The cabinet of ministers, some days ago, had approved a decision to give a grant amount of Rs 10,000 to each household in urban areas that agree to install solar panels. This was to give some relief to people bearing the brunt of 12 hours of power outage every day.
The sub-committee – which comprises board members of Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) – will conduct a study and determine effective ways to distribute the subsidy. It will also finalize a location or locations from where to start giving away the grant amount.
“We believe everything will be finalized by the end of this week,” a reliable source of AEPC told myrepublica.com. “We will then start distributing the subsidy.”
The government has set a target of installing solar panels in one million urban households that have access to power grids of Nepal Electricity Authority or any other electricity supplier. However, in the initial phase, it plans to cover 100,000 households.
As per the plan, the households applying for the grant amount would need to install a solar panel of at least 20 watts. It would have to come with an appropriate battery and charge controller, and would have to be able to light at least three bulbs and power a radio. A set such as the kind that the government has in mind costs around Rs 17,000.
However, those who are currently using inverters to light their houses would need to buy a solar panel of at least 50 watts—which costs around Rs 19,000—and a charge controller—which costs around Rs 1,000. All this equipment would need to be purchased from the 26 companies selected by the government to sell home solar systems. Even tenants – who are renting rooms or apartments – are eligible for the subsidy.
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