Why is balance accounting important?
The annual output of solar PV systems is not constant and varies throughout the day, months and seasons. Obviously, more solar energy is produced during the day than at night, and more in summer than in winter. As a result, most of the energy we generate is produced in summer and during the day.
But our electricity consumption is not limited to the day and summer; we need electricity all the time, even in the evening, at night and in winter. Moreover, our daily summer production is not always used up immediately, and what we do not use is fed back into the grid. This electricity is then used by the electricity supplier in other places and then used by us when our own solar system is not producing, for example at night.
As a result, three types of energy consumption are distinguished:
- The energy we produce and use immediately.
- Energy that is produced but not immediately used is fed back into the grid.
- The energy we buy from the grid when our own system is not producing.
In the annual balancing exercise, these different types of energy are compared and it is calculated how much you owe or are entitled to claim from your electricity supplier.
So annual balancing means that the electricity supplier adds up the energy produced by our solar system and our consumption each year, and we either pay them the difference (if we have consumed more than we have produced) or they pay us a certain amount (if we have produced more than we have consumed). This is a fair system, because our solar system produces more in the summer and this balances out the total annual consumption.
The advantage of the annual balancing system is that the price of electricity is roughly the same as the price we can sell it for to the electricity supplier when our own system is not producing. Annual balancing is therefore a very attractive option for solar PV system owners.
The scheme is worth complying with in the coming years and planning for the payback that may make it worth installing a solar PV system. Annual net metering can be maintained if the connection request is notified before 7 September 2023. In addition, it is worth considering future investments that may impact electricity consumption and considering making the system more self-sufficient by expanding the power supply.
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