The government has approved a draft resolution that provides for a minimum capacity limit of 10 kW for household consumers who choose to produce electricity from renewable sources, especially through the installation of photovoltaic panels, IPN reports.
The measure comes in the context of amending a Government decision and aims to increase the attractiveness of the “net billing” mechanism, which has replaced the previous “net metering” model. The new mechanism provides clarity and fairness in terms of calculating and distributing the energy produced by prosumers.
The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Energy, Carolina Novac, mentioned at the Executive meeting that the project aims not only to encourage investments in renewable energy, but also to strengthen a modern and efficient energy system: “This project comes from the desire to support and offer more flexibility and predictability for household consumers to increase their consumption of electricity and in other sectors, through the installation of heat pumps, storage batteries. We want to have a decentralized, digitized, sustainable and resilient energy system.”
One of the issues identified in the previous mechanism was the oversizing of photovoltaic power plants, which turned the initial purpose of reducing bills into a commercial activity. At the same time, many potential beneficiaries were unable to obtain sufficient capacity ceilings due to the calculation method based on consumption history or contracted power.
In order to eliminate these barriers and ensure profitability of the investment within a reasonable period of time, the Ministry of Energy proposes setting a minimum guaranteed threshold of 10 kW for household consumers. This value was chosen based on the analysis of average energy consumption and its technical impact on the networks, as well as the equipment available on the market.
Furthermore, the legislative changes allow for the possibility of including wind and biogas installations in the “net metering” mechanism, as well as strictly monitoring the level of grid connection to avoid imbalances and overloading of the infrastructure.
The reform comes after it was found that the application of the individual ceiling calculation formula has led, in some cases, to blocking access for other interested parties, due to artificial requests for an increase in contracted power. Beneficiaries who produced energy for their own consumption were unable to prove later on the increase in their energy needs, as the meter did not record the energy produced and consumed directly.
