Delhi households with an average monthly electricity consumption of up to 400 units will be able to get rooftop solar systems of up to 3kW installed at zero upfront cost under the Delhi government’s amended solar policy announced on Tuesday.
The Centre’s subsidy under the PM Surya Ghar scheme will be supplemented by a Delhi government capital subsidy and an additional top-up to cover the difference between the subsidy and the tendered cost of the solar system. Chief minister Rekha Gupta said the government aims to install solar systems on 230,000 rooftops by March 2027 and add 500MW of rooftop solar capacity across the city. Announcing the second amendment to the Delhi Solar Energy Policy-2023, Gupta said the move was aimed at making rooftop solar accessible to ordinary households without requiring them to make an initial investment. For households consuming up to 200 units a month, the support will vary according to the size of the system. A 2kW system, estimated to cost around ₹ 1.30 lakh, will receive ₹ 60,000 as central subsidy, ₹ 52,000 from the Delhi government and an additional ₹ 18,000 top-up. The total support of ₹ 1.30 lakh would effectively cover the estimated cost of the system. The government said 10,073 solar systems had so far been installed in Delhi, with a substantial number on government buildings. It now aims to significantly scale up rooftop installations and add 500MW of capacity by March 2027.
Delhi power minister Ashish Sood said the cabinet decision would institutionalise the benefit of free electricity while enabling consumers to become electricity producers through rooftop solar. Gupta said the objective was to move Delhi beyond simply providing subsidised electricity and towards enabling households to generate their own power, in line with the Centre’s PM Surya Ghar initiative. The changes were approved at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
