Net Metering Code

The government of Ghana has developed draft of the Net Metering Code. The provisions of the code are aligned with guidelines established in the Renewable Energy Act 2011, Act 832.

The draft of the Code provides, that under the net metering billing mechanism, renewable energy generation facility owners are credited for electricity the facility supplies to the grid, and this credit is set off against electricity purchased from the Distribution Utility. A Customer installs a renewable energy generation facility that generates more electricity than needed in a period, and the electricity meter runs in the reverse to provide a credit against electricity consumed during other periods when the Customer’s electricity use exceeds the output of the renewable energy system.

Net metering is designed for applications where the renewable energy generation is not being used as a back-up to the main source of power supply. Instead, the excess energy is supplied to the Distribution Utility, on the assumption that the amount of energy supplied to the grid will not exceed the amount purchased over an annual tracking period.

It is planned, that only renewable energy generators with capacity up to 200 kW will be able to benefit from the net metering support.