Ask The Energy Expert
What Is Net Metering?By: Kevin Hurd, Manager of Member Services
Once a year we're required by law to post the "Notice of Net Metering and Easy Connect Act" (located at the bottom of the page). This generates questions we're happy to address. Here are some frequently asked questions:
Q. What is the Net Metering and Easy Connect Act?
A. It's a Missouri law that requires electric utilities to (1) facilitate power grid interconnection for consumer-owned renewable power generating projects, and (2) specifies the billing process for consumers who “export” power to the grid. Renewable resources are mostly solar and wind.
The law applies to consumers who could generate a maximum of 100 kilowatts (kWs) of electricity.
Q. What is required?
A. For starters, the law requires someone who wishes to connect their renewable energy project to the grid to submit (1) an application, (2) wiring diagram, (3) generating system specifications and (4) certification by a professional engineer or licensed electrician that the project meets safety code interconnection requirements, to name a few of the mandatory requirements. The entire application and documents must be approved by the utility.
Q. The "easy connect" act seems anything but easy. Why?
A. The law includes safeguards for consumer/installers and electric utility employees, and protects electric service reliability and power quality for neighbors.
Q. How does the billing process work?
A. In most cases, a special bidirectional meter provides billing data. The meter measures the power Cuivre River delivers, power the consumer generates for personal use, and power, if any, that is sent to the utility grid.
Here's an example from a Cuivre River member's solar system, using actual data from one summer month:
A home with a solar power system required a total of 1,329 kWhs. The solar system generated 218 kWhs and Cuivre River delivered 1,111 kWhs. During the billing period, 23 solar-generated kWhs were sent to the grid when the home momentarily had all the power it needed. The consumer/generator received a bill for 1,088 kWhs (1,111 kWhs from Cuivre River minus 23 excess kWhs sent to the grid) plus daily service availability.
The solar system generated about $20 in savings during the billing period used in this real-life example.
Q. Could a solar or wind system provide enough electricity for my whole house?
A. Some people have heard or read on the internet they can generate all of their home’s electricity needs and receive utility payments each month for excess kWhs they send to the grid.
We monitor several systems in mid-Missouri and don't see this happening here.
In theory, a consumer/generator can produce enough electricity during a single billing period to power their home. If a qualified net metering system does generate kWhs that exceed immediate on-site needs (more than a home's total kWhs during a billing period) the utility provides a credit for the surplus based on the utility's "avoided" cost (wholesale) to generate power.
A few over-zealous vendors of renewable energy systems imply utility payments are the norm. The reality: among 100 qualified net metering systems served by Missouri electric cooperatives, few even come close to meeting a home’s electricity needs during any billing period.
We are happy to work with members interested in net metering, but want you to be aware of costs and have realistic expectations. Missouri electric cooperatives report that the average installed cost of qualified systems is about $19,000 for a residential wind turbine and $25,000 for a solar system. Some cost less, some cost more depending on system type, size, quality, technology, home size, terrain, landscaping, community restrictions and individual requirements.
Q. Does Cuivre River offer wind and solar system rebates like the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) do?
A. Missouri electric cooperatives do not currently offer rebates to subsidize residential renewable energy systems.
IOUs are required by Missouri's Prop C, the "Clean Energy Initiative" passed in 2008, to increase the use of renewable energy and achieve a 15% renewable energy mandate by 2020. One provision of this law requires IOUs to offer limited residential subsidies for qualified solar systems to help meet the mandate. Electric cooperatives already exceed the current mandate and are exempt from the law.
Q. How does Cuivre River help members interested in generating renewable energy at their homes?
A. We facilitate the net metering application, interconnection and billing process for members who pursue qualified renewable energy generation systems. We also provide responsible, realistic information about renewable energy systems.
Missouri's electric cooperatives have been in the forefront of utility-scale renewable energy generation for many years. We have used power generated from hydroelectric resources for decades, and have generated power from approved biomass sources. Together, cooperatives lead the state's utility industry in delivering wind power, having secured 20-year contracts for all power generated by the state's first four utility-scale wind farms, and contracts for additional wind generation from facilities in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Q. Where can I go for reliable information about renewable energy systems that might qualify for net metering?
A. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources offers accurate information about residential renewable energy systems at www.dnr.mo.gov. Select "Publications" and "Energy and Renewable Energy" to locate information. The U. S. Department of Energy also provides resources at www.eere.energy.gov.
In addition, Cuivre River has permission to share actual data from qualified wind and solar net metering systems in operation today. We also provide net metering applications and direct members to other residential wind and solar resources.
Solar panels Cuivre River member Joe Anthony installed on his roof help generate power for his home. He has a bidirectional meter, and receives value for any excess energy that goes to the utility grid.
During the July-August billing period, Cuivre River provided 1,111 kWhs to his home, solar panels generated 218 kWhs, and 23 kWhs went to the utility grid. Anthony, a retired electrician, installed his own system and kept his solar start-up costs under $10,000, well below average costs.
Conduit carries wires and power from rooftop solar panels down to an electrical panel. Dual pipes on the right circulate water through a separate solar water heating system from the rooftop to a water heater.
The solar water heating system is not a part of the net metering system installed by Cuivre River member Joe Anthony.
Notice Of Net Metering And Easy Connect Act
On January 1, 2008, a law took effect in Missouri mandating that all electric utilities offer net metering and interconnection to consumers generating 100 kilowatts (kWs) or less of electricity from renewable resources.
Net metering enables the consumer (generator) to “export” power to the utility’s grid that is in excess of immediate on-site needs to offset an equal amount of power supplied by the utility at a different time in the billing period. When this situation occurs, the consumer is billed by the utility for the “net” amount of power used in excess of the power the consumer generates on-site.
During the billing period, if the consumer generates more power than the total amount of kWhs used (a combination of the amount generated on-site and the amount supplied by the utility), the utility provides the consumer a “credit” for the surplus power based on the avoided cost of the utility to generate the kWhs.
The law applies to only generating systems which are powered by renewable resources. These resources may include wind, solar or any other source of energy certified as renewable by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Consumers with qualifying generating systems are required to complete an application. The application must be accompanied by a plan that includes a wiring diagram and specifications for the generating system, and must be approved by the utility. The consumer must also submit certification from a professional engineer or licensed electrician indicating that the installation meets the interconnection requirements of the various safety codes, and other requirements.
The consumer is responsible for all costs and expenses to install, operate, maintain, repair, and periodically test the generating system. The cost of special metering equipment is also the responsibility of the consumer. For safety purposes, the generating system is required to have a lockable, visible disconnect, accessible to utility personnel. The system must also have controls that prevent it from supplying power to the utility’s grid when the generating system is not energized or operating normally.
Many other requirements are contained in the application.
For more information or to request an application, please contact Kevin Hurd at khurd@cuivre.com or call 800.392.3709, ext. 231.
For more information on renewable energy, see the Missouri Department of Natural Resources web site at www.dnr.mo.gov/energy.