Madhya Pradesh has achieved spectacular bid results with its innovative Solar Rooftop RESCO programme. This has laid down path for fast track adoption of solar rooftops in the country. Solar rooftop sector has been struggling with issues like significant upfront cost for individual consumers and lack of enabling framework for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to develop scalable business model.
While talking to media persons here on Tuesday, Principal Secretary of New and Renewable Energy department Manu Shrivastava told that the bid results for 35 MWp Solar Rooftop tender are testimony to numerous policy, contractual and procedural innovations deployed in the RESCO programme to find solutions to these gaps. The RESCO tender attracted 31 International and domestic bidders, who oversubscribed its more than 35 MWp rooftop tender capacity by more than 630 per cent.
Amongst all State Government buildings, the lowest rate is for municipal bodies, which would get power at Rs 1.69 per unit. Tariff of Rs 1.74 per unit has been discovered for medical colleges, which is about one fourth of what they are presently paying. PowerGrid, a Central Government PSU, was also a beneficiary in the tender and has got a rate of Rs 1.58 per unit, which is the lowest in country so far. Police establishments all over the State would enjoy power at Rs.2.33per unit. All government engineering colleges, ITIs and polytechnics would get power at Rs.2.35 per unit. The lowest rate amongst private institutions has been Rs 2.28per unit.
RESCO model facilitates the beneficiary consumer to enjoy solar power with zero upfront investment and at rates much below the prevailing DISCOM rates. The beneficiary consumer pays for the electricity as it is generated by the selected contractor, who undertakes design, supply and installation, along with comprehensive Operation & Maintenance for 25 years. The selection of the Contractor is made on the basis of the lowest tariff offered in transparent electronic bidding.
Under this tender, 291 government colleges across the State would have a total of 5399 kW of solar systems set up, ranging from a 80 kW system in Motilal Vigyan Adarsh Mahavidyalya, Bhopal to a 10 kW system in Government College in Deosar town of Singrauli district, a good 675 km away from Bhopal adjacent to Sonbhadra district in UP, and a 15kW system in Govt Mahaveer College in Petlavad town in Jhabua, 211 km away from Bhopal adjoining Gujarat. These Government colleges would have to make no capital investment at all and would get solar power at Rs 2.21 per unit, which is one fourth of their present rate. This would lead to first year saving of Rs 3.95 crore to government colleges of the State, which can be used to improve their educational infrastructure.
Similarly, Government universities in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Rewa, Ujjain and Sagar, as also Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya at Bhopal,Agriculture University in Jabalpur, Ambedkar University of Social Science in Indore, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak and Sanskrit University in Ujjain, would have a total of 4000 kW systems with solar power at only Rs 1.91per unit with a first year saving of Rs 2.31 crore.