PEA requesting everybody to register

[manolothai]

I don't feed the grid since I have a lot of batteries. I'm just grid tied and I use energy from the grid occasionally when for some reason (for instance, cloudy) batteries are not charged enough during the day. 

 

PEA came to my house requesting to register the solar system otherwise they will disconnect the meter. 

 

I choosed to invest on hybrid with batteries instead of feed the grid in order to avoid the headache of PEA and now here we are. 

 

I heard about some neighbours on the same situation. 

 

I'm in Bang Sarae. 

My meter is already digital. 

 

what's happening? 

[Bandersnatch]

Prior to giving my meter back PEA changed it 5 times thinking it was broken due to the fact that it wasn’t moving.

 

When I installed solar 7 years ago the main PEA office in my province had no experience with Solar but they were so convinced I was trying to spin my meter backwards (to the exact same reading every month) that they called in the solar team from PEA Korat to inspect my system. I have had 3 inspections over the years. At each meeting I requested a digital meter but it was never installed

 

I now use my EV instead of PEA as a just in case backup.

 

 

 

[Crossy]

I suspect that the halcyon days of unofficial net-metering (spinning a disc meter backwards when exporting energy) are coming to an end, it was good whilst it lasted.

 

As to why PEA are asking now to "register" solar, they likely want to ensure that what's installed is at least reasonably safe for their linemen (i.e. proper grid-tie inverters with anti-islanding).

 

@manolothai did they actually do any "inspecting", are you using inverters that are on the PEA approved list?

 

04 Inverter List Update 2024-05-08 (1).pdf

 

[lom]

1 hour ago, manolothai said:

 

PEA came to my house requesting to register the solar system otherwise they will disconnect the meter. 

 

I choosed to invest on hybrid with batteries instead of feed the grid in order to avoid the headache of PEA and now here we are.

My in-laws are worried about our solar system not being registered with PEA and they tell me that a relative in their extended family has been fined (10.000 baht) for not registering theirs.  I've tried to find out what the requirements are but can only find that you need a structural engineering inspection and approval for modification of building (Tessaban) and you have to notify the Energy Regulatory  Commission (ERC) that you are exempt from the need of license to operate an electric power plant.

The approval of modifying building most likely only applies for roof mounted solar panels but the notification to ERC is mandatory.

 

If you operate your inverter in off-grid mode then I can't see that you need to register with PEA, I use an Automatic Transfer Switch in a way so that the inverter has no direct grid connection, it is not grid-tied.

[lom]

2 hours ago, manolothai said:

 

PEA came to my house requesting to register the solar system otherwise they will disconnect the meter. 

Did they mention any fee for the registration?  I've heard different amounts but suspect that the solar install companies pocket it all when doing the registration.

[manolothai]

@Crossy

They wanted to do, but they didn't show any documents or identification even to confirm that they were really PEA inspectors, only violet shirts... They could be fraudster who knows.

 

I told to them that before to let them get inside my property I want to receive by post a written notice from PEA with the reason of inspection and in that case I will go to PEA office to take an appointment for the inspection. 

 

They obviously were not happy, they took a photo of my door and went away. 

 

I have an approved inverter. I don't export. 

 

Anyone else facing same issue? 

 

[UWEB]

Looks to me PEA is tightening up the Screws on Solar. Two weeks ago I got out of nothing a digital Meter installed for the reason, all Solar owner feeding back into the Grid as per PEA Engineer. I never did this so it's not changing anything for me beside that the Digital Meter is showing a 20% higher consumption than the old Meter.

[manolothai]

@lom can you share a photo of the automatic switch? 

[Crossy]

1 minute ago, manolothai said:

@lom can you share a photo of the automatic switch? 

 

... and include how it is actually wired up please 🙂

[lom]

3 minutes ago, UWEB said:

e Screws on Solar. Two weeks ago I got out of nothing a digital Meter installed for the reason, all Solar owner feeding back into the Grid as per PEA Engineer

They are changing to digital meters in all Thailand egardless if you have a solar system or not.

