CONSUMERS who have paid deposits and secured approval under the SuRIA Home solar programme will have until March next year to complete their installations and receive the incentive, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister said there are still up to RM90mil worth of rebates available under the scheme.
“Those who have applied and received approval are able to continue with the installations, provided that it is completed by March.
“They are also eligible for the rebates,” he said during Question Time yesterday.
The SuRIA Home programme was introduced to allow eligible domestic consumers to receive a rebate of RM600 per kilowatt, up to a maximum of RM3,000 for a five-kilowatt installation.
The programme targets between 45,000 and 50,000 households until its 250 megawatt (MW) quota is fully used. It will end on Dec 31 this year.
Fadillah was responding to a question by Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) who asked whether consumers who had already paid their deposits, signed agreements and obtained approvals but had yet to complete installations will be able to receive the rebates.
Mohd Isam also asked about the latest achievements of the Solar ATAP and SuRIA Home programmes, including the number of participants and measures to expand access to lower- and middle-income groups.
To this, Fadillah said a total of 24,291 Solar ATAP applications with a combined capacity of 391.85MW have been approved as of Sept 15 this year. He said this represents an almost 190% increase in approved capacity when compared to 135.92MW recorded on April 30 this year.
Under SuRIA Home, Fadillah said 12,374 domestic consumers have received rebates amounting to RM36.2mil as of Sept 15 this year. Besides direct rebates, the minister added that consumers can also opt for solar installations through market-based financing models such as solar leasing or rent-to-own schemes.
“Such models can widen access to households that face financial constraints in paying the full installation costs upfront,” he said.
Fadillah also said they would continue to evaluate the performance of Solar ATAP and SuRIA Home, installation cost structures and suitable financing options.
“Any improvements will take into account the effectiveness of assistance, the government’s fiscal capacity and the need to ensure benefits are channelled transparently to eligible consumers,” he said.
