House Approves Electricity (Net Billing) Regulations

• The House of Representatives, on July 26, approved the Electricity (Net Billing) Regulations 2022, which are intended to provide opportunities for fuel diversification, development, and deployment of renewable energy sources.
• The policy establishes the framework for the transformation of Jamaica’s energy sector from an overdependence on petroleum and high customer prices. “This steady progression has seen the movement of the target for renewable energy shifting from 20% to the current 50%, in order to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel,” said the Minister of Science, Energy and Technology.
• Minister Vaz noted that consultations were held to develop the regulations, noting that they are intended to provide the legal framework for the generation of electricity by self-generators.
• The aim is to provide the parameters to ensure that the grid is not negatively affected by net billing arrangements; to enable the structured alignment with the integrated resource plan for distributed energy resources on the grid; facilitate energy sector investment, while ensuring transparency, safety, affordability, accessibility, sustainability, continuity, reliability and consumer protection.
• This should increase the contribution of distributed renewable energy in the energy supply mix, while allowing wide scale participation in the energy sector.

(Source: JIS News)