Syrian government suggests fees for solar panel owners
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Members of the Damascus Council suggested imposing a fee of 20.000-30.000 Syrian pounds (SYP, $3-4,62) on owners of solar panels. The fee would apply for each panel individually.
Tha’er Jawhari, a member of the Damascus Council, explained in an interview with a local radio channel on Sunday that the fees could be used to light up Damascus’ streets by installing solar panels.
Damascus could be lit up by the combined earnings of 6 billion SYP ($923.076) without incurring any additional costs for the government, Jawhari said.
According to one study, there are at least 200.000 solar panels installed in Damascene homes, in addition to those installed on illegally-built structures, he added.
According to Jawhari, from 3.000 to 10.000 solar-powered lamps could be bought with this money.
Regarding to the ability of Damascenes to pay the fee, he said, “Whoever pays 18 million SYP [$2.769] for solar panels, can afford an additional 200.000 SYP [$31].”
In recent months, an increasing number of Syrians have resorted to powering their appliances with solar energy as the hours of government-provided electricity have dwindled.
Syrian government-held areas are witnesses to severe electricity rationing, being without electricity for 18 to 20 hours every day.