Although present on Serbia’s energy scene since 2014, the concept of prosumers only truly took off two years ago, and its popularity continues to grow daily.
Citizens, businesses, and numerous institutions can now generate their own electricity from renewable sources, and any excess production from their plants can be fed back into the power grid. Obtaining the prosumer status has numerous benefits, including significant savings on electricity bills, energy independence and security,environmental benefits, and contributions to the national energy transition.
According to data from the Electric Power Industry of Serbia, around 3,200 prosumers currently produce green kilowatts in our country. The majority are households, with 2,300 registered as prosumers, with about 840 production facilities and an increasing number of institutions, including schools, kindergartens, student centers, monasteries, and institutes. Most prosumers have opted to install solar systems on their roofs, many motivated by subsidies for installing solar panels offered by the Republic of Serbia since 2021. Prosumers are essential for the successful energy transition of our country. They increase the percentage of renewable energy sources in the domestic energy mix, help relieve the power grid, achieve financial savings, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, support for prosumers and their further development has been recognized as one of the priorities in Serbia’s energy policy to ensure a sustainable and secure energy future for all.
Regulations and laws related to the renewable energy sector have been revised multiple times to best meet investors’ needs, and this year, amendments to the Energy Law are planned. These will, among other things, establish a system for certifying installers of solar systems, heat pumps, and other renewable energy systems to ensure consistent and standardized service quality for citizens and businesses.
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How to Achieve Prosumer Status
The Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources outlines how one can achieve prosumer status. The process has been simplified to encourage as many citizens, entrepreneurs, and institutional representatives as possible to embrace renewable energy sources. Before applying for a contract with a supplier, the end consumer must construct a facility to produce electricity from renewable sources for their use, with any surplus energy delivered to the system. At the beginning of the year, a regulation set a limit of 10.8 kilowatts for households and up to 150 kilowatts for other categories of prosumers. To achieve prosumer status, the end consumer must adjust the metering point in accordance with regulations and standards. The application for the contract must include a Notice of Meter Adjustment issued by the distribution system operator. One of the electricity market suppliers in the Republic of Serbia is the joint-stock company Electric Power Industry of Serbia Belgrade, which participates in concluding full supply contracts with net metering or net billing with prosumers. The supplier is then obliged to offer the prosumer a full supply contract with net metering for households or net billing for other categories in accordance with the appropriate criteria and conditions prescribed by law.
Conclusion of Contracts with Net Metering or Net Billing
In Serbia, prosumers use net metering and net billing, which allows them to utilize the energy produced for their consumption and deliver any excess energy to the grid, thereby achieving significant savings. Once the supplier processes the submitted application, a contract with the prosumer is concluded through two models: the full supply contract with net metering for households and the full supply contract with net billing for other categories. A recent regulation on the incentive fee for privileged electricity producers is significant for households and industrial prosumers. The most important innovation is the reduction of the fee costs for prosumers who generate green energy for their own needs, while the fee amount remains unchanged for other consumers. The regulation prescribes the method for calculating the fee for privileged electricity producers paid by end consumers. The new regulation further facilitates and improves the financial position of prosumers since the fee calculation base is based on net electricity, not the electricity taken from the grid. The system operator registers the end consumer in the Prosumer Register, completing the process of obtaining prosumer status. Once “members” of the prosumer club, both individuals and legal entities, become active participants in generating electricity from renewable sources, they will benefit themselves and the entire nation
Prepared by Milena Maglovski
Read the whole story in the new issue the Energy portal Magazine AGROSOLAR ENERGY AND RES.
