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A total of 300 consumers of the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco) have availed of the net metering program for their solar-powered homes. "When our net metering rules came out, its maximum range is 100 kilowatt (kW) per household or per installation, which we immediately implemented. And now, we have more or less 300 net-metered customers," Cenpelco General Manager Rodrigo Corpuz said in an interview on Wednesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the number of households equates to more or less 1.2-megawatt capacity of electricity generated by the household, which is of a significant amount added to the grid. Net metering is a program under Republic Act 9513, or the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008, allowing customers to install an RE facility within their premises up to a capacity of 100 kW, the ceiling established under the Energy Regulatory Commission's Amended 2019 Net-Metering Rules.

Any excess electricity not c onsumed in the home or business is exported to a distribution utility that, in return, compensates customers through credits in their monthly bill. Corpuz said consumers under the net metering program may use the generated power from the solar panels, and in case of shortage, will draw from Cenpelco.

"At nighttime, when there is no generation from the solar panels, they will get it purely from Cenpelco," he said. If the solar panels' generated energy is high and consumption is low, it will be exported to Cenpelco.

"So, we measure that and compensate them based on the average generation cost of the household. For example, if they export 1,000 kWh, and the average generation rate during that period is PHP5.50, so we will just multiply the PHP1,000 by PHP5.50, so they will get PHP5,500 discount, or it will be deducted from their bill," Corpuz said.

He said consumers with net metering benefit more during the dry season. "It will save a lot on the consumption o f electricity," he said.