Lower your STEG bill without sacrificing comfort
Consuming, buying and paying are different things. Discover ways to lower your STEG bill with a suitable solar project.
You can maintain your usage while buying less electricity from the grid, particularly by generating part of your energy with solar. To assess the project's value, distinguish appliance consumption, exchanges with STEG and amounts actually paid. A battery or financing adds further elements to the comparison.
Three benchmarks for your decision:
- Your home can consume the same number of kWh while buying less from STEG thanks to photovoltaics.
- The amount payable includes items that solar panels do not all eliminate.
- The right project compares the total post-installation budget, including expenses and any financing.
Consuming electricity and buying it from the grid are different things
An air conditioner, pump or fridge needs energy to operate. If panels supply some of that energy, usage can stay the same while grid imports fall. Photovoltaics then change the source of the electricity used.
For low voltage, the STEG contract reviewed also sets out the balance between energy supplied by the grid and energy delivered by the self-producer. Surplus is carried forward to the next cycle under that contract. Building consumption, grid imports and the billing balance must therefore be distinguished. Source: STEG LV contract, article 11.
An example: the same needs, lower net purchases
Take a fictional educational example over a simplified comparison period. It illustrates flows; it does not replace calculation of actual bills per cycle.
| Electricity flows | Without solar | With solar in this example |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance needs | 6 000 kWh | 6 000 kWh |
| Solar used directly | 0 kWh | 2 500 kWh |
| Electricity drawn from the grid | 6 000 kWh | 3 500 kWh |
| Solar exported to the grid | 0 kWh | 1 000 kWh |
| Simplified energy balance after netting | 6 000 kWh | 2 500 kWh |
Solar generation is 3 500 kWh: 2 500 are used directly and 1 000 are exported. Demand remains 6 000 kWh. The simplified balance is 3 500 kWh imported minus 1 000 kWh exported.
With a fictional constant value of 0,300 DT/kWh, the illustrative energy charge would fall from 1 800 to 750 DT. This price is not an official tariff. Bands, taxes, fees, netting schedule and financing must be recalculated under the customer's contract. Carried-forward credits are not treated as cash payments here.
A photo of your bill is enough to start. The team reviews consumption and your home's conditions before proposing an installation.
Run some loads during generation hours
Where usage allows, running some equipment during solar generation can increase the share consumed directly. This could be pool filtration or a programmable appliance, depending on actual needs and operating conditions.
The amount of energy may stay similar, but its distribution through the day changes. For businesses, machine schedules and closed days are therefore useful to the study. Production, comfort and product preservation constraints remain priorities: the operating schedule is prepared with the operator.
To understand how timing affects results, see our 30 kWc business example with profitability calculations.
An estimated bill is worth checking
An estimated or interim bill total may differ from the amount based on actual readings. STEG describes self-reading and correction procedures for relevant situations. Correcting an estimate aligns billing more closely with consumption; it does not erase energy actually used. Source: STEG, self-reading.
Before any simulation, also distinguish electricity, gas, previous balances and existing instalments. Our guide to reading a STEG bill details the information to identify.
Check the contract and billing items
Tariffs and fees vary notably with customer type and connection. For a business, subscribed capacity and any time-of-use bands form part of the analysis. A contractual change must remain compatible with the site's needs and STEG's conditions. Source: STEG, electricity tariffs.
The aim is to compare before and after over the same period. The post-project total may include a remaining bill, repayments, maintenance and insurance. The initial deposit must also remain visible.
Is the battery intended for savings or backup?
A battery shifts energy use in time, with losses and equipment costs. Its economic value depends notably on netting rules, tariffs and usage. It would be incorrect to count the same kWh twice: once as a grid credit and again as stored energy savings.
If the main need is to keep working during an outage, sizing also depends on priority appliances and the desired duration. Discover what enables solar to provide backup power and how to estimate battery runtime.
Build your comparison using your own data
Ideally, prepare twelve months of consumption data, billing periods, operating hours and the uses you want to maintain. We can then assess system sizing, project cost and financing options, subject to the conditions of your application.
Your request collects your name, phone number and email so our team can contact you with your project details. You can also browse all our articles and examples.