What Solar Industry Professionals Need to Know About Net Metering

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September 20, 2018 | By RGR Marketing Blog

A Net Metering Primer for Solar Installers

If you are new to the solar industry, then you may have heard a bit about net metering programs. Net metering has become a bit of a catch-all phrase for a variety of programs around the country. These programs allow consumers who have invested in a home solar power system to attach that system to the grid and recoup some of what they pay for power for the surplus power they add back to the grid during times of peak generation.

Here’s what solar professionals need to know about net metering.

The Basics of Net Metering

When a homeowner pays to have rooftop solar installed on their home, they will typically have an additional or replacement electricity meter installed—either by their local utility, or by their solar installer. This meter measures the flow of electricity to their home from the grid, and from their array of solar panels back to the grid.

During times of peak generation, bright sunny afternoons for example, any excess electricity generated by a homeowner’s solar panels and added to the grid for general consumption gets credited against the power that the home draws from the grid when the sun isn’t shining—say, at night.

The way in which this credit is received by the homeowner varies a bit by program, as do the ways in which the flow is measured by the various available meters, but that is the gist of how net metering works.

Challenges to Net Metering Programs

Utilities would, generally speaking, prefer not to have to compensate homeowners for disconnecting partially from the grid. From their perspective, net metering provides the homeowner with an additional incentive to use less of their product and forces them to purchase solar power from the homeowner when they may be able to secure it elsewhere at a lower cost.

The central criticism of net metering programs is that solar-powered homes contribute power to the grid when it is needed the least—and cannot in most cases be effectively stored—and draw power from the grid when it is needed most.

Furthermore, homeowners that benefit from net-metering do so without actually saving the utility grid the true cost in infrastructure maintenance that their credits seem to suggest.

A State-by-State Net Metering Breakdown

Looking for some extra information on net metering state to state, and by utility district within those states? Look no further. What follows is a general breakdown of how net excess generation (NEG) is compensated state by state.

There are twelve states where NEG is credited at retail rate and the credits do not expire. These states are California, Colorado, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky.
There are seventeen states where NEG is credited at the retail rate, but credits either expire, or are reduced if they are not used in a timely fashion. These states are Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.
There are twelve states where NEG is credited, but at less than retail rates. These states are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Alaska.
The remaining states do not have net metering programs. And, in one case— Oklahoma—net metering is prohibited.

Net Metering as a Sales Incentive for Solar Professionals

Net metering takes many different forms, and is typically governed by state government policies that incentivize solar power by bringing the owners of solar-powered homes together with utilities in a symbiotic relationship that benefits both groups. But, net metering does have its critics and has been repealed in some areas where it once was common practice.

Where it is still in play, Net metering can be a fantastic sales incentive for solar installers. If your solar power business is in need of a jumpstart, why not consider buying high quality solar leads from RGR Marketing today? We’ll give your sales team something to work with when the pipe runs dry. Get in touch with us as soon as you’re ready.

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A Net Metering Primer for Solar Installers

The Basics of Net Metering

Challenges to Net Metering Programs

A State-by-State Net Metering Breakdown

Net Metering as a Sales Incentive for Solar Professionals

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money today!

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A Net Metering Primer for Solar Installers

The Basics of Net Metering

Challenges to Net Metering Programs

A State-by-State Net Metering Breakdown

Net Metering as a Sales Incentive for Solar Professionals

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