In Serbia, it pays to be a buyer-producer, because you can save up to 70 percent on electricity bills, according to the experiences of consumers who were guests of the new episode of the ELECTRIFICATION 2.0 podcast, which was launched by the Center for Environmental Improvement.
Miloš Đukanović, Nenad Maričić and Miloš Đorić, who became prosumers in 2022, agree that Serbia has good conditions for producing electricity for its own needs, but that there is always room for improvement.
Đukanović, who has an 11.7 kilowatt solar power plant at his family home in Zemun, said that in his case the savings on the electricity bill on an annual basis was 68 percent, or 1,650 euros.
“It definitely pays to be a prosumer in Serbia,” said Đukanović, adding that his investment in the solar power plant will pay for itself in six and a half to seven years.
Maričić expects a similar investment return period for his solar power plant in Ruma with a capacity of 7.36 kilowatts.
“The first calculations showed that the investment would pay off in about 20 years, which was devastating, but as time went by, the price went up, the laws were changed, and we came to the point that today it pays off in six to seven years, which is a drastic difference and change in just two years,” Maričić said.
He saved about 65 percent on the account, or about 900 euros in a year.
Thanks to the 10 kilowatt solar power plant on his house in Grocka, Đorić reduced his electricity bills by 65 to 70 percent, which on an annual level amounts to between 1,200 and 1,500 euros.
He estimates that his investment will pay off in less than six years and points out that those who consume more electricity, who enter the red zone, can achieve significantly higher savings.
All the interlocutors agree that the most profitable is direct consumption, that is, electricity that was directly consumed at the time of production, which for them amounted to 30 to 40 percent of the total electricity produced.
Additional savings are also expected after the recent adoption of the Government Regulation on compensation for the incentive of privileged producers from renewable energy sources, which reduced the price of withdrawing surrendered surplus electricity.
In the previous period, customers-producers paid a fee for the incentive of privileged producers on the total amount of electricity received, while now that base has been changed to consumed electricity, that is, the difference between delivered and received electricity.
Đukanović expects to save an average of 800 dinars per month, and Đorić around 100 euros annually.
However, since everywhere in Europe the net-metering system is now changing in the way of calculation for households, which can be expected in Serbia as well, Maričić pointed out that now is the best time to become a prosumer.
In order for the investment to be as profitable as possible, the interlocutors pointed out that it is necessary to properly dimension the power plant and to consume as much electricity as possible when it is produced, that is, when there is sunshine.
Maričić said that there is a possibility to monitor the production through the application on the phone and accordingly, with the help of smart sockets, adjust the switching on of devices in the house.
Đukanović advises consumers that, if they have too large a solar power plant and too many excesses, they should use household appliances during the day and find a way to increase consumption, by, for example, installing heat pumps and heating with electricity instead of wood and pellets.
All surpluses that are handed over to the electricity distribution network can be used by prosumers until March 31, which, according to Đukanović, is ideal for heating, because over the summer they accumulate kilowatts that they can then use during the heating season.
Đorić, who in addition to the solar power plant also has a heat pump, said that the entire heating season last winter cost him a little more than 100 euros for a house of 150 square meters, which, he says, is heated 24 hours a day.
Before installing the power plant and heat pump, he replaced the entire carpentry and covered the house with styrofoam on all sides, which significantly improved thermal and sound insulation, and the consumption of pellets was cut in half.
“Then we also built the power plant and later, with the help of municipal subsidies, we installed a heat pump. That first winter it was phenomenal. You don’t store anything, you don’t have to worry about buying wood or pellets on time, and it’s significantly cheaper. Those pumps are good even if you don’t have a power plant, heating is cheaper than any other type of energy,” said Đorić.
With almost two years of experience in producing electricity for their own needs, the interlocutors concluded that the decision to become prosumers turned out to be a good one.
In that process, they did not have major challenges, but, in their opinion, there are opportunities to improve the entire system, such as additional incentives for consumers, the abolition of power plant size restrictions or the reduction of fees for access to the distribution system (network fees).
“It’s a pleasure to have a solar power plant for several reasons – because it’s green energy, we pollute the environment less and it’s nice when a smaller bill arrives at the end of the month,” said Đorić.
Source: Center for Environmental Improvement
Source: energetskiportal.rs
