Rooftop solar power units will be installed atop Kerala Water Authority (KWA) facilities at Aruvikkara as part of the government-run water utility’s plan to turn sunward to slash soaring electricity bills.
Solar panels will be installed atop the water purification plants, the recently-completed packaged drinking water unit and other buildings, KWA officials said.
A combined rooftop area of 2,000 sq metres is proposed to be covered in Aruvikkara. The 75 MLD (million litres a day) purification plant that is being constructed under the Amrut scheme also will sport the solar units.
While the major power-guzzling activity at the KWA facilities - pumping of water - will still depend on the KSEB grid, electricity requirement for operating lights, fans and meeting office requirements will switch over to solar power.
Inability to make electricity bill payments on time had transformed KWA into KSEB’s single biggest defaulter. At present, the monthly electricity bill of the KWA runs into a whopping ₹23 crore, more than half its monthly revenue.
Recently, the Water Resources Department had announced plans to install solar power units on its own land and that of the Irrigation Department in a bid to cut down dependence on KSEB.
On the other hand, KWA is owed ₹300 crore by its own consumers in water bill arrears.
