Meralco now accepting net metering applications

Meralco buys excess power of other producers

Details  Published on Tuesday, 06 August 2013 00:00  
Written by RICHMOND MERCURIO
Malaya Business Insight

Got extra electricity at home or in your office?

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, now allows “net metering,” a system under which its residential electricity consumers as well as businesses which own renewable energy facilities can sell excess power to the Meralco grid and receive incentives in return.

Ivanna G. de la Peña, Meralco first vice president and regulatory affairs head, said that the power utility’s residential and commercial customers with renewable energy facilities may now visit any Meralco branches for application as it opens its doors to the net-metering program.

Electricity end-users which can install renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass or such other renewable energy systems not exceeding 100 kilowatts (kW) within their premises are eligible to participate in the net-metering program.

These end-users will be given the opportunity to supply the electricity they generate in excess of what they can consume directly to their distribution utility. The amount they generate would in turn be offset from their current bills.

“This is now an opportunity for them to sell excess power,” De la Peña said. “Of course, the applicant should have an existing installation already like solar (panels).”

The net-metering scheme is seen to encourage end-users to participate in renewable electricity generation and also empower electric consumers in the Philippines by allowing residential electricity consumers and establishments with installed renewable energy facilities like solar or wind to sell excess power to the grid.

Under the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved net-metering rules, electricity end-users who are updated in the payment of their electric bills to their distribution utility are allowed to engage in distributed generation.

The net-metering program, according to the ERC, hopes to realize savings in the consumers’ electricity bills by allowing them to sell the renewable generations that they cannot any more consume.

De la Peña said that Meralco has so far received two applications for the net-metering scheme, one is a residential user while the other is a commercial customer.