Hoping to install solar panels in your home to help you save on your electricity bill? Costa Rica just took a major step forward by establishing the price structure for net metering for distributed generation, opening the door to a potential solar boom.
The public services regulator approved a 6.7 percent cut in electricity rates for customers of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute starting in January.
The National Power and Light Company (CNFL) on Wednesday will launch an 11-month plan to eliminate printed monthly electricity bills for almost all of its customers.
Following a record period of 94 days running exclusively on clean energy, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute was forced to burn fuel to generate electricity in August.
A top State Department official in Washington, D.C. said Central America — which relies heavily on diesel and fuel oil for power generation — is now in an ideal position to cut electricity costs by introducing alternative sources like natural gas and renewable energy.
Costa Rica in 2014 earned some $3.6 million by selling its surplus electricity to other Central American countries, ARESEP reported. Business leaders hope ICE will again sell excess hydroenergy to neighboring countries, and in turn, lower electrity costs in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica’s beautiful climate and natural surroundings leave little to complain about, but no place is perfect. And if there is one common complaint you’ll hear in Costa Rica, it is the increasing rates for electricity.
Workers from the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) on Thursday finished placing the last layer of rock and earth that will support the Reventazón hydroelectric project, which when completed will become the largest in Central America.
Organized by the Costa Rican Solar Energy Association (AsociaciÏŒn Costarricense de EnergÃa Solar, or ACESOLAR), the event will feature a wide variety of firms that will present their products, including systems for heating water and photovoltaic systems for generating electricity, according to ACESOLAR board member Mauricio Solano.
