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THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has amended the rules on net metering to streamline and make renewable energy adoption more accessible to qualified end-users, including the rollout of net-metering credits.

In a statement late Monday, the ERC said it has introduced key amendments aimed at “strengthening consumer protection and simplifying processes for availing of the program.”

Net metering allows power users who generate their own electricity via renewable energy to sell some of their excess output to the grid, with the proceeds credited against their power bills.

Among other key amendments made by the ERC is the allowance for banking and rollover of net-metering credits for transfer in the event of a change in property ownership.

“In the event of a property ownership change, the credits may be transferred to the new owner, subject to conditions such as a conformed letter from the original owner,” the ERC said.

The regulator also revised the rules to make the installation of renewable energy certificate (REC) meters voluntary.

RECs are issued to participants in the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) scheme, indicating that the energy sourced, produced, and sold or used comes from eligible renewable energy systems.

Under RPS, distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, and retail electricity suppliers are required to source a portion of their energy supply from eligible renewable energy sources.

“In case of waiver of the installation of said REC meter, energy generated from the RE Resource shall be computed using the appropriate formula provided under the Rules, subject to the submission of an affidavit and waiver,” the agency said.

To further promote transparency, the ERC has directed distribution utilities to publish on their websites detailed information on their net-metering programs, including application forms, processes, and quarterly postings of their hosting capacities on a per-distribution-transformer basis. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera