Representative image of solar park.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Though the government on Tuesday unveiled the proposal to set up two solar parks on the BWSSB’s land in Hesaraghatta and TG Halli, questions remain over the project’s financial viability. BWSSB sources pointed out that the proposal is still in its early stages, while raising doubts whether the project would take off since they are not in a position to fund.
“While the idea is that the project will help protect the land and ease the board’s burden, we are financially not in a position to fund such a project,” admitted a senior official.
Another official said that the BWSSB is in a deep financial crisis so much that it had to borrow money from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund the project to provide water supply and sewerage connections to 110 villages in the city’s periphery.
“(Various) dispensations in the state (over the years) have also not allotted many funds to BWSSB. When such is the situation, the board will not be able to fund (the solar parks),” the official explained.
He said the board may consider a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, but doubted its usefulness since private players demand long-term partnerships. “We can reap benefits from the solar projects only after a few years. The project will only benefit the BWSSB if we can sell the power. We will have to see how viable a PPP model will be,” the official said.
Another official added that the project might not take off unless the government finds a funding agency. Right now, the BWSSB spends close to 75% of its revenue on electricity bills.
“We will need close to Rs 90 crore every month and the power tariff has gone up over the last few years. Since the water tariff has not increased for over a decade now, the financial health of the board has deteriorated, restricting its ability to take up new projects.”