Photo voltaic rooftop crops can show win-win for energy discoms to curb AT&C losses

Srinagar, Dec 1: In a transformative transfer, the introduction of rooftop photo voltaic crops in Kashmir is poised to reshape the area’s vitality dynamics, providing substantial monetary financial savings for energy distribution firms.

Officers mentioned that Kashmir Energy Improvement Company Restricted (KPDCL) and Jammu Energy Improvement Company Restricted (JPDCL) can profit by motivating low-paying shoppers to put in rooftop photo voltaic crops, assuaging technical, monetary, and operational burdens.

“The adoption of rooftop photo voltaic can show advantageous in decreasing industrial losses, significantly amongst non-metered shoppers and non-obligated classes,” they mentioned. “As energy circulate by means of the distribution community diminishes, congestion and loading lower, assuaging the general community burden. This, in flip, permits distribution firms (discoms) to defer capital expenditure, extending the lifespan of infrastructure and decreasing operational prices.”

Furthermore, rooftop photo voltaic facilitates optimised energy procurement scheduling, diminished energy buy prices, and delayed community augmentation bills for discoms.

Substantial financial savings come up from the offsetting of subsidies to shoppers for energy injected from photo voltaic rooftops inside their premises.

In accordance with the Joint Electrical energy Regulatory Fee (JERC), discoms presently procure electrical energy at a median value of Rs 7.23 per unit.

Contemplating a median fee charged to non-government shoppers of Rs 4, the businesses present a subsidy of Rs 3.23 per unit.

The introduction of photo voltaic rooftop crops inside shopper premises curtails transmission and distribution losses, thereby decreasing the quantum of subsidy.

Business analysts predict that the discoms are poised to attain a minimal annual saving of Rs 65 lakh with a 1 MW photo voltaic rooftop capability, attributed to subsidies and reductions in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses.

This 1 MW photo voltaic set up is anticipated to provide roughly 130,000 items of electrical energy at a fee of 130 items per kilowatt per thirty days.

Given the present 58 % AT&C losses, discoms can be required to acquire 205,400 items to satisfy the demand for 130,000 items at shopper premises.

Even with the profitable implementation of reforms decreasing AT&C losses to an optimum 20 %, discoms would nonetheless want to acquire 162,500 items for supplying the required 130,000 items of electrical energy to the shoppers.

The income loss for the 130,000 items injected inside shopper premises can be transformed right into a month-to-month saving of Rs 4,19,900 in subsidies at Rs 3.23 per unit, together with a saving of Rs 1,21,800 on 20 % of T&D losses.

Specialists mentioned that over 25 years of the life span of photo voltaic crops, discoms would make a saving of Rs 16.20 crore on present charges.