AMMAN — On
January 18, the National Society of Consumer Protection (NSCP) called for
canceling taxes on the
renewable energy sector, especially for domestic users.
اضافة اعلان
The society said that taxes levied
on renewable energy are “unfair” to individuals and companies who work in the
sector, and have discouraged many from investing in
renewable energy in the
Kingdom. In turn, the society has demanded that the sector not be “conquered by
monopolists”, Al-Rai daily reported.
The government must cancel
taxes on the
renewable energy sector, said NSCP President Mohammad Obeidat,
emphasizing that these taxes, amid surging winter electricity bills, negatively
impact individuals — a problem heightened by increased diesel prices despite
governmental support.
Although the Ministry of
Energy has established a fund to support those who use
renewable energy at home,
he said, the decision is fruitless as it is still subject to the policies and
regulations of grid companies that are ultimately “the decision makers and
control the whole sector”.
The repercussions and
economic backlash of this decision are evident in individuals’ reluctance to
pursue
renewable energy, said Obeidat. Companies are also refusing to invest in
the sector, he said, which is consequently decreasing job opportunities and
increasing the poverty rate.
‘Unacceptable’ President of the
Renewable Energy Establishments Society Mohammad Dado told
Jordan News that
imposing fees on household
renewable energy systems through an electricity
tariff negatively impacts the sector. “It increases the payback period on their
renewable energy investment,” he said.
“It violates the contractual
process for owners of (
renewable energy) systems that were installed before the
tariff was modified,” he said.
When the JD2 tax per kWh generated was imposed, demand for renewable energy systems dropped significantly to almost zero
“This adds a new obligation”
for renewable energy system owners to pay, he added.
The government began levying
a tax of JD2 on every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power produced via
renewable energy sources in April of 2022. The tax applies exclusively to households.
The government’s
justification for the tax is “unacceptable”, Dado said. “The government began
levying the fee in place of utilizing the national grid, which many system
owners revert to in winter or during darker hours,” he said.
While this may theoretically
be true, he said, “these systems supply electricity during daylight hours to
the grid, which reduces the load and the required generating capacities.”
“This generates savings for
the electrical system,” he added.
What is required, he said, is
a comprehensive strategy to transition to
renewable energy. “This can be done
through modernizing networks, legislation that allows for energy storage… and
other incentive measures,” he said.
According to a report by Arab
Reporters for Investigative Journalism , when the JD2 tax per kWh generated was
imposed, demand for
renewable energy systems dropped significantly to almost
zero, rendering jobless the nearly 10,000 employees — namely, administrators,
technicians, engineers, workers, and thousands of contractors, including
drivers, day laborers, suppliers, and fresh graduates.
“This tax should be replaced by imposing a percentage on the total monthly bill to ensure equality.”
Despite this, not everyone is
in support of abolishing the tax.
‘Logical’Feras Balasmeh, a
renewable energy investor, told
Jordan News he is not for canceling
the tax imposed on home users of renewable energy.
“Citizens use the national
electrical grid network,” he said. “This tax must be considered in a scientific
matter and not be based on personal decisions."
Subsidies have been approved
for renewable energy systems with a capacity of less than 3.6 kilowatts,
constituting 85 percent of the total
renewable energy systems registered in
Jordan.
However, those who wish to
harvest more renewable energy while keeping their subscription to the national
grid pay an unsubsidized fee of 120 fils per kWh, alongside the fixed JD2 per
kWh.
Imposing the JD2 tax is
“logical”, he said. In fact, he added, “this tax should be replaced by imposing
a percentage on the total monthly bill to ensure equality.”
“The grid requires frequent
maintenance, so users must pay operating costs,” he added.
Across Jordan, 35,000 homes rely
on
renewable energy systems, and more than 80 percent of them will benefit from
subsidized rates if they use the electricity grid.
The remaining 20 percent of
these system owners will pay the unsubsidized rate if they tap into the
national grid.
Solar energy capacityEnergy expert Hashem Aqel
said that the government imposed the tax under the pretext of “maintenance of
the grid”, given that in emergency cases (the absence of the sun), users tend
to revert to it.
Jordan, he said, “has 316 sunny days out of the year, meaning it has an advantage in terms of solar energy”.
“The government sees that the
consumer should bear part of these costs,” he said.
In light of this, Aqel
advised those who depend on
renewable energy to purchase lithium batteries.
“They are available in the market, and this can cut you off from the electrical
grid completely.”
Jordan, he said, “has 316
sunny days out of the year, meaning it has an advantage in terms of solar
energy”.
In August 2022, the Jordanian
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources published on its official Facebook
page that Jordan ranks first in the Arab world in the percentage of installed
capacity for renewable energy sources.
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