From the UNEF (Spanish Photovoltaic Union) they have presented a document to clarify different points of self-consumption «Truths and falsehoods about Self-consumption» before the absurdities raised by the current Government, where it is intended to approve a regulation criticized by all regulatory bodies such as CNE, CNC, Council of State, European Union, consumer associations such as OCU, FACUA … However, the government remains immobile and the Actors of the traditional electricity system are giving a series of erroneous, interested and falsified messages.
One of the first forceful sentences …"The energy efficiency that is achieved with a photovoltaic installation is a saving that cannot be penalized, just as the use of a low-consumption light bulb cannot."
Not long ago, power generation was reserved for electricity companies and only homes and companies without connection to the grid could resort to self-consumption. Later, the liberalization of the electricity market allowed anyone to produce electricity, but only to sell it to the grid, not to supply themselves. However, at the end of 2011, Spain approved a Royal Decree that authorized energy self-consumption, an approach that allowed consumers to produce part of the electricity they use in their homes or businesses.
A proposal has been drawn up from the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism to the Royal Decree of Self-consumption from which a considerable increase in taxes that directly affect Self-consumption is subtracted, it will be more profitable to continue paying kilowatts to large electricity companies than if we produce them and We consume ourselves "¿?". The most controversial aspect is the "Backup toll."
In short, the “backup toll” would imply that self-consumers pay more for the maintenance of the system than any of the other agents: producers, marketers, transport and distribution or traditional consumers.
The backup toll (which supposedly compensates the consumer's savings in the energy toll) represents an increase in tolls for the energy consumed of between 5 and 9% compared to those who do not have self-consumption. Self-consumers will pay more maintenance of the system than traditional consumers, that is, we go against all the renewable policies established by the European Community.
The backup toll makes self-consumption, according to the established terms, not attractive. If it was already an investment that required a long payback period, now it is completely disproportionate, even exceeding 35 years for a particular consumer, something absurd considering that the useful life of an installation is around those same years.
We continue to succumb to the large electricity companies, it is not to believe that in the times that we are we have such dire renewables policies. Nor that in the World Energy Trilemma Report (Annual report of the ranking in energy efficiency by the World Energy Council) We are so well placed. Where is the political will to protect the consumer? For protecting our future, for saving energy, for consuming less fossil energy … Where is it?
Access to the Document of Truths and Falsehoods on Self-consumption.