Half the questions we get are really about policy, not panels: "Does PLN pay me for what I export?", "Is there a subsidy?", "Will the rules change after I install?" The honest answers are less exciting than the brochures suggest — and far more useful once you understand them. This is the 2026 picture for a homeowner or villa in Bali, written by people who file this paperwork every week.
The Headline: Self-Consumption Is the Real Incentive
The single most important thing to understand is that solar in Bali pays through self-consumption, not through selling power back. Every kilowatt-hour your panels make that you use on the spot is a kilowatt-hour you do not buy from PLN at IDR 1,444.70–1,699.53 per kWh. That avoided cost — not any export payment — is what drives the 4–6 year payback we walk through in the payback article. Design your system around using your own power, and the economics work whatever the export rules do.
How PLN Net Metering Works Now
When you connect a grid-tied system, PLN installs an export-import meter that counts energy both ways. During the day, surplus solar you do not use flows out to the grid and is recorded. At night, you draw from the grid as normal. In the current framework the export side is credited at a fraction of the retail rate rather than one-for-one — the generous early net-metering era has tightened. In plain terms: exported units are worth something, but much less than the units you simply avoid buying. That is exactly why we size systems to your daytime load rather than maximising export.
The Paperwork — and Who Does It
A grid-connected system in Bali needs two things on the official side, and we handle both for every install:
Export-import meter application
The request to PLN to swap your standard meter for a bi-directional one and register the system. Approval typically takes 3–8 weeks depending on the local PLN office — but your system generates for self-consumption from day one, so you are not waiting to start saving.
SLO certification
The Sertifikat Laik Operasi — a safety operating certificate confirming the installation meets standards. We arrange the inspection and certificate as part of the job; an uncertified grid-tied system is both unsafe and out of compliance.
We prepare and chase this entire process so you never queue at a PLN counter. It is included in our installation service, not an upsell.
Import Duties and Equipment Cost
Most quality solar hardware — Tier-1 panels, hybrid inverters, LiFePO4 batteries — is imported, and import duties plus shipping are baked into the IDR prices you see on our pricing page. There is no separate consumer rebate that erases this; what protects your budget instead is correct sizing and Tier-1 components that last 25 years rather than cheap stock that fails in five. We would rather quote an honest installed price than promise a phantom subsidy.
"Will the Rules Change After I Install?"
Possibly — energy policy evolves, and the export rate in particular has moved before. This is the strongest argument for the self-consumption-first approach: a system whose payback depends on generous export terms is exposed if those terms tighten, while a system sized to offset your own consumption keeps saving regardless. We deliberately design for the rule we can count on — the retail price you avoid paying — not the rule that might be withdrawn.
What This Means for Your Decision
If you are in a stable-grid area like Sanur or Denpasar, a right-sized grid-tied system maximises self-consumption and pays back fastest. If you are in a blackout-prone area such as Canggu or Uluwatu, adding battery storage lets you store your own daytime surplus for the evening — sidestepping the weak export rate entirely and buying outage immunity at the same time. Either way, the policy framework rewards using your own power, and that is what we design for. Compare the architectures in our on-grid vs off-grid guide.
Our Standing Offer
Send us your latest PLN bill and your address. We will tell you what your meter situation is, what paperwork your install needs, and — using only the incentive we can actually rely on — what your realistic payback looks like. No phantom subsidies, no export-rate optimism. Just the 2026 reality, costed.