Installing solar panels in houses or commercial centers is part of Visayan Electric Co.’s net metering scheme.
(CDN File Photo)
Six residential customers of the Visayan Electric Co., Inc. (Veco) have availed of the “sexy business” or the net-metering scheme that the utility introduced last year.
Net-metering allows house owners and commercial establishments to install solar photovoltaic panels and partly satisfy their electricity demand. The excess power that they generate is delivered to the utility and used to offset the customer’s electricity consumption.
Veco chief operating officer Sebastian R. Lacson said their net-metering customers are mostly in the upscale communities. Commercial establishments are set to avail of net metering soon, he added.
“These are those who can afford an investment of P150,000 per one-kilowatt panel system,” he said.
The utility is offering a seven-year financing scheme for the installation of solar panels. For P150,000, Veco will install four solar panels that will generate a kilowatt of electricity. The panels occupy only eight square meters and are not heavy.
“The monthly amortization is P2,000 with a five percent downpayment or P7,500,” he said.
Solar power is transmitted to an inverter, where the direct current is converted to alternating current.
“The system will have to be integrated to the grid for Veco to buy the extra generated energy at P5.6 per kilowatt hour,” he said.
Lacson said the rate of solar panels is expected to lower, making it more affordable.
“In the last five years, the rate of solar panels has been going down and we expect that trend to continue. Now is the best time for people to start investing and producing their own power and soon sell power back to the grid,” he said.
The return-on-investment (ROI) was calculated at a high 12.3 percent within seven to eight years, he said in an earlier briefing. Solar panels have a lifespan of over ten years.
“We can install net-metering systems that can generate up to 100 killowatts,” he said.
The net-metering scheme is the first non-fiscal incentive mechanism under the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008.
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