are dependent on electricity distribution companies — which are in deep debt in many States — for their power needs.

The PMSY scheme provides for a subsidy of 60% of the solar unit cost for systems up to 2 kW capacity and 40% of additional system costs for systems between 2 kW and 3 kW capacity. The subsidy has been capped at 3 kW capacity. At current benchmark prices, this means a ₹30,000 subsidy for a 1 kW system, ₹60,000 for 2 kW systems, and ₹78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher.

As of August 2024, Gujarat leads the States in terms of installed rooftop solar capacity with 4,195 MW, followed by Maharashtra at 2,487 MW, and Rajasthan at 1,269 MW. The rest of the States all have installed capacity in the triple-digits, with a cumulative national capacity of 13,889 MW.

Beneficiaries of the scheme are now a strong support base of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a Union Minister said recently during a background briefing on the 100 days of the government.

There are no official estimates of the number of households with RTS in these States, but with average ratings of 3 kW or 5 kW per household the prime target of the PMSY, there are likely to be about 8 lakh to 13 lakh such households in Gujarat, 5 lakh to 8 lakh households in Maharashtra, and 4 lakh to 2.5 lakh households in Rajasthan.