CEF: What changes with net billing for those investing in photovoltaics

Issues related to net-metering (energy netting) and the successor scheme, net-billing clarified by the Association of Photovoltaic Companies, following general reports by the Minister of the Pen, relevant publications, but also unseen rumors that have disrupted the market. Is net-metering “illegal” for photovoltaic energy produced under Community legislation, as some claim? Of course not. Net-metering as a tool to promote self-consumption has been applied in several countries for many years. In recent times there has been a shift from net-metering to net-billing, mainly due to pressures on the part of energy suppliers who bear increased balancing costs. It should be pointed out, however, that the application of net-metering is not done in the same way in all countries and therefore any distortions in the market differ from country to country. For example, in the Netherlands, the main country dominated by net-metering, netting is made on the whole ‘competitive’ arm and ‘regulated charges’ (on the retail price of kilowatt hour), in contrast to Greece where self-consumers are charged at regulated charges by the percentage of energy absorbed by the network. What does Article 15 of Directive 2019/944 say? Self-consumers, as active customers, ‘pay network charges reflecting costs, are transparent and non-discriminatory, with separate information on electricity supplied to the network and electricity consumed by the network, in accordance with Article 59(9) of this Directive and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943, ensuring that they contribute in a sufficiently and balanced way to the sharing of the total costs of the system’.