Ghatkopar society saves 100% in power bills

An 11-storey apartment complex in Ghatkopar (East) has been using solar energy to power the electricity requirement of its common areas since March, which has brought

An 11-storey apartment complex in Ghatkopar (East) has been using solar energy to power the electricity requirement of its common areas since March, which has brought down their power bills to zero.

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Before installing the power plant, Raji Cooperative Housing Society (CHS) used to incur an average expense of ₹26,000 per month in their electricity bills. However, after they installed a rooftop solar-powered system in March, they are only now paying the basic meter charges, which is ₹600 (fixed cost) .

On March 14, the society installed the photovoltaic plant with 68 panels across 2,200 sq ft rooftop area with a capacity of 22.1 kilo-watt power (kWp) for lights across all the common areas including the lobby, staircases, streetlights, lifts as well as for the water pumps. Since then, the power bills have come down drastically in eight months, reveal the bills shared by the residents. In January, Raji CHS incurred a monthly bill of ₹26,818, while in February, the society paid ₹25,794. Four months after the installation, the bill dropped to ₹1,220 in July. From August, the society has been incurring a mere ₹600 (fixed metre cost).

“As solar energy has enormous benefits, we knew adopting it was the right choice. After consultation with experts, we realised that there was ample space for this plant, which now entirely covers our electricity requirements,” said Rohit Modi, society member.

The society spent ₹12.5 lakh for the installation of the project and obtained ₹2.95 lakh covered under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) subsidy scheme for solar projects. The scheme, however, ended in May, following which the Centre issued a new set of guidelines with revised norms for availing the subsidy benefits for rooftop solar projects.

Animesh Manek, founder and managing director of Avishakti Rooftop, which installed the project, said that the entire cost of the project is likely to be recovered by 2022.

“The residential complex consumes 28,500 units on an average every month. The solar plant now helps generate an average of 31,000 units leading to surplus electricity. Thus, the society is expected to save ₹4.24 lakh annually in electricity expenses,” said Manek.