The government finally issued last week a long-awaited ministerial regulation on photovoltaic solar panels, which sets out guidance and requirements for people who want to install them on their house or facility.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Regulation No. 49/2018 on the use of solar panels on houses or in industry stipulates that the government intends the policy to help them reach the national target of renewable energy making up 23 percent of the national energy mix by 2025.

The new rule, obtained by The Jakarta Post on Sunday, stipulates several key points, including the requirement for those who wish to install solar panels to submit documents, comprising their customer ID number, a proposal to switch from a pre-paid to a post-paid scheme and the specifications of the solar panels that will be installed.

"PLN will evaluate and verify the proposal and later give approval within a maximum period of 15 days from when the proposal is submitted," the regulation stated.

The owners also have to pay an additional fee, unless they install the panels on a house.

In short, solar panel owners who wish to "sell" electricity to PLN must get approval from the state utility on administration and technicality issues.

And then they must obtain a certificate indicating that the installation is good to operate (SLO), which will be issued by a state electricity inspection institution (LIT).

Those who are off the grid are exempt from having to get permission and pay an additional fee, but they must report to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Renewable Energy Directorate regarding the electricity capacity of the panels, the regulation went on.

The rules also say that the solar panels cannot exceed the existing electricity capacity of the building.

Under the regulation, PLN only counts 65 percent of the electricity produced by a solar panel. For example, if one panel produces 100 kWh from their solar panel, PLN only counts 65 kWh.

The rule says the export electricity will be calculated every three months, with the export amount starting from zero again the following quarter.

The new regulation took effect on Nov. 16. (evi)