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Solar Projects A Ray Of Hope To Curb Electricity Budgets
Pune: When Park Royale, a housing society with 433 flats in Wakad, first installed a solar project seven years ago, the pilot phase yielded promising results. Encouraged, they scaled up the total capacity to
172.5-kW and today, their annual electricity expenses for common amenities in the complex have dropped from Rs62 lakh to just Rs13.5 lakh — almost a fifth of costs — thanks to the switch to solar.
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This reduced expenditure even includes the Rs7 lakh used for operating their society's sewage treatment plant (STP), which now runs on a green meter (providing subsidized govt charges for power).
Society chairman Manoj Shinkar told TOI, "Initially, we had installed a 30-kW solar plant in 2018, and the investment was recovered in just two years as we also received govt subsidy on it. Encouraged by the savings, we expanded the project gradually in four different phases and reached 172.5-kW by 2023."
Park Royale is one of the housing societies in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad that are choosing to significantly cut down on electricity costs by switching to solar power.
By installing rooftop solar systems, many societies have managed to power all their common area facilities—lifts, water pumps, and lighting—entirely through solar energy.
Members of such societies say the move has led to substantial savings, amounting to lakhs of rupees annually, allowing them to reduce monthly maintenance charges for residents.
Shinkar echoed that the benefits get passed on to flat owners. "Earlier, we charged Rs3 per sqft as maintenance. This has reduced to Rs2.5 per sqft—one of the lowest maintenance charges by any housing society in Wakad and nearby areas," he said.
The entire solar setup cost the society Rs95 lakh by 2023, and the agency will handle maintenance for the next five years after each installation at no extra cost as per the agreement.
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With money saved on power bills, the society has also invested in other infrastructure upgrades, including a Rs15 lakh waste composting plant. Additionally, all common areas are now equipped with energy-efficient LED lighting to further reduce power consumption.
Another such example is the La Melosa Housing Society — also in Wakad — which has 234 flats. The society installed a 76-kW solar system in March this year.
Society chairman Jasbir Singh said, "Over the last two months, our common electricity bill dropped from an average of Rs2-Rs2.4 lakh per month to just Rs3,500 per month. The difference is staggering."
Singh said the installation agency estimated annual savings of Rs18 lakh, considering that power generation from solar systems usually reduces during the monsoon season and one may need to pay more towards electricity bills during that period."We
spent Rs35 lakh on the project after receiving govt subsidy and expect to recover this cost in two years," he added.
The society financed the project internally and plans to reduce the monthly maintenance fee once the investment is recovered.
"For any housing society, electricity and water are the major expenses covered under maintenance. If we manage these efficiently, the overall cost for residents can be brought down significantly.
That's why every society should consider installing solar systems," Singh said.
Besides large complexes, many smaller residential establishments are also adopting solar energy, such as the Bhagyashree Apartments in Pune's Kothrud.
The 10-flat residential building was recently recognized and felicitated by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) as the first fully solar-powered residential apartment in the entire district.
The society had initially installed an 11-kW solar system two years ago to power common amenities. Encouraged by the savings and efficiency, residents decided to extend solar power usage to all individual flats. Accordingly, in Jan this year, they added another 19-kW system, including -1-kW system for four flats, 2-kW for three flats and 3-kW for the remaining three flats, making the entire building solar powered.
Mandar Deshmukh, a resident here, said, "Earlier, the monthly electricity bill for my individual flat was around Rs2,000. Since switching to solar, it has dropped to zero." The building now has a total of 30-kW rooftop solar capacity, which meets the entire electricity demand of all 10 flats and common areas, making it a model for sustainable residential living.
Solar agencies confirmed that they are getting increased inquiries from housing societies — but added that many hesitate to install it due to shortage of funds.
On average, it costs around Rs25 lakh to install a 50-kW solar project. "However, housing societies can also opt for OPEX (operating expense model), under which the third-party vendor owns, installs, operates and maintains the solar system, and the housing society only pays for their consumption, with fixed and reduced rates compared to normal electricity charges charged by MSEDCL," a solar agency operator said, adding that the vendor and societies make an agreement for a fixed period after which the complete set-up is given to the housing society for free.
The operator said, "If societies want to fund the project on their own, agencies also help them get a subsidy of Rs18,000 per kW from state govt."
There has been a surge in demand from residential properties for solar system installation in the last one-and-a-half years, particularly after govt launched the 'PM Surya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana', said SunGet Solar Infra owner Dipak Kotkar.
Under this scheme, consumers with individual flats or houses are provided financial assistance of Rs30,000 per kW project (which for society complexes is Rs18,000 per kW).
"We had to increase our manpower after this scheme was launched as it has received a very good response. There is a need to simplify the process so that more people can apply for it," Kotkar told TOI.
"For instance, the govt online portal keeps getting upgraded, so data of earlier applications is lost and needs to be constantly refilled. Further, there are no dedicated offline govt centres for troubleshooting glitches, only call centres," he elaborated.
Confirming the reaction to the scheme, Sunil Kakde, chief engineer of MSEDCL Pune zone, said, "There has been a good response to the PM Surya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana from housing societies as well as individual households. Residents are widely utilizing the scheme mainly to power common facilities, such as water pumps and lifts, using solar energy. Govt provides 18,000 per kW subsidy to projects at housing societies up to 500-kW capacity.
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