A teacher living in Boulevard, Puducherry, installed solar in August 2024, influenced by the government initiative and neighbouring residences. She was hoping to earn money from it and reduce her electricity bill, but this turned out to be a horrifying event for her. Instead of receiving ₹6,722 as a credit, she received a bill of ₹98,139. She had to spend over a month in government offices to get her bill corrected. This is the story every time she receives a bill, even though she submitted correct meter readings every month.
The case is the same with 84-year-old S.P. Subramanian, who is a retired police officer. He was shocked to see a bill of ₹1.34 lakh. He regrets his decision to install solar. Now, every month is stressful. There is a delayed response or no response from the PED department to his requests.
Another similar story is of a businessman who installed solar in 2022. He received a bill of ₹5.24 lakh, though he had surplus credits. He has been jumping from pillar to post for the last three years to get his bill corrected. The residents of Puducherry are losing their trust in the government departments.
While in other parts of India, the story of solar installation seems positive, the case with Puducherry seems to have taken a U-turn.
Poor administration and governance, lack of institutional will, and poor awareness drives have left people furious, and they are forced to make repetitive visits to the PED office.
The electricity department of Puducherry has failed to successfully implement the net metering scheme. Consumers are charged amounts ranging from thousands to lakhs of rupees instead of receiving credit money. Despite repetitive complaints to the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum, the results are the same, and no action has been taken to resolve. There is no accountability from the administration.
Mr. Mohanty, the first one to adopt solar in Puducherry, has been creating awareness on billing reforms for the last 10 years. Even his appeals to PED remain unanswered. The senior government officials said there are no such issues going on in the department.
If this continues, the Puducherry government will fail in achieving its solar installation targets, and the city will miss out on economic and environmental benefits, hampering India’s energy transition goals.
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