ESB to pay 9c for micro generators

The Commissioner for Energy Regulation has decided that the ESB offer is to stand as is. You can find their decision document by clicking here.

Its good news – at least we are getting paid something for the electricity we spill to the grid, though a higher feed in charge would have been a welcome boost. According to the CER document, it would require a shift in government policy for any subvention to encourage renewables. The document states that;

The development of a long term investment policy and any premium/support is a matter for Government policy and is outside the Commission’s remit. Additionally, the information gathered by the PES from the interim export tariff, will provide valuable information in terms of time and scale of export, which is critical if an enduring solution regarding export tariff structures is to be developed.

People selling electricity to the grid will have to accept an annual payment from ESB – however, much of the arrangement is temporary, so there is hope of improvements as more microgeneration gets onto the grid.

Also on the plus side, the Commission said that it might extend the number of free interval meters for people putting in their own microgeneration. At present the first 100 such meters are free of charge.

But all of this is beyond the wildest dreams we would have had when we first started developing our turbine – at that time we expected a zero feed in charge, so this quite a bonus and should give us a busy start when we launch our tubine.