Republic of Srpska launches pilot project for prosumers in households sector

Power utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) has launched a pilot project for the installation of solar panels on the roofs of the first households in the Republic of Srpska that obtained the prosumer status.

As part of the pilot project, solar panels will be installed on ten houses in the Vinogradi district of the city of Trebinje. The installation of photovoltaic panels is conducted as part of preparations for the launch of a program for subsidizing households to become prosumers, which means they will be able to produce energy for self-consumption. ERS announced the introduction of the scheme a month ago.

The installation of solar panels will begin next week

The installation of solar panels on the first households will start next week.

The households were selected on the basis of several criteria to examine the benefits of installing solar power plants over the next 12 months, together with the effects on the distribution grid, so that the project would cover individual and multi-family dwellings throughout the Republic of Srpska, ERS said.

The owners of the facilities expect electricity bills to be effectivelly annulled

The company has signed contracts with owners of ten houses on the procurement of a study on the use of solar energy for the needs of households with the status of a prosumer. The owners said they expect a permanent relief for household budgets and to practically stop paying power bills.

Households selected on the basis of consumption

ERS said the households in Vinogradi in Trebinje were picked because the sites receive a great amount of sunshine throughout the day. The selection was made based on the criteria and analysis of ERS’s project team.

The first criterion was their monthly consumption, ranging from 350 kWh to 600 kWh, in relation to the planned annual production of the photovoltaic systems. It was determined that the largest number of such customers are based in the Vinogradi district.

The selected households had to have a building permit for the structure where the installation of a PV system is planned. The roofs facing east and west were not taken into consideration, ERS said.