Solar panel sellers offer to manage subsidies

Hyderabad: City based solar power panel sellers are offering 50 per cent discount to consumers on inflated prices and are later claiming 50 per cent subsidy on the actual price from the government.

Most sellers are offering to ‘manage’ the subsidy at the time of application itself even though the subsidy is offered by the government only after installation is completed.

The NREDCAP has an empanelled list of sellers and manufacturers and offers subsidy (30 per cent NREDCAP and 20 per cent MNRE) for the installation of rooftop solar panels sold by them.

While on paper everything looks fine, in reality empanelled sellers are accepting applications and promising to ‘manage’ the subsidy.

But NREDCAP maintains that the subsidy is given only after installation of the solar panels. An application is needed for getting the subsidy and consumers can either directly visit NREDCAP or purchase from any of the empanelled sellers.

Meanwhile, the cost at which the panels are offered too varies depending on capacity as well as quality. Since the subsidy takes a long time to come many buyers prefer to go by the sellers word of 50 per cent discount to match the subsidy. There is also a huge subsidy backlog at the centre for clearing subsidy amounts.

This has led to interested customers going for purchases by filling applications at an agreed amount, while the seller offers to manage the subsidy amount to be given in discount and claim it later on.

This is being done by quoting a higher price, giving smaller discounts and making huge profits in between," said an industry insider.