Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is proposing the removal of the 100-kilowatt (kW) limit in the installation of power generation facilities under the net metering program.
In filing Senate Bill 2219, Gatchalian said this would allow large power consumers such as commercial establishments, industrial buildings, and government offices to avail of the net-metering program under Republic Act (RA) 9513 or the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008.
The bill would also encourage more RE investments and will provide support in terms of savings to industries that have the capacity to install power generator facilities, such as solar panels, on their rooftops.
“Kung dati ang pinakasilbi ng rooftops ay ang protektahan ang property mo, ngayon maaari na rin itong maging instrumento para bumaba ang singil sa kuryente. Ngunit dahil sa limitasyon na nakasaad sa umiiral na batas, hindi ito naisasakatuparan,” Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said in a statement.
The senator noted that the net-metering program is not maximized as only 53 of 142 distribution utilities (DUs) or 37.7% are qualified end-users for net-metering as of March 31.
The proposed measure also seeks to mandate the Energy Regulatory Commission to regularly determine the cap taking into consideration the possible effects on the stability of the grid and the retails rates of captive customers and further streamline submissions and permitting processes to include minimum requirements for local government units under the time period provided in RA 11234 or the Energy Virtual One Stop-Shop (EVOSS) Act.
The net-metering program is a provision under the RE Act, wherein customers can install an RE facility within their premises up to a capacity of 100kW. Any excess electricity not consumed will, then, be exported to a DU.