The premature termination of the PV Stegi subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panel installations, set to end on May 15, instead of June 30, as was officially announced earlier this week, has led to a surge in applications, numbering over 200 per day, energypress sources have informed.

The ministry is ending its PV Stegi subsidy program ahead of schedule as it is tied to a net-metering compensation system for self production that has been disapproved by the European Commission, now endorsing a net-billing system.

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.

Under the new regulations, to apply beyond May 15, households installing solar panels for self-production will be compensated through a net-billing system.

At present, 22,000 net-metering applications – 12,000 through the PV Stegi subsidy program and 10,000 without subsidies – still need to be processed at distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for connections to the grid, sources told energypress.

Market players have been critical of the energy ministry’s handling of the matter, as highlighted recently by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, which described the ministry’s change of course as an unnecessary market disturbance.

Though market officials appear to agree on the switch to net billing, they have stressed the need for a more organized approach so that a prolonged shock to the market, which could last months, may be avoided. A number of companies have invested heavily in the roof-mounted PVs sector, officials have underlined.