§ 75.13. General provisions.
(a) EDCs and DSPs shall offer net metering to customer-generators that generate electricity on the customer-generator’s side of the meter using Tier I or Tier II alternative energy sources, on a first come, first served basis. To qualify for net metering, the customer-generator shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Have electric load, independent of the alternative energy system, behind the meter and point of interconnection of the alternative energy system. To be independent of the alternative energy system, the electric load must have a purpose other than to support the operation, maintenance or administration of the alternative energy system.
(2) The owner or operator of the alternative energy system may not be a utility.
(3) The alternative energy system must have a nameplate capacity of not greater than 50 kW if installed at a residential service location.
(4) The alternative energy system must have a nameplate capacity not larger than 3 MW at other customer service locations, except when the alternative energy system has a nameplate capacity not larger than 5 MW and meets the conditions in § 75.16 (relating to large customer-generators).
(5) An alternative energy system with a nameplate capacity of 500 kW or more must have Commission approval to net meter in accordance with § 75.17 (relating to process for obtaining Commission approval of customer-generator status).
(b) EGSs may offer net metering to customer-generators, on a first come, first served basis, under the terms and conditions as are set forth in agreements between EGSs and customer-generators taking service from EGSs, or as directed by the Commission.
(c) An EDC shall file a tariff with the Commission that provides for net metering consistent with this chapter. An EDC shall file a tariff providing net metering protocols that enables EGSs to offer net metering to customer-generators taking service from EGSs. To the extent that an EGS offers net metering service, the EGS shall prepare information about net metering consistent with this chapter and provide that information with the disclosure information required under § 54.5 (relating to disclosure statement for residential and small business customers).
(d) An EDC and DSP shall credit a customer-generator at the full retail kilowatt-hour rate, which shall include generation, transmission and distribution charges, for each kilowatt-hour produced by a Tier I or Tier II resource installed on the customer-generator’s side of the electric revenue meter, up to the total amount of electricity used by that customer during the billing period. If a customer-generator supplies more electricity to the electric distribution system than the EDC and DSP deliver to the customer-generator in a given billing period, the excess kilowatt hours shall be carried forward and credited against the customer-generator’s kilowatt-hour usage in subsequent billing periods at the full retail rate. Any excess kilowatt hours that are not offset by electricity used by the customer in subsequent billing periods shall continue to accumulate until the end of the year. For customer-generators involved in virtual meter aggregation programs, a credit shall be applied first to the meter through which the generating facility supplies electricity to the distribution system, then through the remaining meters for the customer-generator’s account equally at each meter’s designated rate.
(e) At the end of each year, the DSP shall compensate the customer-generator for any remaining excess kilowatt hours generated by the customer-generator that were not previously credited against the customer-generator’s usage in prior billing periods at the DSP’s price to compare rate.
(f) The credit or compensation terms for excess electricity produced by customer-generators who are customers of EGSs must be stated in the service agreement between the customer-generator and the EGS. EDCs shall credit customer-generators who are EGS customers for each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced at the EDC’s unbundled distribution kilowatt-hour rate. The distribution kilowatt-hour rate credit shall be applied monthly against kilowatt-hour distribution usage. If the customer-generator supplies more electricity to the electric distribution system than the EDC delivers to the customer-generator in any billing period, the excess kilowatt hours shall be carried forward and credited against the customer-generator’s unbundled kilowatt-hour distribution usage in subsequent billing periods until the end of the year when all remaining unused kilowatt-hour distribution credits shall be zeroed-out. Distribution credits are not carried forward into the next year.
(g) If a customer-generator switches electricity suppliers, the EDC shall treat the end of the service period as if it were the end of the year.
(h) An EDC and EGS which offer net metering shall submit an annual net metering report to the Commission. The report shall be submitted by July 30 of each year, and include the following information for the reporting period ending May 31 of that year:
(1) The total number of customer-generator facilities.
(2) The total estimated rated generating capacity of its net metering customer-generators.
(i) A customer-generator that is eligible for net metering owns the alternative energy credits of the electricity it generates, unless there is a contract with an express provision that assigns ownership of the alternative energy credits to another entity or the customer-generator expressly rejects any ownership interest in alternative energy credits under § 75.14(d) (relating to meters and metering).
(j) An EDC and DSP shall provide net metering at nondiscriminatory rates identical with respect to rate structure, retail rate components and any monthly charges to the rates charged to other customers that are not customer-generators on the same default service rate. An EDC and DSP may use a special load profile for the customer-generator which incorporates the customer-generator’s real time generation if the special load profile is approved by the Commission.
(k) An EDC or DSP may not charge a customer-generator a fee or other type of charge unless the fee or charge would apply to other customers that are not customer-generators, or is specifically authorized under this chapter or by order of the Commission. The EDC and DSP may not require additional equipment or insurance or impose any other requirement unless the additional equipment, insurance or other requirement is specifically authorized under this chapter or by order of the Commission.
(l) Nothing in this subchapter abrogates a person’s obligation to comply with other applicable law.
Authority The provisions of this § 75.13 amended under 66 Pa.C.S. § § 501, 1501 and 2807(e); and sections 1648.7(a) and 1648.3(e)(2) of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004 (73 P.S. § § 1648.7(a) and 1648.3(e)(2)).
Source The provisions of this § 75.13 amended November 28, 2008, effective November 29, 2008, 38 Pa.B. 6437; amended November 18, 2016, effective November 19, 2016, 46 Pa.B. 7277, 7448. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (340018) to (340020).
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