C
CapSolar
Solar Phak Prachachon Program

Sell Solar Power Back to the Grid Thailand 2026

Your rooftop solar makes more power than the house uses — can you really sell the excess to the utility, at what rate, and where do you apply? This page condenses the official ERC / MEA / PEA announcements for the residential sell-back program (B.E. 2569 round): the buy-back rate, eligibility, the online application flow, documents, equipment and costs — plus a straight answer for businesses and factories that are not eligible.

7 min readLast updated: August 2026As of: Aug 2026 — terms per the ERC announcement, call 1130/1129

Yes — Thai homes can sell excess solar to the grid through the “Solar Phak Prachachon” program: the utility buys the surplus at 2.20 THB/unit on a 10-year contract. Core terms per the ERC's B.E. 2569 announcement: you must be a Type-1 (residential) electricity user, the system is for self-consumption first with only the remainder sold, the offered capacity is ≤5 kW per meter, and the national quota is 500 MW, first-come-first-served. Apply online: MEA area (Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan) via MyEnergy — PEA area (all other provinces) via the PPIM portal (PEA accepts filings until 30 Nov 2027 or until the quota fills). Factories and businesses are not eligible — see the C&I options at the end of this page.

How Much Does the Utility Pay Per Unit in 2026?

2.20 THB per unit (kWh), for a 10-year purchase term — the rate set in the ERC's B.E. 2569 invitation announcement, identical in MEA and PEA areas. The utility buys only the excess that flows into the grid after your home has used what it needs — not everything the panels produce. The arithmetic is direct: exported units × 2.20 THB; a month with 100 surplus units exported earns 220 THB.
Worth understanding: 2.20 THB is below the retail price you pay the utility (see the current tariff) — the program is built for “self-consume first, sell the remainder”: every unit you use yourself saves the full retail rate, while leftover units earn 2.20 THB as a bonus. It is not designed as a commercial power-selling investment.

What Is Solar Phak Prachachon & Who Can Join?

Solar Phak Prachachon (officially: the rooftop-solar power-purchase program for the residential public sector) is a national program under NEPC resolution 1/2569 (29 Apr 2026). The new round opened on 1 Jul 2026, replacing the original scheme (a 90 MW target running since 2022) whose quota is full. Who qualifies, per the official announcements:

A Type-1 (residential) electricity user with MEA or PEA — the applicant name, house number and rate class on the bill must match reality.

Rooftop solar installed primarily for self-use, selling only the surplus (self-consumption first).

Offered capacity of at most 5 kW (AC) per meter — under a joint MEA + PEA national cap of 500 MW.

The applicant funds the installation entirely — there is no installation subsidy; the program grants the right to sell surplus power under a 10-year purchase contract.

First-come-first-served until 500 MW is reached — PEA's filing window runs 1 Jul 2026 to 30 Nov 2027, with commercial operation (SCOD) required within 2027.

Note: dormitories, commercial buildings and businesses on other rate classes do not meet the Type-1 condition — see “Can businesses and factories join?” below. For the current quota status, ask the utilities directly (MEA 1130 / PEA 1129).

How to Apply: Filing With MEA or PEA

Check your electricity bill to see which utility serves your home, then file online with that utility — both systems have been open since 1 Jul 2026:

MEA — Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan

File via the MyEnergy portal (myenergy.mea.or.th) — create an account, submit the new-program sell request and attach the documents. Questions: MEA Call Center 1130 (24/7). Applicants stuck in the old program's queue are emailed migration instructions by MEA.

PEA — All Other Provinces

File via the PPIM system (ppim.pea.co.th — program code VSPP-RT3-2), open 1 Jul 2026 – 30 Nov 2027; selection lists are posted daily at 09:00 / 15:00 / 22:00. Questions: PEA Contact Center 1129.

The main flow is the same at both utilities (condensed from PEA's official step chart; MEA follows the same logic through MyEnergy):

  1. Check eligibility & prepare the meter data

    Confirm the bill shows Type-1 residential service with your name and address, and note the customer account (CA) number from a recent bill — fix any mismatch at your local utility office before filing.

  2. Create an account & file online

    MEA: MyEnergy / PEA: PPIM — pick the CA number, complete the request form and upload the documents listed in its annex (a power of attorney if the filer is not the meter's registered owner). Incomplete uploads leave a PEA request stuck at “awaiting documents”.

