ORIGINAL PAPER
Prosumer policy options in developing countries: a comparative analysis of feed-in tariffs, net metering, and net billing for residential PV-battery systems
1
Energy Economics, Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
2
IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1-4 Avenue de Bois-Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, France
3
Facultad de Ingeniería en Electricidad y Computación, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Ecuador
4
Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingeniería y Aplicadas, Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, Ecuador
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2025-02-24
Final revision date: 2025-03-10
Acceptance date: 2025-03-10
Publication date: 2025-03-27
Corresponding author
Pablo Benalcazar
Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Wybickiego 7, 31-261 Kraków, Poland
Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Wybickiego 7, 31-261 Kraków, Poland
Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal 2025;28(1):77-98
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Developing countries face significant challenges in their electricity sector, including outdated infrastructure, insufficient generation capacity, and underdeveloped electricity markets. Solar photovoltaic systems combined with batteries (PV-BES) for residential consumers present a viable solution to help address these challenges. To support the deployment of such technologies, it is essential to establish well-designed compensation mechanisms that encourage investment in the sector. Using Ecuador as a case study, this research aims to analyze, through an optimization tool, the techno-economic performance of PV-BES systems for different consumer categories under various scenarios – Business as Usual (BAU) and Without Subsidies (NoSub) – as well as under different compensation mechanisms, namely Feed-in Tariff (FiT), Net Metering (NM), and Net Billing (NB). The results show that current electricity price subsidies significantly discourage investment in new solar capacity in the residential sector, particularly for low-electricity consumers. Eliminating subsidies would result in a more competitive LCOE across all consumer categories, making the adoption of PV-BES systems more viable. Finally, to promote PV-BES adoption while ensuring a fair distribution of benefits among all actors, customized compensation mechanisms tailored to each consumer category are necessary. Otherwise, high electricity consumption categories would receive the greatest benefits, potentially leading to inequities in the system.
FUNDING
This work was partially carried out as part of the statutory research activity of the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Polish
Warianty polityki prosumenckiej w krajach rozwijających się: analiza porównawcza taryf gwarantowanych, net-meteringu i net-billingu dla systemów fotowoltaicznych z magazynem energii dla odbiorców indywidualnych
prosumenci, mechanizmy kompensacyjne, net metering, net billing, taryfy gwarantowane
Kraje rozwijające się stają przed znaczącymi wyzwaniami dotyczącymi ich sektorów elektroenergetycznych, takimi jak przestarzała infrastruktura, niewystarczająca moc zainstalowana oraz słabo rozwinięte rynki energii. Systemy fotowoltaiczne z bateryjnymi magazynami energii (PV-BES) dla konsumentów indywidualnych stanowią realne rozwiązanie mogące pomóc w przezwyciężeniu tych problemów. Aby wspierać wdrażanie takich technologii, niezbędne jest ustanowienie dobrze zaprojektowanych mechanizmów kompensacyjnych, które zachęcają do inwestowania w ten sektor. Wykorzystując Ekwador jako studium przypadku, to badanie ma na celu analizę, za pomocą narzędzia optymalizacyjnego, wydajności techniczno-ekonomicznej systemów PV-BES dla różnych kategorii konsumentów w różnych scenariuszach – Standardowym (BAU) i Bez Dopłat (NoSub) – oraz przy różnych mechanizmach kompensacyjnych, takich jak Taryfy Gwarantowane (FiT), Net-Metering (NM) i Net-Billing (NB). Wyniki pokazują, że obecne dopłaty do cen energii elektrycznej znacznie ograniczają inwestycje w nową moc słoneczną w sektorze indywidualnym, zwłaszcza wśród konsumentów o niskim zużyciu energii elektrycznej. Eliminacja dopłat doprowadziłaby do bardziej konkurencyjnego LCOE we wszystkich kategoriach konsumentów, czyniąc adopcję systemów PV-BES bardziej opłacalną. W celu promocji adopcji systemów PV-BES i zapewnienia sprawiedliwego podziału korzyści między wszystkich uczestników, konieczne jest stworzenie dostosowanych mechanizmów kompensacyjnych, dopasowanych do każdej kategorii konsumentów. W przeciwnym razie, kategorie konsumentów o wysokim zużyciu energii elektrycznej otrzymałyby największe korzyści, co mogłoby prowadzić do nierówności w systemie.
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