KOCHI: As many as 4,589 beneficiaries in the district, who were selected under the first phase of Soura Project of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), will finally have panels installed on their rooftops from next month. The applications for the same were invited almost a year ago. As many as 2.8 lakh applications, both from households and commercial establishments, were received for the grid-connected roof top solar programme which aims to generate 200MW of power. After an extensive screening process, over 46,000 applications were selected, including 4,589 from Ernakulam.
According to the KSEB officials, there has been an enthusiastic response from households in the district. The delay in the installation was due to the laborious screening process. Parameters such as flat rooftops with no external interferences such as tall trees, road access to the site, network connectivity and assurance that building owners would not undertake any rooftop modifications in the next five years were considered. Once the installation starts, the procedure is expected to get over within the next few months. The tender for contractors was floated around August last year. Tata Solar, Warree Solar, a Mumbai-based company, and Inkel.
