HGP Nightly News – The Guyana Energy Agency is planning to target at least 5,000 homes in the first phase of its national grid-connected solar programme, as Government moves to help households reduce electricity costs while supporting the country’s shift toward cleaner energy. The initiative, launched under the Low Carbon Development Strategy, is designed to allow homeowners to use rooftop solar systems that feed power directly into their homes during the day and send excess electricity back to the GPL grid for credit.
GEA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mahender Sharma, during an appearance on the Starting Point Podcast, said the programme is built around a simple idea: allowing households to turn unused roof space into a source of power. He explained that a grid-connected solar system involves installing solar panels on a roof or another suitable structure, along with an inverter and control equipment. “You don’t want it to be shaded,” he said, while also advising homeowners to ensure their roofs are not leaking before installation, since repairs later could require the panels to be removed.
According to Sharma, once the system is installed, the electricity generated from the panels first supplies the home. “If your refrigerator is on, your TV is on, maybe your AC for those who have them, it displaces that energy immediately with whatever comes from the sun,” he explained. If the household needs more electricity than the panels are producing at that moment, the system automatically takes the difference from GPL, without the homeowner having to manually switch between solar and grid power.
Where the panels produce more electricity than the household is using, the excess is sent back to GPL through a bidirectional meter. Sharma said GPL will upgrade meters where necessary, and where a meter change is required, it will be done at no cost to the customer. He explained that this allows energy to flow both from the grid to the home and from the home back to the grid.
The financial benefit, he said, can be significant. Using the example of a household with a monthly electricity bill of about $30,000, Sharma said a five-kilowatt system costing around $1.2 million to install could generate energy valued at about $28,000 per month. Under the credit system, GPL credits customers for excess power at 90 percent of the tariff they pay. For most residential customers, he said that tariff is $43.43 per unit.
At the end of the month, the bill reflects both the electricity taken from GPL and the electricity sent back to the grid. Sharma said the system is already operating, with more than 300 prosumers connected to GPL and generating over 11 megawatts of power from grid-connected solar. He described the model as tried, tested and established.
The first phase of the programme is now being positioned as a major step in expanding household participation in renewable energy. GEA says the wider aim is to reduce dependence on heavy fuel oil, lower emissions, improve grid resilience and make electricity more affordable and reliable for citizens.
