By Solar Times Bureau
Andra Pradesh state government on Monday announced its new policy on ‘Net Metering’ for solar grid interactive roof-top and small solar photovoltaic power plants. The principal secretary for Energy Mrutunjay Sahoo declared the new policy. Under net metering concept, energy between export of generated energy and import of Discom energy will be recorded for a billing month.
Net Metering is a system which helps an individual to reduce their electricity bill, if they are generating electricity through solar energy. It is connected to the utility grid that supplies power, the grid adjusts balance between energy generated and consumed and accordingly reduces or reserves the electricity bill of the utility company, which supplies the power.
The policy says based on meter reading, which records both import and export values, the consumer will get money from the Discom or pay the balance amount to Discom. Consumer will generate solar power for self-consumption and feed excess power into the grid. Government felt facility may be provided to consumers to generate power for use and feed excess power into grid when not being consumed.
Net metering is an electricity policy that measures the amount of power a consumer generates against the amount of power they use. If the consumer’s production and usage are same, their cost is Rs.0. When the consumer produces more than they use, the excess electricity can be sold back to the electric company for a profit. Even if they generate less power compare to their consumption the grid balances the supply and provides the extra amount of power required.