Czech lower house votes to halt solar boom

PRAGUE, March 17 (Reuters) - The lower house of the Czech parliament voted on Wednesday to allow regulators to cut solar power prices to curb a boom that has triggered a steep rise in electricity prices and ignited fears of grid instability.

The law gives the regulator the freedom to cut the feed-in tariffs that distributors must pay solar plants as of next year, when it determines that the return on investment into solar plants falls below 11 years.

This piece of legislation still needs to be approved by the upper house, the Senate. It is expected to face no serious opposition there.

For a preview see: [ID:nLDE62E1Q1] (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Amanda Cooper)