Gov’t Issues New Rooftop Solar Power Plant Regulation

Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) issued Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 2 of 2024 on Rooftop Solar Power Plants Linked to Electricity Networks of Holders of Electricity Supply Business License for Public Use (IUPLTU), valid from January 31, 2024.

Acting Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (Dirjen EBTKE) of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Jisman P Hutajulu said that the issuance of this regulation is a response to the growing dynamics and efforts to accelerate the implementation of Rooftop Solar Power Plants (PLTS). This issuance is also an effort to amend and supersede Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 26 of 2021 on Rooftop Solar Power Plants.

“The Government sees that the implementation of the Rooftop Solar Power Plant regulation has not yet reached its full potential, but we believe that we can overcome this challenge through the hard work, innovation, and collaboration of all stakeholders, including the Government, academics, business entities, media, and the community, one of which is the issuance of this regulation,” Jisman said at the dissemination of this regulation in Jakarta on Tuesday (03/05).

Jisman stated that with a target of 1 gigawatt (GW) of rooftop solar power plants linked to the PLN (State Electricity Company) network and 0.5 GW of non-PLN ones every year, assuming the capacity of 1 solar module of 450 wattspeak (Wp), it requires the production of around 3.3 million solar panels.

“Rooftop solar power plants have an intermittent quality, so the development of the power plants must be calculated carefully by taking into account the reliability of the system. As such, it is necessary to determine the quota of solar power plants that will enter the system each year,” he said.

Jisman further said that Indonesia has sand silica resources that can be utilized by the solar cell industry. Therefore, the Rooftop Solar Power Plant program is expected to encourage the growth of the solar module industry in the country and support the planned development of the upstream solar cell industry in Central Java, Batam Island, and Rempang Island.

In addition, Director of Various New and Renewable Energy of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Andriah Feby Misna urged IUPTLU holders, both PLN and non-PLN ones, to follow up on this regulation by proposing a five-year quota of rooftop solar power systems to the Director General of Electricity of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for evaluation and determination.

Under this regulation, the Government has made several regulatory improvements that generally aim to improve efficiency and transparency while at the same time increasing public interest in installing rooftop solar power plants. The main points of the regulations contained in this regulation are, among others:

• The installation capacity of Rooftop Solar Power Plant is not capped at 100 percent of PLN’s installed power but is based on the availability of PLN’s quota.
• The capacity of quota for Rooftop Solar Power Plant system for clustering (at PLN UP3 level) is published by PLN through PLN’s official website, apps, and/or social media. This quota is determined by the Director General of Electricity every five years.
• The removal of import-export mechanism. The value of excess electrical energy from the customer’s Rooftop Solar Power Plant system to the IUPTLU holder’s network is not taken into account in determining the amount of the customer’s electricity bill.
• The exemption of capacity fee for all types of PLN customers.
• Adjustment and shortening of application approval waiting time for installation of Rooftop Solar Power Plant. The application is handled by PLN based on the first-in-first-serve (FIFS) mechanism.
• The cost of procuring advanced meters as a substitute for import-export kWh meters is borne by the IUPTLU holder.
• Application-based service mechanism for easy submission of applications, reporting, and supervision of the Rooftop Solar Power Plant program.
• The availability of the Rooftop Solar Power Plant Complaint Center to receive complaints from Rooftop Solar Power Plant customers or IUPTLU holders.

(PR of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources/UN) (FI/LW)