NET METERING

1) What is Net Metering?

Net metering programs serve as an important incentive for consumer investment in renewable energy generation. Net metering enables customers to use their own generation to offset their consumption over a billing period by allowing their electric meters to turn backwards when they generate electricity in excess of the their demand. This offset means that customers receive retail prices for the excess electricity they generate. Without net metering, a second meter is usually installed to measure the electricity that flows back to the provider, with the provider purchasing the power at a rate much lower than the retail rate. Net metering is a low-cost, easily administered method of encouraging customer investment in renewable energy technologies. It increases the value of the electricity produced by renewable generation and allows customers to "bank" their energy and use it a different time than it is produced giving customers more flexibility and allowing them to maximize the value of their production. Providers may also benefit from net metering because when customers are producing electricity during peak periods, the system load factor is improved.

2) Why is net metering important?

There are three reasons net metering is important:
First, because wind energy is an intermittent resource, customers may not be using power as it is being generated, and net metering allows them to receive full value for the electricity they produce without installing expensive battery storage systems. This is important because it directly affects the economics and pay-back period for the investment.
Second, net-metering reduces the installation costs for the customer by eliminating the need for a second energy meter.
Third, net metering provides a simple, inexpensive, and easily-administered mechanism for encouraging the use of small-scale wind energy systems, which provide important local, national, and global benefits to the environment and the economy.

3) Can I really use my existing meter to take advantage of net metering?

The standard kilowatt-hour meter used for most residential and small commercial customers accurately registers the flow of electricity in either direction. This means the 'netting' process associated with net metering happens automatically -- the meter spins forward (in the normal direction) when the customer needs more electricity than is being produced, and spins backward when the customer is producing more electricity than is needed in the home or building. The meter registers the net amount of energy produced or consumed during the billing period.

4) What is the current status of net metering?

Currently, 30 states require at least some utilities to offer net metering for small wind systems, although the requirements vary from state to state. Most state net metering rules were enacted by state utility regulators, and these rules apply only to utilities whose rates and services are regulated at the state level. In recent years many states have enacted net metering laws legislatively, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. In most of the states with net metering statutes, all utilities are required to offer net metering for some wind systems, although many states limit eligibility to small systems.