More Delhi schools, colleges switch to solar net metering

Educational institutions in Delhi are switching to net metering in a big way, with over 500 schools and colleges installing rooftop solar panels to save energy and money, a power utility BSES spokesperson said. The BSES Solar City initiative is promising to be a game-changer. Besides promoting adoption of solar panels, the initiative is a win-win proposition for both the consumers and discom, he said.

"The BSES discoms (BYPL and BRPL) have energised over 1,800 rooftop solar net metering connections with a sanctioned load of 65 MW. Around 500 of these connections are with the educational institutions," he said.

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Leading schools and educational institutes, including those operated by the municipal cooperation of Delhi, have opted for net metering connections from BSES with a total sanctioned load of over 20,400 KW. A normal educational institute functions for around 230 days in a year, while the generation of solar power is for 310-320 days . The excess generation of around 80-90 days is exported to the discom and the amount adjusted in the bills at end of the year.   

Jamia Milia Islamia, Don Bosco Technical School, Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, Vasant Valley, DPS Mathura Road, Tagore International and DAV Public School are some of the institutions where solar net metering has been under use, the spokesperson said.

"Though the monthly and annual saving will vary from consumer to consumer depending on their solar capacity and hours of usage, their annual energy saving potential is around 30 per cent," he said.

Rooftop solar net metering is an ideal method to reduce electricity bills. Essentially, educational institutions save around Rs 7,000 per KW  every year, he said. Connected load of an educational institute varies as low as 10 KW to over 1,800 KW, average being around 100 KW. Discoms pay consumers for the surplus energy generated over and above their own consumption according to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) guidelines.  This credit is passed on at the end of the financial year at the rate of average power purchase cost prevailing at that time. 

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