The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), together with the USAID/West Africa Energy Programme, (WAEP), has held a day’s workshop in Accra for selected stakeholders to educate them on the Commission’s Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) Guidelines and the Net Metering Guidelines.
The stakeholders included Civil Society Organisations, the media, the Energy Foundation, the Association of Ghana Industry, the Energy Commission and the Consumer Protection Agency.
The Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr Ishmael Ackah, in his opening remarks, disclosed that the Commission would introduce net metering in 2023.
Net metering is an arrangement whereby contracted customers feed excess renewable energy into the national grid.
Dr Ackah explained that “under this system, customer-generators are credited in kWh for electricity supplied to the grid. This will be done in close collaboration with the Energy Commission in the identification of 35 Customer-Generators.” So far, net meters have been installed for all customers but in series with their existing prepayment and postpaid meters.
These meters would be configured to be read remotely and electronically.
On his part, Ing Bernard Mordey, on behalf of the Chief Party of West Africa Energy Programme (WAEP), Mr Adaku Ufere, expressed the programme’s profound gratitude to the PURC for coming out with net metering guidelines for the first time to serve as an incentive for private sector participation in generating electricity from various renewable sources.
Ing. Mordey explained that the Programme and PURC are working to increase the supply and access to affordable and reliable electricity. According to him, “Net metering guidelines are welcome as it would encourage private sector investments in the renewables.”
Net metering would help increase the supply of electricity whilst reducing the cost of fuel in generating electricity.
The Principal Manager in charge of Regulatory Economics at the PURC, Mr Robert Saka Addo made a presentation on PURC Tariff Setting Guidelines.
Mr. Addo took participants through the Commission’s Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) Guidelines.
The QTA enables the Commission to reflect changes in macroeconomic variables in the operations of utility service providers. These variables are the inflation rate, foreign exchange rate, and the cost of natural gas, electricity, and water supply. The QTA further helps to minimize the impact of these uncontrollable factors on the cost of natural gas, electricity & water provision and to ensure the delivery of quality services to consumers.
Mr Addo further explained that the Net Metering Guidelines approved by the PURC shall consist of a price (capacity and energy charges in GHp/kWh) for energy exchange (kWh) between the Customer-generator and the distribution utility and shall be valid for the duration of the Net Metering Agreement.
The Net Metering Quantity shall be determined from the energy produced by the customer-generator and the energy supplied by the distribution utility company to the customer-generator. Eligible customers under the Net Metering Scheme shall be classified into three categories namely Residential Customers, Non-Residential Customers, and Industrial Customers.
The Net Metering Credit shall take the form of Net Metering quantity (kWh) to the customer-generator if there is net energy exported to the distribution grid and charged to the customer-generator if there is net energy imported from the Distribution Grid.
Net Metering Credits shall attract the prevailing rate approved by the PURC to ensure rate uniformity for all qualified net metering customers at any given time.
Distribution utilities shall apply for the net metering credits against (per-kWh) charges on a customer-generator’s bill per PURC prevailing rate structure.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com