Chandigarh, June 24 (Ozi news desk): The Punjab Government’s decision to provide free power to the agriculture sector and 300 units of free power to domestic consumers has had a negative impact on the adoption of solar power generation. As a result, there has been a decline in the number of domestic consumers opting for rooftop solar power generation.
Additionally, there is no demand for solar power generation for running agriculture pumpsets, as power to the farm sector is also provided for free. This is significant because approximately 24 percent of the total power generated is consumed by 14 lakh agriculture pumpset consumers, who use power during peak load hours in the day.
The availability of 300 units of free power every month, or 600 units in a billing cycle, has made domestic consumers reluctant to invest in the installation of on-grid rooftop solar systems, which typically cost around Rs 1.5-Rs 2 lakh. This reluctance has been observed since the introduction of free power for domestic consumers in July 2022.
