Lag Seen In Surya Ghar Scheme Implementation; Call For Swift Action
The observation was made on Monday by APEPDCL CMD Prithviraj Immadi.

Visakhapatnam:Serious concern has been expressed over the slow rollout of the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in several urban areas of Visakhapatnam.
The observation was made on Monday by APEPDCL CMD Prithviraj Immadi. The identified areas of lag here included Siripuram, Seethammadhara, MVP Colony, Marripalem, Kancharapalem, NSTL, Madhuravada, Endada, Gopalapatnam, and Gajuwaka.
Despite significant potential, rooftop solar installations remain limited and common service areas in apartments are being overlooked.
To address these issues, the CMD chaired a strategic meeting at the Visakhapatnam circle office on Monday. It was attended by solar vendors, banks and EPDCL officials.
Prithviraj praised proactive participants and advised officials to conduct awareness drives in all wards and gram panchayats to encourage greater adoption of the scheme.
While consumer response has been encouraging, only 2,200 installations have been completed in relation to a population of over 183,000.
The CMD emphasised the need for virtual net metering, which allows energy generated from rooftops in one property to offset consumption in another. He also highlighted the importance of field-level assessments to expedite installations in high-potential urban areas.
To facilitate financing, he urged banks to promote collateral-free loans covering 90 per cent of project costs at a 7 per cent interest rate.
According to Prithviraj, subsidies under the scheme ranged from `30,000 for 1 kW systems to `78,000 for 3 kW systems and above. An additional `20,000 subsidy is available for BC category households.
Prithviraj noted that consumers stand to benefit from the significantly reduced electricity bills and the potential to earn money by selling surplus power back to the grid. Rooftop systems provide sustainable energy for two decades and contribute to environmental well-being.
For those unable to install systems in their apartments, there is the option to utilise alternative rooftops within the same division, using virtual metering to redirect energy to their residences.
The meeting included participation from the director of operations, Suryaprakash, CGM Sulekharani, SE Shyambabu, SBI lead manager Srinivas, APGVB regional manager Chiranjeevi, and various solar vendors, alongside stakeholders from the banking and energy sectors.