About 300 homes in four hamlets of Nalgonda district, Telangana have got 24x7 power supply to meet their basic domestic needs thanks to solar power.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras), Verizon Data Services India, Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited and Rural Electrification Corporation have joined hands to install a 125 Watt solar panel in the hamlets of Ramunigandla, Kesya, Jogi and Mantriya Thanda’s of Devarakonda mandal in the backward Nalgonda district.

“IIT-Madras has developed the technology which does not require an inverter and can power a fan, a tubelight, two bulbs, a mobile charger, a power socket and a remote controller to operate the fan and tubelight. It has been trial run for reasonable time,” said a press release from the Chennai based institution.

The performance and health of all the installed systems are being monitored remotely, with data being collected via mobile phones and synchronized to a central server. The project was implemented under the aegis of Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Principal Advisor, Ministries of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, and Professor (On Sabbatical), IIT-Madras.

The solar panel has been installed by Cygni Energy Private Limited, a IIT Madras incubated firm which has got the technology transferred, while Verizon has provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs 75 lakhs.

The residents of these hamlets, located about 100 kms from Hyderabad, are poor and depend on paddy and cotton farming for their livelihoods. They have been suffering from frequent power outages, especially during monsoons and peak demand times.

“The payback period for the project is less than three years,” said Venkat Rajaraman, CEO of Cygni, while Kalyani Sekhar, MD of Verizon said that it is committed to provide inverterless solar system for off-grid areas.