  3. Review & selection announcement (within 30 days)

    The utility reviews the documents and the local grid's technical capacity, then announces successful applicants within 30 days of filing (PEA posts three times daily and also emails the result).

  4. Pay the connection cost & sign the PPA (within 30 days)

    Selected applicants must pay the connection cost and sign the power-purchase agreement within 30 days of the announcement — missing the deadline voids the request.

  5. Install per the approved design & file the ERC exemption

    Build the system exactly as filed (the inverter must be a utility-registered model), request grid connection from your local utility office, and file the ERC's “exempt — no licence required” notification.

  6. Inspection, meter swap, then start selling (COD)

    The utility inspects the installation, swaps in a meter that measures both directions, runs the first synchronization test, and commercial operation (COD) begins — SCOD is required within 2027.

The official milestones: results within 30 days of filing → contract + connection payment within 30 days of the announcement → SCOD within 2027. Real end-to-end time depends on installer queues and local inspections.
Tracking: PEA's “track status” menu in PPIM (ppim.pea.co.th/app/v4/request/track) and the selection list at ppim.pea.co.th/app/v4/request/announce; MEA applicants track inside MyEnergy. Stuck? Call 1130 (MEA) / 1129 (PEA).

Documents & Equipment You Need

The core list required by the official announcements and the application systems (the complete detail sits in each utility's request-form annex):

A recent electricity bill (≤3 months old) for the meter that will sell power — the name, house number and rate class must match the applicant.

The applicant's ID card, plus a power of attorney when someone else (e.g. the installer) files on the meter owner's behalf.

Details of the planned system per the request form: capacity, the single-line diagram of the connection, and equipment specs.

On the equipment side

The inverter must be a utility-registered model — PEA's approved list is at smartlist.pea.co.th/products; MEA applies its own interconnection standard.

The meter: the utility swaps in the two-way meter during the connection step — you do not buy one yourself.

Adding a battery (BESS) is allowed — the ERC (meeting 25/2569, 24 Jun 2026) confirmed the program does not prohibit pairing rooftop solar with storage, provided installation and operation meet the contracting utility's engineering standards.

Every system is inspected by the utility before it may synchronize with the grid — an installer who knows this program's paperwork saves you document-fix cycles.

What Does Joining Cost?

Filing is free. The cost the official sources name is the connection-inspection charge, billed only to selected applicants: PEA lists 2,000 THB + 7% VAT = 2,140 THB; on the MEA side it follows the ERC announcement's annex (confirm the figure via 1130 before paying). The real money is the solar system itself, which the applicant funds entirely.
Is it worth it? That hinges on how much of the solar output your home uses during the day: a self-consumed unit is worth the retail rate you avoid, which exceeds the 2.20 THB sell-back. Homes with heavy daytime use (working from home, daytime air-con, EV charging) gain more than homes exporting most of their output.

How Is This Different From Net Metering?

Thailand's scheme is net billing: exported units are paid separately at 2.20 THB each, while units you draw from the grid are billed at the normal retail rate — it is not net metering, where exports directly offset imports unit-for-unit (the full mechanics are on our Net Metering Thailand page). A zero-export setup — a system configured to never feed the grid — is the no-sale configuration, a different thing from this program, which signs a proper contract to sell the surplus.

Can Businesses & Factories Join?

No — the program is restricted to Type-1 residential users. Shops, businesses and factories (rate classes 2–5) do not qualify, and the 5 kW cap is far below commercial loads anyway. That does not make solar a bad deal for business — the opposite: commercial solar's real value is self-consumption displacing full-price retail power, worth far more per unit than 2.20 THB.
Businesses have two main routes: own the system (EPC) or have an investor build it and buy the power below the utility rate under a PPA — for the detailed comparison (caps, rates, why factories belong in C&I), see Solar Phak Prachachon vs factory solar.

About the Author

Compiled by the CapSolar team under Frank Lee (Founder). CapSolar is a commercial & industrial solar EPC/PPA provider in Thailand that condenses energy policy and utility paperwork from official sources so households and businesses can make confident energy decisions.

FAQ

2.20 THB per unit under the ERC's B.E. 2569 announcement — excess power only, on a 10-year contract, identical in MEA and PEA areas.

Your Business Can Beat 2.20 THB/Unit With Solar

The residential program stops at homes — factories and commercial buildings save more per unit through self-consumption. CapSolar gives you a free assessment from your actual bill: whether EPC or PPA fits your site better.