Koovapady set to become fully solar-powered panchayat soon

KOCHI: Very soon the households in Koovapady will not be depending on the KSEB to take care of their electricity needs. As a part of the annual plan for the last financial year, Koovapady panchayat had earmarked `4.95 lakh towards installation of solar panels in the panchayat.

“Besides installing solar panels, we will also be promoting it among the residents. The aim is to reduce dependence on KSEB for electricity,” said Mini Babu, president of Koovapady panchayat. She said a solar plant capable of producing 8KV of power will be set up in the panchayat. “We will be going in for the on-grid option,” she added.

Under the option, the electricity generated by the solar panel will be given to the KSEB grid. “We will then receive an equal amount of electricity from the grid for the electrical appliances in our panchayat,” she said. According to her, an amount equal to the units of power given to the grid will be deducted from the electricity bill of the user. The project is being implemented by ANERT.

“We hope to generate around 30-32 units of electricity daily,” said the panchayat president. So far, the work on the installation of solar panels on top of the panchayat building has been completed. “Only a few works related to the plant remain to be completed. However, all the pending works will be completed soon and we hope to start production of electricity by the end of the month,” said Mini. She said Koovapady’s aim is to become a panchayat powered fully by solar energy.