Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the regulator of the electricity sector, directedthe Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company Private Limited (LECO) to connect domestic rooftop solar plants to the national grid within two weeks from the date of application.
“The direction to provide the connection for rooftop solar plants to the national grid in an efficient manner within a time fame will encourage people to move for solar power,”Damitha Kumarasinghe, Director General of Public Utilites Commission of Sri Lanka said.Sri Lanka aims to add 200 MW of solar electricity to the national grid by 2020 and 1000 MW by the year 2025.
Accordingly the PUCSL advised the distribution licensees (CEB & LECO) to expedite grid connection process of domestic rooftop solar plants within a time frame of two weeks. PUCSL asked CEB and LECO to ensure completion of the grid connection and signing the Net metering, Net accounting or Net Plus agreements within the below mentioned time frame.
1.Maximum acceptable time to provide the estimate for net meter installation shall be one week from the date of submission of the duly filled net metering application with the relevant application fee.
2.Maximum acceptable time to provide net meter installation and grid connection with signing the agreement shall be one week from receiving the payment for net meter installation.
“Among the non- conventional renewable energy (NCRE) sources, Rooftop solar PV considered as one of the fastest technologies to install and integrate into the grid. Government’s “Soorya Bala Sangramaya” (energy battle) programme is one strategy to support future energy requirement and so far Sri Lanka has added about 42 megawatts of capacity to the national grid through domestic rooftop solar plants by the end of 2016.” Kumarasinghe added.Sri Lanka has 7904 domestic rooftop solar plants that are installed and connected to the national grid, data up to Novemeber 2016 reveals.
This includes 256 rooftop solar plantsin Southern province, 4806 plantsin Western province, 184 plantsin Central province, 105 plantsin Sabaragamuwa province, 249 plantsin North Western province, 98 plantsin North Central, 1707 plantsin Northen province, 32 plantsin Uva province and 73 solar plantsin Eastern province.The total domestic rooftop solar plants before the Soorya Bala Sangramaya (the energy battle for solar) stood at 6485 and increased to 7905 by end November 2016.
1420 domestic rooftop solar plants were added through Soorya Bala Sangramaya by end November 2016.Generation of electricity through renewable energy sources has become a major concern forgovernment as well as private sector investors.
The Government policy is to increase the existing 50 percent of theelectricity generation based on the renewable energy sources to 60 percent by the year 2020 and to increase it further up to 70 percent by the year 2030 and to generate the total energy requirementthrough renewable and other indigenous energy resources by 2050.
