ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Electricity Board said it will pay 45.80 rupees a unit (about 15 US cents at 300 rupees a dollar), for a unit of solar energy stored in batteries and pumped into the grid at night.
The night solar tariffs would allow solar energy to be shifted from low demand daytime to the night peak when thermal power is operated to make up for the gap.
“Battery storage systems with grid-tied inverters can supply energy from batteries to the grid, enabling excess solar energy to be stored during the day and dispatched when the grid needs it most,” the CEB said in a statement.
“CEB will notify the public in due course of the applicable date and other specifics of this new tariff.”
The battery-powered system can export power to the grid from 1830 to 2230 hours in the night, the CEB said.
Sri Lanka, as in other countries, has seen strong growth in rooftop solar under enhanced tariffs and falling costs from Chinese solar panel competition, creating problems for the CEB to manage the grid in daytime and weekends when demand falls.
Due to failure in economic regulation and political pressure the CEB has run losses, especially after the end of a civil war when the rupee depreciated steeply and the grid is archaic and cannot absorb intermittent renewables.
The CEB said it was encouraging self-consumption.
“Under the revised rooftop solar tariff, consumers, whether households or businesses, are strongly incentivized to use their solar generation during the day to offset grid consumption, thereby unlocking greater savings,” the CEB said.
“For example, a household consuming over 120 kWh per month pays Rs. 41 per kWh for grid electricity.
By using solar power directly during the day, they effectively save Rs. 41 per kWh, far more than any export tariff. Similarly, General Purpose consumers such as small businesses, who pay Rs. 25 per kWh or more for daytime grid power, can achieve even greater savings by prioritizing self-consumption of solar energy.”
CEB has reduced the feed-in-tariffs it pays for rooftop solar from June 2025.
The smallest plants up to 5 KW will get 20.90 rupees a unit, from 5 to 20 kW it will be 19.61 rupees, from 20 to 100kW it will be 17.46 rupees, from 100 to 500kW it will be 15.49 rupees up to 1,000 kw it will be 15.07 rupees and above 1 MW it will be 14.46 rupees.
Sri Lanka’s renewable power developers said they awaited more details on the battery tariffs.
RELATED Sri Lanka solar batteries hit by 46-pct taxes at import, 10-years too short: Developers
Sri Lanka’s Federation of Renewable Energy Developers said they believed to the battery tariff would only be given for 10 years which was too short.
There were taxes of 46 percent levied at the border which made batteries artificially expensive, the Fred said. (Colombo/June28/2025)
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