SL’s solar success will stall without storage reform
Over the past decade, Sri Lanka has made notable progress in rooftop solar adoption, driven largely by the Soorya Bala Sangramaya programme.
Thousands of households and businesses invested in solar PV, reducing daytime grid demand and cutting fuel imports. This phase was essential and it proved market appetite, built installer capacity, and positioned solar as a mainstream energy source rather than a niche alternative.
Today, the system has reached a structural turning point. Excess daytime solar exports increasingly strain the grid, while the country continues to incur high costs and reliability risks during the evening peak.
In response, the Government of Sri Lanka has taken a decisive and technically sound step by introducing mandatory Time-of-Use (ToU) tariffs for all solar-connected consumers.
This approach—already well proven in mature solar markets—correctly shifts the focus from energy quantity to energy timing, encouraging consumption, storage, and dispatch when the grid actually needs power.
However, ToU on its own is not enough. For the policy to succeed, it must be supported by realistic and bankable rules for energy storage. The draft National Electricity Policy proposes an evening peak feed-in tariff of Rs.45.80 per unit, based on an assumed battery life of 10 years. In real operating conditions, battery packs typically deliver a reliable service life closer to five years. At the proposed tariff, battery investments struggle to recover costs, slowing adoption precisely when storage is most needed. A peak-time tariff closer to Rs.65 per unit would better, reflect technical realities and unlock private investment.
Another critical gap is the restriction on charging batteries from the grid. While intended to prevent tariff arbitrage, this limitation undermines energy security. Controlled grid charging after evening peak discharge should be permitted, ensuring batteries are replenished and available during prolonged low-solar periods or system disturbances.
A balanced framework is achievable. Daytime exports can be capped, for example at 20 per cent, to protect grid stability, while allowing total daily exports of up to 60 per cent above contracted demand. This enables prosumers to generate export revenue that cushions battery costs without overwhelming the network. Solar PV capacity should also be permitted to scale in proportion to installed storage, ensuring excess generation is shifted, stored, or dispatched strategically rather than curtailed.
Sri Lanka has made the right policy choice by mandating ToU. The next challenge is execution. Without storage-aligned tariffs and operating flexibility, ToU risks becoming a penalty rather than an incentive. With the right refinements, however, it can become the cornerstone of a resilient, cost-effective, and self-consumption–driven renewable energy system.
The transition from solar-only to solar-plus-storage is no longer a future ambition—it is a present necessity.
(The writer is an independent Consultant on Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and a Patent holder with over decade of experience in the field. He can be contacted by email – jeremy55fernando@gmail.com)
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