Andhra Pradesh Speeds Up Rooftop Solar Push for Low-Income Homes

Prudhvitej Immadi, Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited, said Andhra Pradesh will speed up rooftop solar adoption for low-income households. He spoke at a workshop at the Centre of Excellence for Energy Transition in Visakhapatnam.

He said the State adopted the Utility Led Aggregation model to move faster. Under this model, the government covers the remaining capital cost through subsidies. As a result, households that get up to 200 units of free power can shift to solar.

The programme targets six lakh homes and 1,200 MW capacity. In the first phase, the department will install two lakh systems, adding 400 MW this year. Moreover, officials awarded contracts to 41 EPC vendors using a cluster approach. This step will speed up work across divisions.

At present, Andhra Pradesh has 94,000 consumer-led rooftop systems with 328 MW capacity. Of these, APEPDCL supports 44,452 systems with 142 MW capacity. Therefore, the discom already holds a strong base for expansion.

Immadi said the discom removed delays and simplified approvals. Now consumers pay all charges in one step. In addition, officials waived application and net metering fees. As a result, teams receive clear approvals within three to four days through the national portal.

The Chief Minister asked departments to finish the rollout within this financial year. So, teams will commission most packages by April 2026 and the rest by May. Overall, engineers and EPC partners expect the project to make Visakhapatnam and nearby districts strong centres for affordable, sustainable energy.