Filenews 22 December 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
The possibility to install new small photovoltaic (PV) systems for own consumption by residential consumers up to 10.4 kilowatts and for the first time professional farmers up to 20 kilowatts, now provides the plan for electricity production from Renewable Energy Sources (RES), as amended yesterday by decision of the Council of Ministers, following a proposal by the Minister of Energy Natasa Pilidou.
As is well known, under the previous legislation there were obstacles to households that wanted to make use of the scheme, which aims to promote system installations (RES) with the method of net-metering and net-billing, but for technical reasons they could not place them on the roofs of the houses.
With yesterday's decision of the Council of Ministers to proceed with the amendment of the Plan, a new category of virtual net-metering for residential consumers and professional farmers, who cannot, due to lack of space and other environmental and urban restrictions, install photovoltaic systems on the roofs of their houses or agricultural premises, is now included. Under the category of virtual netting, consumption will be covered by the production of a photovoltaic system installed in a different area. The government's goal is to facilitate the installation of photovoltaics for their own consumption, which will significantly help reduce the cost of electricity, as well as to increase the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources in the country's energy balance in the context of the rapid transition to the green economy.
It is noted that the energy targets of the Republic of Cyprus for 2020 have been exceeded according to the relevant statistics announced this year. The binding target of 13% for the contribution of RES to final energy consumption was exceeded by more than 30%, reaching 17%. The target of cumulative energy savings by 32% was also exceeded, as well as the indicative target for the penetration of RES in heating and cooling, which was at 23.5%, achieving a penetration of 38.55%. The installed RES capacity currently amounts to 467 megawatts and more than 127 commercial RES projects, with a capacity of 237.8 megawatts, are under implementation.
It is emphasized that the maximum total power of the PV systems that can be installed within the category of virtual net metering is 10MW.
Further, for the purpose of improving the implementation of the Plan, the following amendments have been made, among others:
a) The provisions regarding electricity surpluses in the category of offsetting measurements and money surpluses in the category of netting bills have been amended so that they are not deleted in the last bill of a twelve-month period of time, but are transferred for use to the next billing period (next month or two months).
b) In Category B-Netting of Accounts, the maximum power of each RES system that can be installed is reduced from 10MW to 8MW.
c) Introduction of provisions that will apply in cases of change of Supplier by a consumer who is included in the categories of net-metering and net-billing. In the event of a change of supplier, for EAC customers Supply, included in the categories of offsetting measurements and bills, any surplus of electricity will be compensated by the EAC Supply at a compensation price equal to the price of purchase of electricity from RES of the current month that the liquidation will take place. For customers of other Suppliers of the metering set-off category, any excess electricity will be compensated at the retail price of the current month that the liquidation will take place, and for the netting category of bills at the agreed price of the electricity purchase between them.
What applicants should pay attention to
Before installing RES systems for self-consumption purposes, it is recommended that energy saving measures be taken to reduce the energy needs of the home / building. In particular, in the case of installation of a PV system on a roof, it is recommended that, as before, thermal insulation is applied to it.
It also requires careful planning and proper calculation of the capacity of the production facilities, adapted to the consumer's demand profile, in order to avoid unnecessary costs and unnecessary energy production.
Simultaneous examination of connection of premises and photovoltaic for new residences
In order to connect the PV system with the electrical distribution system, all interested parties should submit an application to the local Regional Offices of the Distribution System Operator (DSO).
When submitting the application, applicants will pay the required fee of €250 plus VAT which reflects the cost of managing the application by the DSO, the cost of the meter and the cost of checking and connecting the facility to the distribution system. In case the application concerns a modification of the existing installation, the required fee will be €150 plus VAT, provided that the meter will not be replaced. Provided that for existing applications, the information that has not been amended should not be submitted.
For new residences or for residences that require a re-inspection of the electrical installation, then the application fee for a photovoltaic system is set at the amount of €150 plus VAT if the following conditions apply: • The application for connection of the premises to the network and the application for a photovoltaic system for netting measurements are submitted simultaneously. • The electrician of the installation of the premises and the installer of the PV system are the same person.• The relevant drawings and forms of the electrical installation of the premises and the photovoltaic system are submitted simultaneously for the relevant inspection. • The inspection and inspection of the electrical installations of the premises and the photovoltaic system are carried out simultaneously.• In case the inspection and inspection of the premises are not carried out simultaneously, then the applicant will have to pay the amount of €100 plus VAT for the conduct of the two inspections and inspections separately.
What about farmers?
Professional farmers have the right to apply for inclusion in the category of fictitious clearing of measurements, provided that they concern natural and legal persons, as well as masturbations who carry out full-time agricultural activity and are included in the Register A – Farmers and Agricultural Holdings.
Systems in dwellings
The right to apply for inclusion in the Scheme is any natural person who is proven to reside permanently in the areas that are under the control of the Republic of Cyprus for six consecutive months and is the owner of the residential unit in which the PV system will be installed or in case the owner is not the owner to submit the consent of the owner of the residential unit.
Also, applications may be submitted by land development companies (developers) for the inspection and inspection of PV systems that will be installed in new premises that will be used as the homes of their customers (with a building permit for a house). In this case, the signing of the Netting Agreement and the commencement of the operation of the PV system will take place after a valid purchase-sale document has been submitted.
Every non-residential consumer who is the owner of the premises where the PV system will be installed has the right to apply for inclusion in the Scheme or, in case the owner is not the owner, to submit the consent of the owner of the premises.
