The energy ministry is believed to be considering to abolish net-metering for self-production and replace it with a net-billing formula following objections raised by the European Commission, promoting the latter approach as most appropriate for self-consumption.

Greece’s ongoing PV support program subsidizes further penetration of net-metering systems in the domestic sector.

The energy ministry, currently examining market details in order to decide on how to react to the Commission’s criticism of the country’s support plan, is likely to abolish net-metering imminently and instead extend net-billing to domestic self-consumption systems with a production capacity of up to 10 KW, as well as commercial and agricultural PVs with capacities of up to 100 KW.

Should this direction be taken, the ongoing PV Stegi support program for roof-mounted PVs will soon be discontinued, March 31 believed to be a date under consideration. It would be followed by the announcement of a corresponding support program based on a net-billing formula.

Both net-metering and net-billing compensate solar-system owners for transferring electricity to the grid when their panels overproduce, but the ways the two systems compensate differs.

Net metering credits equal the retail electricity rate paid by customers for electricity. On the contrary, net billing credits equal the wholesale rate electricity companies pay for electricity.

Brussels has taken the side of protesting suppliers, including in Greece, as, under the net-metering formula, energy offsetting is essentially being conducted at their expense given that excess generation is injected into the grid at nighttime hours of low wholesale prices, well below higher energy prices in the evening hours, when customers meet most their energy needs.