State-owned power utility ERS ambitiously launched an idea in June last year to install solar panels on the roofs of 50,000 households in the Republic of Srpska (RS) by 2024 and thus enable citizens to produce electricity for their own needs at favorable conditions.
However, the response to the call published last June was very modest, and the number of applicants is still below 5,000. Besides, those who applied have not received any feedback to this day.
Faced with such low response, ERS tried to lower the criteria. ERS CEO Luka Petrovic said that it was decided to accept all requests that meet the basic technical requirements. However, the response is still very poor, and the company is waiting for at least 5,000 people to apply before it starts the project’s implementation.
According to him, applicants can expect someone from the ERS service to visit them in May to check the technical feasibility of installing panels, while the installations could commence in the autumn.
ERS has committed to financing the construction and operation of the small-scale solar power plant, which the household will repay in installments.
The prosumers will pay for their power plant in equal monthly installments at an amount equal to the average monthly consumption reduced by 10 %. After payment, for the remainder of the plant’s operational life, the prosumer will have free electricity.
In case the power plant produces less electricity than the household needs, it can always buy electricity from the supplier at agreed prices. If there is an excess of electricity produced, it will be delivered to the electricity network and the difference between the consumed and produced electricity will be leveled at the end of the year.
