Rooftop Solar for District Councils by Janu 31

The Local Government Division has directed all district councils to install rooftop solar power systems at their buildings, auditoriums, dak bungalows and marketplaces. The systems must include at least two hours of battery backup. The installation work must be completed by January 31.

The Local Government Division issued the directive on Tuesday, September 15. It asked all district council administrators and chief executive officers to take urgent measures to implement the decision.

According to the directive, the government has taken extensive initiatives to promote renewable energy to ensure sustainable energy security. As part of the initiative, rooftop solar systems with battery storage must be installed at existing main office buildings and other buildings under the local government institutions at local, district and upazila levels.

For district councils, the systems must be installed at district council buildings, auditoriums, dak bungalows and marketplaces. Funds from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and revenue funds may be used for the work.

The directive also says that after meeting the institutions’ own electricity demand, surplus power generated by the rooftop solar systems must be supplied to the national grid through net metering.

Under the Net Metering Guideline 2025, electricity supplied to the national grid will receive Tk 10.50 per unit. The directive said this will help increase revenue for the concerned local government institutions.

Financially self-sufficient district councils have been instructed to ensure the use of solar power and expand its commercial use with their own revenue and ADP funds.

District councils that are not financially self-sufficient, meanwhile, will have to implement the programme with financial and technical assistance from companies listed with electricity distribution utilities. The work must follow the National Rooftop Solar Programme Implementation Guideline.

In both cases, the directive requires the solar panel installation company to sign a non-judicial stamp agreement covering repair and maintenance for the following 20 years.

The initiative is aimed at expanding rooftop renewable energy use across district-level public facilities while creating an opportunity to feed surplus electricity into the national grid.

//DBTech/JNO/SME/MIS//