CEB: A pioneer in solar power promotion-by Eng. Lanka Perera and Eng. Rohan Seneviratne
Source:Dailynews
Sri Lanka, being an island located near the equator, is blessed with a significant amount of solar radiation or sunlight, to be put in plain terms, throughout the country, year-round. Looking at this fact and the rapid developments in solar technology, many individuals claim that solar power generation would be Sri Lanka’s best option in achieving its goals in low carbon electricity generation and providing low-cost electricity to the people, in light of the pressing need to meet the growing demand.
And there has always been an uproar regarding relevant authorities and professionals either turning a blind eye towards this solar potential lying in front of us or purposefully trying to add friction to an otherwise smooth journey of popularising this green energy source, delivered free at our doorstep. In particular, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) being the major electricity utility in Sri Lanka is blamed time and time again for posing a hindrance to the progression of the solar industry in Sri Lanka.
Are these accusations based on facts or mere misconceptions, need to be explored further. In this context, it is worthwhile looking through the path of progression of the solar industry within Sri Lanka and especially the CEB’s contribution to this sector till to date and what holds in store for its future.
Up to the year 1999, more than 50 percent of the electricity generation of the country was fulfilled by renewable energy resources, which mainly consisted of large hydropower generation. In the meantime, in 1996, embedded generators were interconnected to the CEB’s distribution network, under Power Purchase Agreements. Grid interconnection of Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) generation plants of up to 10 MW was initiated this year. Under the NCRE umbrella, renewable energy sources such as mini-hydro, solar, biomass (community waste, dendro) and wind are considered.
As a progressive step in this process, in 1997, the CEB introduced the Grid Interconnection Standards and Procedures for Embedded Generators. Owing to technical constraints at that time, the CEB did not allow connections of renewable energy facilities to the low voltage system.
Another favourable step to the NCRE developers including solar projects, of the country was the introduction of a cost-based, technology-specific and three-tier tariff with effect from 2007. This allowed a project developer to cover its Operation and Maintenance and capital costs, and also it ensured an assured return on capital. From the inception in 1996, the NCRE sector in Sri Lanka has gradually evolved and the annual energy contribution by the NCRE was continually on the rise.
The year 2008 marked another milestone in the path of the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka as Cabinet approval was granted for the Net Metering concept. This opened the doors to the utility’s bulk and ordinary customers alike, to connect a renewable energy source to the low voltage network. In order to allow the implementation of the net energy metering scheme, the ‘Grid Interconnection Standards for Net Metering of on Grid Renewable Energy Based Generating Facility’ was formulated and published in 2010, in which the CEB was a pioneering party. In the same year, the CEB formulated and published the ‘Net Energy Metering Manual’. The allowable size of a facility started with 42 kW and was then enhanced to 10 MW and later on reduced to 1,000 kW. The scheme came into effect in July 2010.
In this scheme, no payment was made to the customer. The energy consumption (import) and the energy fed (export) to the network were set off against each other. Any excess generation was carried forward up to 10 years and any excess usage was billed at the normal tariff applicable to the customer.
Even though this scheme was not limited to solar and any other renewable source that could be connected, the customer base predominantly consisted of solar facilities. With the passing years, the solar market constantly evolved. By 2016, the Net Metered solar customer base of the CEB had grown to 4,690 and that of the Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd (LECO) had reached 1,795. Capacity-wise 32 MW had been added to the system via Net Metered solar generation by 2016. The average size of a connected solar installation was approximately 5 kW.
The country’s solar market was gaining momentum when in 2016 another progressive step in the Net Metering scheme was introduced. The new additions to the scheme were introduced specifically for solar connections. The expanded concept consisted of three schemes, namely Net Metering, Net Accounting and Net Plus.
The Net Metering scheme was retained as it was, with an option for existing customers to shift to another scheme if required. The Net Accounting and Net Plus schemes were allowed to power producers using solar energy, and installations necessarily had to be on actual functional roofs and not on ground or structures erected for the purpose of adding more solar capacity. These schemes also included payments for the energy fed to the network by the customer, unlike in the initial scheme. Under the Net Accounting scheme, the customer’s consumption and solar generation were set off against each other and a payment was made for the excess generation at the introduced export tariff of Rs. 22 per Unit during the first seven years and from the eighth year up to the 20th year, Rs. 15.50 per Unit. The contract period was extended to 20 years.
The Net Plus scheme accounted for energy consumption and generation separately. The generation from the solar PV plant was directly exported to the network and the customer was paid as per the introduced export tariff same as in the Net Accounting. The customer’s total consumption was billed at the normally applicable tariff. The export tariff is Rs. 22 per Unit during the first seven years and from the eighth year up to the 20th year, Rs 15.50 per Unit. The contract period was extended to 20 years. The capacity of the solar installation was extended to the contract demand of the roof owner. The above prices were so attractive to solar developers and less favourable to the CEB as the CEB average selling price to the customers is about Rs. 16.50.
The favourable export tariff for customers, added to the growth of the rooftop solar industry, while the utility incurred additional expenditure in implementing these schemes. Despite this fact, the CEB spearheaded the establishment of standards and procedures related to the provision of these schemes and proactively took actions to promote these schemes by enlightening customers, fast tracking the service providing procedures and effecting payments to customers.
In 2016 itself, almost immediate to the introduction of the Net Plus scheme, the Power and Energy Ministry launched a project called “Soorya Bala Sangramaya” in collaboration with the CEB, Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and LECO to promote rooftop solar plants. The target was to add 200 MW by solar generation to the National Grid by 2020 and 1,000 MW by 2025.
With the continuous work of the CEB and the contributions of all stakeholders in the rooftop solar industry, by 2017, within one year of launching the project, the total solar capacity of the country reached from 30 MW to 100 MW. Further, in 2017, the CEB developed a procedure for absorbing HT Metering customers under the Net Plus scheme, with capacities of 1 MVA or above.
In this, the procedure and technical requirement for the connection of High Tension metering consumers under the Net Plus scheme, the procedure on commissioning and testing of solar installations connected to low voltage feeders and recommendation for tariff for the HT metering solar installations were formulated. By the end of April 2021, Sri Lanka has 32,411 roof solar installations with a total capacity of 367 MW. Of the above, 16,472 are installations (121 MW) operate as the Net Metering scheme, 14,392 installations (113.5 MW) operate on the Net Accounting scheme and another 1,547 installations (132 MW) operate on the Net Plus scheme.
