net energy meterin

1. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Tribal Energy Program
Western Area Power Administration
2014 Tribal Webinar Series
Net Metering
June 25, 2014
11:00 am – 12:30 PM

2. 2
Todays Presenters
• Randy Manion manion@wapa.gov
• Sarai Geary Sarai.Geary@Hq.Doe.Gov
• Lori Bird lori.bird@nrel.gov
• Patrick McCulley Patrick@blackrocksolar.org
• Lenny Gold lgold@utility-strategies.com
• Susie Chang schang@gridalternatives.org

3. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Tribal Energy Program
Western Area Power Administration
Net Metering
Overview for Tribes
Lori Bird, NREL
June 25, 2014 Webinar

4. 4
Net Metering Definition
For electric customers who generate their own electricity, net
metering allows for the flow of electricity both to and from the
customer – typically through a single, bi-directional meter.
When a customer’s generation exceeds the customer’s use,
electricity from the customer flows back to the grid, offsetting
electricity consumed by the customer at a different time during
the same billing cycle. In effect, the customer uses excess
generation to offset electricity that the customer otherwise
would have to purchase at the utility’s full retail rate.
Source: Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
(DSIRE) - http://www.dsireusa.org/glossary/

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• PV project capacity limits range from 10 kW to 80 MW
• Half of all policies have a cap on aggregate eligible net metering capacity
Net Metering Policy Summary

6. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Tribal Energy Program
Western Area Power Administration

7. 7
Net Metering Design Components
• Eligibility
o Allowable technology
o Customer type
• System size limitations
o Limits on size of eligible residential and
commercial systems
o Is oversizing of systems allowed?
• Period of crediting
o Monthly, annual, or continuous crediting
• Crediting of net excess generation
o Retail or wholesale rate
• Cap on aggregate net metered capacity
• Additional fees (if any)
• Renewable Energy Credit (REC) ownership
Design Considerations

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Example Net Metering Programs
• Net Excess Generation:
o Rolls month to month
o IOUs: Customers can roll over credit
indefinitely or receive payment at
average hourly incremental cost at
end of year
o Municipality and co-ops: annual
reconciliation at a rate they deem
appropriate
• System Capacity Limit:
o IOU customers: 120% of the
customer's average annual
consumption.
o Municipality and co-op customers:
25 kW for non-residential; 10 kW
for residential
• Aggregate Capacity Limit:
o No limit specified
• Net Excess Generation:
o Rolls month to month; excess
reconciled annually at
avoided-cost rate
• System Capacity Limit:
o Capacity equivalent to serve
customer's annual on-site
energy consumption
• Aggregate Capacity Limit:
o No limit specified (Board of
Public Utilities may limit to
2.5% of peak demand)
Colorado New Jersey

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DSIRE - Net Metering Information for Colorado
http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=CO26R&re=1&ee=0

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Meter Aggregation and Virtual Net Metering
• Meter aggregation - a renewable energy project can offset
the electricity load of a customer with multiple meters
o Example: A solar project at a federal site offsets the loads of
buildings that are separately metered
• Virtual net metering/group billing – multiple customers
receive benefits of a net-metered renewable energy (RE)
project, with resulting bill credits allocated across the
participating customer bills.
o Examples: Multiple stores in a shopping mall receive benefits from solar
project on the mall roof
o Community solar project with net metering

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Meter Aggregation and Virtual Net Metering Programs
• Available in a number of states
o Example: California, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts & Vermont
• Virtual net metering/group billing
o Vermont: 22 groups have formed to share the output of a renewable energy
system with system sizes ranging from 1.5 to 199 kW
• California Meter Aggregation:
o Virtual net metering allowed for multi-tenant properties
o Meter aggregation allowed for local governments if all participating accounts
receive a time-of-use rate
o Meter aggregation may be allowed for all customers with multiple meters on
parcels of land contiguous to the location of the renewable energy system
(pending CPUC and other approvals)
NREL report: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54570.pdf

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Net Metering Aggregate Caps
Peak Demand/Peak Load
MW cap
Other
Trigger/Notification
No cap
Voluntary utility program(s) only
No net metering
Most net metering caps are based on peak demand but there is variation in cap
design. In some cases there is a trigger to notify the PUC once a threshold is
reached.

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Progress to Meeting Net Metering Caps
Source: Data from individual states or utilities. Data updated as of March 11, 2014. Percentages represent the latest data available
at the time of data collection.
Cap often defined as fraction of utility peak
demand (e.g., 1-5%). Some states have
triggers where they can review net metering
NJ: trigger, not cap

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Net Metering Legislative Activity
Source: Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker and National Conference of State Legislatures as of
3/26/14.
2013-2014 Enacted
Legislation
Is retail rate compensation accurate for PV customers? Or is it
too high or too low? Eligibility is often capped to limit financial
impacts.
43 States + DC have
Net Metering

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Net Metering Debate and Rate Options
Net metering debate
• Residential customers avoid paying transmission and distribution charges with
retail rate credit (no demand charge); potential cost shift
• What is the appropriate rate for crediting solar generation?
A variety of options exist for regulators to address
distributed PV and may be used in combination
• Net metering (43 states)
• Two-way rates
o e.g., value of solar
• Customer charges
o fixed charges, demand charges, minimum bill
• Time-based rates
Source: Dennis Schroeder

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What is the Value of Distributed PV?
• Generation and capacity
value
• T&D deferrals
• Line loss savings
• Fuel price hedge
• Environmental benefit
Costs
• Administrative costs
• Interconnection costs
• Integration costs
Benefits
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, Review of Solar PV
Benefit and Cost Studies, 2013

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Value of Solar Tariffs vs. Net Metering
• Applied to all PV
system generation
• Payment based on
value of PV
• Customer
consumption and VOS
revenues may be
netted on the utility
bill
• Unused PV generation
reduces consumption
charges (retail rate credit)
• Net excess generation
compensated at some rate
• Netting on customer bill,
although net excess can be
paid separately
Value of Solar (VOS) Net Metering
Credit:
Craig
Miller
Productions
and
DOE
Examples:
Austin Energy
Minnesota
CPS Energy

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Value of Solar Tariff Considerations
• Challenge in gaining consensus on calculating the value
• What benefits/costs to include?
• What methodology?
• Customer continues paying fully embedded rates
• If calculation changes frequently, it can create
uncertainty for solar development
• If VOS tariff rate is below LCOE of solar, then the market
could stagnate or other incentives may be needed
• Two-way rate could have tax implications

19. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Tribal Energy Program
Western Area Power Administration
Thank you.
Lori Bird
Lori.bird@nrel.gov
Net Metering Overview for
Tribes
June 25, 2014

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Questions
• Answers to all questions submitted electronically during
today’s webinar will be posted on WAPA’s website within
a few weeks.
• To view and download presentations and corresponding
Q&As from the 2014 Tribal Energy Webinar Series, please
visit www.wapa.gov and click on Renewables in the top
navigation.
• To submit follow-up questions regarding the material
covered in today’s webinar, please email the appropriate
presenter

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Remaining Webinars in the 2014 Series
Date Topic Date Topic
30-Jul
Project Implementation
and O&M
24-Sep
Successful Project
Financing Mechanisms
27-Aug
Facility and Community
Project Financing
25-Oct Putting It All Together