10/02/2024
Sooriyabala Sangaramaya (Battle for Solar Energy)
The Ministry of Power and State Minister of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development has launched a community based power generation project titled 'Soorya Bala Sangramaya' (Battle for Solar Energy) in collaboration with Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited (LECO) to promote the setting up of small solar power plants on the rooftops of households, religious places, hotels, commercial establishments and industries. It is expected to add 1000 MW of solar electricity to the national grid by 2025 and 1500 MW by 2030 through this intervention. Under this program, the consumers will have options to generate and use electricity in their premises. In case of electricity generated is more than their requirement, they can sell the excess to the national grid or bank it for later use. According to the electricity usage the customer can select a preferred option from the following three schemes: Net Metering, Net Accounting and Micro Solar Power Producer. The installation service should be obtained by a registered solar service provider.
Net Metering Scheme
Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid.
This means the consumer has to pay only for the net amount of electricity consumed during a month. If the solar electricity supplied to the grid is more than the electricity consumption during a month, the balance amount can be carried forward to future as a credit, up to a maximum of ten years. No payment will be made for the excess electricity supplied over the consumption under this scheme.
Net Accounting Scheme
If the generated units of electricity using the solar panels fixed on houses/premises are greater than the amount consumed, the excess will be paid at the flat rate during the 20 years
If the consumption is greater than the generated units, the consumer has to pay at the existing electricity tariff for the excess electricity consumed.
Net Plus Scheme
This involves getting paid for the amount of electricity generated using the solar panels fixed on the premises. Unlike the net metering method there is no linkage between the electricity consumption of the customer and the electricity generation. Two separate meters will be installed to measure import and export of electricity separately.
The customer has to pay for the electricity consumed according to the existing tariff whilst the Utility Provider will pay for the total amount of electricity the customer generates.