3 minutes ago, UWEB said:

I never did this so it's not changing anything for me beside that the Digital Meter is showing a 20% higher consumption than the old Meter.

Then your old meter was faulty, they tended to run slower after years in hot climate or being overloaded/overheated.

[UWEB]

3 minutes ago, lom said:

They are changing to digital meters in all Thailand egardless if you have a solar system or not.

Then your old meter was faulty, they tended to run slower after years in hot climate or being overloaded/overheated.

No, the old Meter was ok and just one year old. The given Numbers been always in Line with my own Digital Meter I have installed.

[JBChiangRai]

I have MUST Grid-Tied inverters, they used to be on the PEA approved list, now they're not, very strange.

[lom]

The ATS is similar to this one but from another mfgr and the wiring in the pic seem to be opposite to mine.

Input A goes to the inverters backup output and the B input goes to the grid and the ATS has priority for the A input when

there is power on both inputs.

If battery is discharged below 12% SOC then it will stop output power on the backup output so the ATS will switch over to grid.

Inverter is not shut down so as soon as the sun appears amnd has charged the batteries to 15% the backup output is turned on and the ATS switches over.

 

 

[Crossy]

6 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I have MUST Grid-Tied inverters, they used to be on the PEA approved list, now they're not, very strange.

 

Yeah, I noticed a few models that vanished.

 

One must (sorry) assume that they are grandfathered for existing installations. Do you have a copy of the old list where they were included?

 

[JBChiangRai]

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Yeah, I noticed a few models that vanished.

 

One must (sorry) assume that they are grandfathered for existing installations. Do you have a copy of the old list where they were included?

 

 

Alas no, but I can probably get it on waybackmachine.

[nobodysfriend]

2 hours ago, manolothai said:

I don't feed the grid since I have a lot of batteries. I'm just grid tied and I use energy from the grid occasionally when for some reason (for instance, cloudy) batteries are not charged enough during the day. 

 

2 hours ago, manolothai said:

PEA came to my house requesting to register the solar system otherwise they will disconnect the meter. 

 

So , let them take the meter .. You can adapt easily to bad weather by using less energy .

I have a small house completely off grid . No meter at all .

When the batteries are not well charged , I just turn the TV off for a while ...

All appliances in the house have been acquired because of low electricity consumption ...

Happy without any bills to come .

... and no powercuts .

[lom]

24 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I have MUST Grid-Tied inverters, they used to be on the PEA approved list, now they're not, very strange.

MUST PH50-3000M and -6000M are in the list from 2022, is yours one of them?

[JBChiangRai]

16 minutes ago, lom said:

MUST PH50-3000M and -6000M are in the list from 2022, is yours one of them?

 

Yes it is 🙂

[lom]

old PEA list

 

PEA Inverter list 6-2565.pdf

[JBChiangRai]

2 hours ago, lom said:

old PEA list

 

PEA Inverter list 6-2565.pdf 6.47 MB · 1 download

 

Thank you

[Crossy]

4 hours ago, lom said:

old PEA list

 

PEA Inverter list 6-2565.pdf 6.47 MB · 5 downloads

 

I've added that list to my pinned thread.

 

[Crossy]

6 hours ago, manolothai said:

@Crossy

They wanted to do, but they didn't show any documents or identification even to confirm that they were really PEA inspectors, only violet shirts... They could be fraudster who knows.

 

I told to them that before to let them get inside my property I want to receive by post a written notice from PEA with the reason of inspection and in that case I will go to PEA office to take an appointment for the inspection. 

 

They obviously were not happy, they took a photo of my door and went away. 

 

I have an approved inverter. I don't export. 

 

Anyone else facing same issue? 

 

 

It will be interesting to know if there's any follow up.

 

A year / 18 months back we had a bit of a scare when I thought that PEA had seen our meter going backwards (the food-shed next door got a shiny new digital meter on the same pole as our antique spinning-disc device). I set our system to not export at all for a couple of months. Nothing happened.

 

We now have enough storage and generation to be grid independent so no export is permanently enabled.

