Ministry of Energy: new regulation for solar panels to be ready soon

Santo Domingo – The Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Almonte, reported yesterday that the Superintendence of Electricity (SIE) is finalizing the details to approve the new “Regulations for the approval, interconnection, and operation of distributed energy generation facilities” for the solar panel market.

“We are going to publish, before the end of this semester, the resolutions duly agreed upon, evaluated, with international advice, with national consultations, and then there will be a resolution from the Superintendency of Electricity,” he said.

The information arises from the public debate generated by a recent technical study that indicates that solar panel installations (distributed generation) generate operating costs assumed by electricity distribution companies (EDE).

He indicated that the new regulatory document will be published when the provisions have been agreed upon with the different sectors involved in this renewable energy market while explaining that he does not know precisely what the report published last week by the firm Ecomod Business Consulting says.

The reason for modifying the regulatory framework is that the demand for solar panels has caused a massification of the market, which makes it necessary to readjust the 2012 regulations and adapt them to current needs to obtain greater regulation.

In highlighting the growth that the solar panel business has experienced, the official emphasized the need to find a viable solution to balance the losses that distributors are having, using distribution lines by users since they are still connected to the system.

Commercial competitiveness increased
The minister had the opportunity to speak on the subject on several television and radio programs, where he said that the boom in panels had promoted a “healthy competitiveness among the companies that sell them,” which translates into more significant opportunities for businesses and users to acquire the technology at more economical prices.

Almonte said that the intense competition in the solar panel sector causes marketing companies to put claims in the government’s mouth that are not true.

“In the solar panel business, a growing market has opened up, where there is competition and where companies that are establishing themselves want to grow in commercialization, not to give them away, but to market them – sell them – and make profits, they throw balls. They make very eloquent questions and statements that anyone believes to be true, that it is a government position.”

However, he assured that no government entity has referred to the issue. On the contrary, it is expected that the regulation will be agreed upon to begin to promote the debate among the actors of the changes that it will imply in the renewable energy sector, said the official, referring to the recent debates on the use of renewable energy.

He said that when we talk about the massification of the sector, we are also talking about large-scale projects that impact the operation of the networks in economic terms “and that has to be regulated and established, not in a speculative manner.”

He recalled that the government seeks to boost and promote renewables, both on the scale of mega projects and on the scale known as distributed generation, which are not the installations of solar panels placed in homes, small businesses, medium industries, and other areas.

Several solar projects are expected to be completed and inject 1,400 megawatts into the generation matrix between the end of 2024 and 2025 when they enter the system.