Energy Minister dismisses claims Govt. is curbing rooftop solar

• Says Govt. committed to solar and renewables expansion
• NSO says 2026 rooftop target already exceeded, prompting temporary monitoring of new approvals for grid security
• Battery-backed zero-export systems exempt; ‘Net Plus’ applications continue and pre-11 Sept. approvals stand

Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka and electricity utility officials on Saturday dismissed reports that the Government is taking steps to curtail rooftop solar power while promoting other energy sources, as consumers and the industry voiced growing concern over recent policy decisions.

Speaking at a news briefing, Karunathilaka said the allegations were baseless. He pointed to the Government’s efforts to expand solar power generation across the country, including plans to connect a further 4,585.7 MW of solar capacity to the national grid by 2029.

The concerns follow an Energy Ministry directive issued on 11 September. It replaced net metering and net accounting with the ‘Net Plus’ scheme for new rooftop solar applications. Under net metering and net accounting, households offset the power they generate against their own consumption. Under ‘Net Plus,’ all the power generated is exported to the grid and paid for, and consumption is billed separately.

According to the Minister, the Government facilitated the addition of 1,513 MW of rooftop and ground-mounted solar capacity to the national grid during 2025 and up to August 2026. Rooftop solar accounted for 1,141.1 MW of this: 938.8 MW last year and 202.3 MW in the first eight months of this year. Ground-mounted projects added a further 370 MW: 177.2 MW in 2025 and 193.4 MW up to August.

For 2027, plans are in place to add 1,392 MW of solar power to the grid: 500 MW from rooftop solar, 442 MW from small and medium-scale projects, and 450 MW from large-scale solar parks. The National System Operator (NSO), which manages the balance of electricity supply and demand on the grid, also plans to add about 1,240 MW/4,660 MWh of battery storage from 2027 to 2029. Storage is expected to become more important as the share of weather-dependent renewable power grows, because it can absorb excess daytime solar output and release it when demand is higher.

Installed solar capacity has passed 3,070 MW. Rooftop systems connected under the Net Metering, Net Accounting, and Net Plus schemes account for about 2,542 MW, and ground-mounted projects for about 534 MW. The NSO said solar meets around 15% to 25% of the country’s daily electricity requirement, depending on the weather. A further 25 to 30 MW is being added each month through projects that have already been approved.

Addressing the same media briefing, officials from the NSO said the rapid growth of rooftop solar had begun to expose technical constraints in the grid. The rooftop additions planned for 2026 have already been exceeded. As a result, electricity distribution licensees, including Electricity Distribution Lanka Ltd., EDL and Lanka Electricity Company Ltd., (LECO), are closely monitoring new rooftop solar approvals and capacity additions. The measure was described as a temporary grid-security response, not a long-term restriction on renewable energy development.

Zero-export systems, which store surplus daytime output in batteries for use in the evening and at night instead of feeding it into the grid, will not be subject to the limits. 

New applications will continue to be accepted under the ‘Net Plus’ scheme. All solar applications approved before 11 September 2026 will proceed under their existing approvals, the NSO said.