 

On or about the same day Madam was accosted by a person outside our gate who suggested that our meter was "very old" and we should get a new one. My lady being a smart cookie said she was just the maid and they would need to speak to the owner who was at work.

 

They never came back.

 

[manolothai]

Good.
We have cctv and I said to my wife to never open to them if they ring the bell. If they see her outside the gate and ask I told to her to tell that the owner is not here. I think they should send a notice by post for this kind of things or at least leave something on the postbox. Untill I have something in writing I will ignore them.

[Hummin]

8 hours ago, lom said:

The ATS is similar to this one but from another mfgr and the wiring in the pic seem to be opposite to mine.

Input A goes to the inverters backup output and the B input goes to the grid and the ATS has priority for the A input when

there is power on both inputs.

If battery is discharged below 12% SOC then it will stop output power on the backup output so the ATS will switch over to grid.

Inverter is not shut down so as soon as the sun appears amnd has charged the batteries to 15% the backup output is turned on and the ATS switches over.

 

 

And if grid goes down? A safety breaker switch off your solar system going to the grid?

[lom]

47 minutes ago, Hummin said:

And if grid goes down? A safety breaker switch off your solar system going to the grid?

 

9 hours ago, lom said:

 

If you operate your inverter in off-grid mode then I can't see that you need to register with PEA, I use an Automatic Transfer Switch in a way so that the inverter has no direct grid connection, it is not grid-tied

 

[KhunLA]

They know we have solar, as asked & told so, when they gave us the digital meter (standard for new builds).  So they know, and have had -0- unit bills & 100 unit bills.  

 

Want us to register, they have to knock on door and as.  If not free, they can take the meter with them when they leave.

[Crossy]

11 hours ago, Hummin said:

And if grid goes down? A safety breaker switch off your solar system going to the grid?

 

Even if he was grid-tie (he's not, the ATS handles that), every domestic level grid-tie inverter has island-protection to prevent it back-feeding into a dead grid. It's an absolute requirement.

 

Note that exporting energy to a live grid (no hazard) is not the same as back-feeding to a dead grid (potential hazard to linemen).

 

If your inverter is on the "approved" list rest assured that, assuming it is correctly installed, it will never back-feed into a dead grid.

[Muhendis]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Even if he was grid-tie (he's not, the ATS handles that), every domestic level grid-tie inverter has island-protection to prevent it back-feeding into a dead grid. It's an absolute requirement.

 

Note that exporting energy to a live grid (no hazard) is not the same as back-feeding to a dead grid (potential hazard to linemen).

 

If your inverter is on the "approved" list rest assured that, assuming it is correctly installed, it will never back-feed into a dead grid.

I am not grid tied except through the ATS. 

ATS priority is 1^st solar. 2^nd PEA.

Mine is a single phase ATS. If I have a need to use PEA at any time, all I have to do is disconnect my inverter output and the ATS will automatically switch over to PEA.

Transfer time is between ½ second to 1 second. 

How does the ATS work?

There is a relay permanently energised by priority 1 input.

Relay contacts are arranged to connect rectified AC power to a small motor which controls, via a mechanical linkage, two mcb's in an OR logic way.

If power is off from the inverter then the relay is de-energised, the motor runs one way and switches the mcb's over.

If power from the inverter is put back on then the relay is energised and the motor runs the other way to switch the mcb's back to priority 1 input.

The mechanical linkage is arranged so that it is impossible to have both mcb's in the same state.

[patman30]

Let them take the meter
learn to get by using less power at times
buy a generator for emergency backup

[MJCM]

My Guess is that you have something called Ghost Export and the Electronic meter is registering it.

 

You say, you don't export, but there is something called "Ghost Export". I have noticed that in our setup and on the day the meter reader comes we have a FAN running on a circuit that bypasses the solar and thus make the meter go forward ever so slowly, the rest of the house is "powered" by Solar.

 

 

Edit: Must add that we still have a Spinning Disc Meter, if we get a Electronic Meter, then we have to run that Fan (on that separate Circuit) from Morning till evening. I am thinking of getting a LOW wattage ice maker and use that instead of the Fan 😉