Mumbai: Under the Prime Minister’s Free Electricity Scheme, which allows free electricity by setting up rooftop solar power projects, MSEDCL will now provide customers with a free net meter. This will enable customers to get updated information on electricity generation and consumption in their homes through a mobile app.
“This benefit is being provided to customers based on the suggestion of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis,” said MSEDCL managing director Lokesh Chandra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme to provide free electricity to domestic consumers using up to 300 units per month and to allow them to earn income by selling surplus electricity. Under this scheme, customers installing projects with a capacity of up to three kilowatts receive subsidies from the central govt.
To record the amount of electricity generated by the solar power project installed on the customer’s roof, the electricity consumed at home, and the surplus electricity sold to MSEDCL, a separate net meter is required. “Until now, customers had to bear this cost. Now, MSEDCL has decided to provide solar net meters to customers free of charge,” an official added.
Currently, 3.23 lakh customers have applied to MSEDCL to avail of the PM’s Free Electricity Scheme. All these customers will benefit from free solar net meters. As many as 83,074 customers in the state have installed rooftop solar power projects and benefited from the scheme. Their combined capacity is 315 MW, and they were approved for a subsidy of Rs 647 crore from the Centre.