Net Metering and Net Accounting systems offer consumers of solar power in Sri Lanka to become producers of clean energy and thus become
energy independent. Solar solution providers like Admo Solar offers both
Net Metering and Net Accounting in the country through the Ceylon Electricity
Board and LECO.
Net
Metering facilitates all consumers of electricity to connect their on-site
electricity generation system to the national electricity grid and receive
credits for the excess energy redirected to the national grid, to be used at a
later time period. Net Accounting on the other hand is a mechanism that allows
customers of solar energy to connect their rooftop solar power generation
systems to the national electricity grid and receive monetary returns for the
excess exported back to the main utility grid that distributes energy across
the nation.
Net
Metering refers to the fact that flow of electricity can be measured by the
meter in two directions. Power banking is another term used to describe Net Metering
as it allows consumers to “save or bank” the excess power produced by the
on-site generation system by redirecting the excess energy to the national
utility system. Consumers can later reclaim this energy whenever their
consumption falls below the energy production.
Net accounting is achieved through a contract of
20 years with the Ceylon Electricity Board according to which the consumer (who is also the
producer) at a rate of paid Rs22.00
per unit for the first seven years following which a user of the photovoltaic
system will receive Rs.15.50 per unit, for every unit of energy redirected to
the utility grid. However, when it comes to Net Metering, even if the
customer’s rooftop installation can produce more electricity than required, he
will not be paid for the energy that was sent to the national grid. Instead, he
receives a kWh credit which can extend into a period of 10 years and will be
reflected on his utility bills in future.
