by: Mark Venegas
After a long wait the electric companies are expected to offer, starting April 7, 2016, the price structure for net metering in homes and businesses, which will allow consumers to save on their electric bills through distributed generation. This is a huge step in the right direction for distributed generation in Costa Rica, especially for those that have or want to install solar panels. This was announced on March 17 by the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) and will allow consumers to connect and send electricity back into the national grid. The tariffs will range from around ₡12-28 per kilowatt hour of electricity that is sent back into the grid, depending on the power company.
The power companies although have not yet announced what the cost will be to consumers of two-way meters, installation, inspection and other fees. This must be made public by April 7.
After arduous, and at times frustrating, negotiations between the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, solar providers and solar power lobbying group ACESOLAR, we will finally have the net metering pricing.