"Mike" wrote:

"Roland" wrote in message
.. .
net metering isn't going to happen in the UK because of entrenched
interests.

Could you please explain what you mean by "net metering".

http://www.powergen.co.uk/Pub/Dom/A/...ndInitiative.a
spx?id=9
makes it quite clear you can sell self generated electricity back to your
supplier so I am not sure what it is you say won't happen.


The example you gave is unique in the industry and unfortunately does
not apply to whispergen chp from powergen nor indeed any other
embedded domestic generation in the uk.

Pricing of demand and generation Its the critical thing on all these
schemes. When you are on net metering you purchase electricity from
the grid at the same instantaneous price that you sell it back. With
the right incentives and price structures in place you can defer
consumption at peak times and sell your surplus back to the grid.
Bearing in mind that the instantaneous network price can easily change
by an order of magnitude during a normal day you can see the
advantages in doing this. Most consumers however pay a smoothed price
that stays the same or drops to a low rate at night (economy 7)

If you are on the usual schemes for embedded generation at the
domestic level promoted in the UK you might pay 8 pence per unit for
your electricity taken from the grid, but only receive 2.5p for
electricity you supply. This discrimination vastly increases the time
to repay your investment making it unprofitable to install in the
first place without other incentives such as direct grants. The whole
system is a mess but its all a deliberate act as this disincentive is
there purely because if embedded generation was rolled out on a larger
scale it would defer capital expenditure by both distribution and
possibly transmission networks directly reducing their income.
Despite it being plainly a very good thing its not welcomed by the UK
electricity industry.