The Power Division has finally implemented 'net metering system' to buy solar power from consumers from April.
The solar power will be purchased for the national grid as the required policy guideline has been finalised, reports UNB.
Under the proposed system, the consumers having minimum 10 kilowatts of electricity load will get the opportunity to sell their PV rooftop-solar power to the national grid, according to official sources.
"Initially, our plan is to allow big consumers, especially the industrial ones, to install solar systems on their rooftops and sell their additional or unconsumed electricity to the national grid," Mohammad Alauddin, ja oint secretary at the Power Division and in-charge of renewable energy related issues, told UNB.
He said such facility will be given to only big consumers to protect the grid system from any possible vulnerability.
"We want to see how the grid behaves when the solar power is integrated with the existing conventional power system. If we find no problem, we'll later open our grid to all types of consumers," he added.
Alauddin said the Power Division has finalised the Net metering Policy recently in consultation with stakeholders.
Earlier, a consultant prepared a draft policy based on his study on solar PV potentials and grid system of the country.
"The Net metering Policy will be placed before the Prime Minister shortly for her approval. Once approved, we'll go for its execution from first week of April," he said adding that the whole process is likely to take 15 days.
He noted that a consumer will be allowed to install solar power covering up to 70 per cent of the sanctioned load.
Officials said the government has initiated the move to introduce the net metering system aiming to promote rooftop solar energy across the country as part of its plan to generate 3,168 MW power from renewable energy sources by 2021 in compliance with UN-set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Under the system, according to official sources, the consumers who use electricity from the grid, can adjust their bills through an exchange arrangement by a special meter.
The idea is that the consumers will use their own solar power alongside the grid. But on holidays when solar power is not used, the consumers can sell it to the national grid.
"Once the month is over, the bill will be prepared," said an official adding, "This means a user of a rooftop solar panel can sell his extra or unused electricity to the government when one doesn't consume power from his or her solar panel," said a top official at the Power Cell, a technical wing of the Power Division.
Experts said 'Net metering' or 'Net Energy metering', or 'NEM', is a special billing arrangement that provides credit to customers with solar PV systems for the full retail value of the electricity their system generates.
Of this, officials believe, about 1000 MW electricity can easily come from rooftops of the buildings of factories in and outside Dhaka.
They said a large number of rooftops of government office buildings, schools, garment and other factories could easily be used for rooftop solar power generation.
They said once a Met metering Policy is approved by the government, the power distribution entities like DESCO, DPDC, REB and PDB will be obliged to buy electricity from their own consumers, especially the rooftop solar users.
Welcoming the move, President of Bangladesh Solar Module Manufacturers Association Munawar Moin said the net metering facilities are going to be a positive move forward.
In addition to giving benefit to direct users of rooftops, he said, the policy should encourage similar benefits to energy services companies (ESCO) to generate power from solar rooftop-based systems. Also, rooftop users and ESCO companies should get all the tax exemptions similar to conventional IPP power projects.