'Solar' shutdown on Thursday against draft Kerala Solar Energy Policy

Thiruvananthapuram, July 2 (IANS An organisation of investors in the solar sector has termed the new draft solar energy policy issued by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission "impractical" and set to adversely affect the state's power sector.

This has come at a time when the state is progressing towards energy self-sufficiency and net-zero carbon goals and the draft policy's recommendations threaten to derail these achievements, the Masters Association, a Ministry-approved solar traders body, said, adding that this will also negatively impact central schemes like PM Surya Ghar: Mufti Bijli Yojana.

This protest comes at a time with only less than 1.5 per cent of the Kerala State Electricity Board’s 1.41 crore consumers use solar plants, and the Association suggested that restrictive proposals should only be discussed after at least 10 per cent of consumers switch to solar energy.

As a protest against the proposals in the policy, the Association is organising a "Solar Bandh" (shutdown) on Thursday, when all companies operating in solar plant construction, marketing, installation, and service sectors in Kerala will shut down.

To highlight their demands, the protesters will stage a march, and a dharna (sit-in) will be held in front of the Electricity Regulatory Commission office, here.

The association is demanding that before implementing the policy, physical hearings be conducted in each constituency with the participation of public representatives besides extending the return on investment period for solar projects, ensuring the support of a unified national level solar policy for projects like Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar, and net metering policies for plants up to 1000 kilowatts be continued without change.

Apart from that, they also demanded that, considering Kerala's unique climatic conditions, banking and settlement options be made mandatory.

They further said the draft policy includes several impractical suggestions, such as limiting net metering to plants below 3 kilowatts, mandating 30 per cent battery storage for systems above 5 kilowatts, charging an additional Re 1 per unit as grid support charge, and ending the practice of carrying forward excess electricity to the next month.

Another lacuna in the draft is that it proposes stringent restrictions on issues like transformer capacity, and it warned that if these suggestions are implemented, electricity prices will surge, and both the public and industrial sectors will be adversely affected.

--IANS

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