Solar companies awaiting new tariff
The Solar Industries Association (SIA) is awaiting the introduction of a justifiable tariff scheme for solar-powered schemes in the near future.
“We have discussed with the Power and Energy Minister and relevant officials the need for a new tariff to integrate solar energy in an expedient manner. The tariff committee agreed upon a new feeding tariff for the solar companies as buying prices must improve to attract new investors and consumers to the industry,” Kushan Jayasuriya, SIA President told the Business Times. He pointed out that there should be an understanding of the volatility of this time when deciding on the new tariff which should also reflect the macroeconomic situation in the country. “The high Treasury Bill and interest rates also need to be considered when deciding the new tariff. Considering the delayed payments by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), it is a very long-term risk to investors that solar companies are taking with this tariff.”
He added that there is a concerted effort to fast-track the development of alternative rooftop solar power which will eliminate the need for power cuts.
The CEB strategy so far has been to add as much fossil fuel-based energy such as coal and diesel and talk of natural gas as a feasible source. This approach from the CEB will most certainly lead to further tariff increases for the consumer.
SIA Secretary Lakmal Fernando said that the deployment of the solar rooftop is faster and because these systems are dispersed across the country, electricity supply to the grid can remain relatively stable compared to a single system breaking down such as the Norochcholai power plant.
Up to 40,000 households have roof-mounted solar systems, and the industry hopes it could garner the necessary support to connect 300,000 new households every year with a 3 kilowatt (kW) system.
Sri Lanka has over 6.5 million electricity consumers and only 40,000 of them have so far installed rooftop solar systems. “If Sri Lanka can convert around 20 per cent of these customers (which is a million customers) with rooftop solar systems, installing a 3 kW system per location, 3,000 megawatts (3 gigawatts) of energy can be added to the national grid,” an analyst said.
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