A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) units out coverage suggestions for the federal government of Pakistan ought to it substitute web metering with web billing.
A brand new IEEFA report appears on the potential impression of the shift from web metering to web billing in Pakistan.
“The Future of Net-Metered Solar Power in Pakistan” explains that the federal government of Pakistan is at the moment contemplating a number of coverage modifications, together with lowering buy charges and limiting system measurement allowances, along with shifting from web metering to web billing .
Pakistan launched web metering in September 2015. According to the report, roughly 2.2 GW of rooftop net-metered PV capability will likely be linked to the grid by June 2024. Under present laws, extra vitality from net-metered photo voltaic methods will be bought again to the grid on the National Average Power Purchase Price, which at the moment stands at PKR 27 ($0.097 )/kWh.
Current ranges imply that methods between 5 kW and 25 kW have a payback interval of between two and 4 years. The report explains that this, together with declining photo voltaic costs, has led to a surge in net-metered rooftop photo voltaic in Pakistan.
While this development will assist carry extra clear vitality to the grid and scale back photo voltaic peaks, the report says energy transmission and distribution utilities are involved that extra distributed photo voltaic may threaten the system. of distribution infrastructure and may improve capability funds for non-net. – meter shoppers. These issues have prompted the federal government to think about scaling again present incentives.
The report says that one resolution is to scale back purchasesreturn fee of PKR 15/kWh. It says it’s going to nonetheless supply payback intervals of lower than 5 years for many methods, whereas “reinforcing the speedy fee of solarization related to the federal government.”
“Our report exhibits {that a} reasonable discount in buy costs can carry aid to vitality shoppers and electrical energy distribution firms whereas nonetheless encouraging self-consumption,” mentioned Haneea Isaad, an vitality finance specialist at IEEFA. “The timing of those coverage modifications is important. While a revised coverage with decreased incentives will be applied instantly for brand new installers, a gradual phasing in out of the present coverage each quarter will present a transitional interval for brand new and present web metering beneficiaries.
The report explains that the transition to web billing will get rid of the off-peak adjustment loved by shoppers underneath web metering, as an alternative introducing separate tariffs for electrical energy imports from and exports to the grid.
Net billing may prolong cost intervals for shoppers with larger self-consumption ratios, the report mentioned, and will encourage the set up of extra scalable check methods. returns and decreased compensation intervals. It estimates {that a} 25 kW system can have greater than a one-year payback interval underneath the coverage.
To keep away from incentivizing massive methods, the IEEFA says a net-billing regime needs to be paired with restrictions on the scale of methods that buyers can set up.
“The mixture of a decreased system restrict with a web billing regime can discourage the set up of huge methods whereas selling the transition to hybrid methods with battery vitality storage,” mentioned Isaad.
The IEEFA report added that the federal government ought to combine grid optimization and digitization in any modifications to its net-metering coverage, whereas it suggested shoppers to “choose the precise measurement system for his or her consumption profile to have an effect on their return on funding.”
Total deployed photo voltaic in Pakistan will likely be 1,244 MW by the tip of 2023, in keeping with figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
This content material is protected by copyright and might not be reused. If you wish to cooperate with us and wish to reuse a few of our content material, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content material
