In an ambitious plan by the government to allow individuals to supply power to the Kenya Power Lighting Company (KPLC), it has issued five key conditions.
Through a gazette notice dated Friday, January 13, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) called upon the public to give their views on the proposed Energy (Net-Metering) Regulations 2022.
The proposal was announced in 2022 but is yet to be implemented. However, upon approval, the regulation will cover energy produced from biogas, hydropower, geothermal and solar.
"The licensee shall offer the provision of net-metering arrangement to the prosumers who intend to install grid-connected renewable energy system in its area of supply on a non-discriminatory and first come first served basis, subject to operational constraints.
"Provided that the prosumer is eligible to install the grid-connected renewable energy system of the rated capacity as specified under these Regulations," reads part of the regulation.
EPRA announced that one of the regulations was that any individual seeking to supply power should have a Net-metering agreement with a licensee.
In addition, the licensee shall apply to the authority for approval of fees in sub-regulation as part of the tariff application.
Furthermore, all those seeking to supply power ought to install, operate and maintain the net-metering systems as outlined by the regulation.
Any Net-metering agreement is valid for an initial period of 10 years and the term shall be renewable upon expiry with the mutual consent of the Prosumer and the Licensee.
Thirdly, meters for the Net-metering systems shall be bi-directional capable of two-way communication used to measure and register electricity flow in both directions at the same rate, be approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, and be able to measure and record peak supply in different periods among other conditions.
"Meters of Net-metering systems shall not be prepaid type and be owned by the licensee," read the regulation in parts.
Another condition set by EPRA was that the licensee is required to report annually to the Authority the progress on the implementation of Net-metering systems in their areas of supply.
However, any person who connects a Net-metering system without a Net-metering agreement commits an offense and shall, upon conviction be liable to a maximum fine of Ksh1 million
"The Licensee shall avail the distribution system at all times. However, he shall not be liable for occurrences of network downtime as a result of faults, and a net-metering prosumer shall not be compensated for any deemed generation during such time," read part of the regulation.
