Robert Griffin, Massapequa
1.8 kW System
?I?ve been interested in solar electricity for 20 years. New technical improvements and financial support from LIPA make it a great, safe and clean alternative to oil. It?s also an economical, long-term investment: I have seen my meter run backwards on sunny days continuously from about 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which supplements about two-thirds of my LIPA electric bill in the summer.?
Carol Caputo, East Patchogue
1.4 kW PV System
"I have been an avid follower of solar for many years, and when I found out about LIPA?s Solar Pioneer Program incentives, I decided to install PV on a cottage behind my house. Solar is good for the environment. I am also a conservative user of energy, utilize compact fluorescent light bulbs and looking into energy efficiency appliances for my home to maximize the benefits of producing electricity with PV."
From:
http://www.lipower.org/cei/solar.metering.html
What is Net Metering and How Does It Work?
Through New York State?s Net Metering Law and LIPA?s Tariff for Electric Service, residential customers with PV systems 10 kW or less are entitled to net metering. At times, a net metered customer?s PV system may generate more electric energy than their consumption. When this occurs, the electric meter will spin in reverse. The excess electricity is returned to the LIPA system. At the end of each month, the net metered customer is billed only for the net consumption, that is, the amount of electricity consumed, less the amount of electricity produced. This is called ?net metering.? Your meter is currently spinning in the "Consumption" mode. To spin your meter backwards due to PV, we need to reverse the dials direction to simulate a reversing meter.
Why is net metering important?
There are three reasons net metering is important. First, as increasing numbers of primarily residential customers install renewable energy systems in their homes, there needs to be a simple, standardized protocol for connecting their systems into the electricity grid that ensures safety and power quality. Second, many residential customers are not at home using electricity during the day when their systems are producing power, and net metering allows them to receive full value for the electricity they produce without installing expensive battery storage systems. Third, net metering provides a simple, inexpensive, and easily-administered mechanism for encouraging the use of renewable energy systems, which provide important local, national, and global benefits.
What are the benefits and costs of net metering?
Consumers benefit by getting greater value for some of the electricity they generate, by being able to interconnect with the utility using their existing utility meter, and by being able to interconnect using widely-accepted technical standards.
The only cost associated with net metering is indirect: the customer is buying less electricity from the utility, which means the utility is collecting less revenue from the customer. That's because any excess electricity that would have been sold to the utility at the wholesale or 'avoided cost' price is instead being used to offset electricity the customer would have purchased at the retail price. In most cases, the revenue loss is comparable to having the customer reducing electricity use by investing in energy efficiency measures, such as compact fluorescent lights and efficient appliances.
Can I use my existing meter to take advantage of net metering?
The standard kilowatt-hour meter used for residential customers will be replaced with a "net meter", which 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 consumer needs more electricity than is being produced, and spins backward when the consumer is producing more electricity than is needed in the house or building.
How can I be sure that these small-scale PV systems are safe?
During the last decade there has been tremendous technological progress in the design of the equipment that integrates small-scale generators with the utility grid. Called 'inverters' because they were originally designed only to 'invert' the DC electricity produced by solar arrays to the AC electricity used in our homes and businesses, these devices have evolved into extremely sophisticated power management systems. Inverters now include all the necessary protective relays and circuit breakers needed to synchronize safely and reliably with the utility grid.
What LIPA and State Incentives are available to help minimize the cost of purchasing a PV System?
LIPA?s Solar Pioneer Program, combined with tax incentives currently available from New York State, makes this a great time to consider solar power for your home. LIPA offers direct incentives that significantly reduce the cost of utility interconnected photovoltaic (PV) systems sized up to 10 kilowatts (KW). Residential customers may also pursue a New York State tax credit of up to $3,750. In addition, homeowners may take advantage of New York State?s 15-year property tax exemption for Solar Energy Systems (check with your municipality to see if you?re eligible). Back to top
As a Net Metered Customer, How Will LIPA Bill Me?
Net metered customers are billed on a monthly basis. BALANCED BILLING customers who become net metered customers will be removed from BALANCED BILLING and billed on a monthly basis based upon their energy consumption.
All net sales transactions are based on a ?contract year,? which begins with the date the net meter is installed by LIPA. During the contract year, LIPA?s retail energy rates are applied to the net energy or kilowatt hours that are consumed from LIPA each month. LIPA?s retail rates range from 11.79 cents per kWh to 13.677 cents per kWh and includes the Fuel Purchased Power Cost Adjustment (FPPCA) rate. These rates will vary based upon the season and the amount of energy consumed from LIPA.
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What If My PV System Generates More Energy Than What I Consume From LIPA?
During the month, if a net metered customer generates more energy from their PV system than he/she consumes from LIPA, the customer is billed for the daily service charge only (meter charge) and the excess generation in kilowatt hours (credits) is placed in an ?energy bank?. Energy from the bank can be withdrawn in subsequent months to reduce the net metered customer?s billed consumption during the contract year.
Annually, on the net metered customer?s anniversary date, LIPA will reconcile the energy bank. The total monetary value of the energy bank is calculated to combine the monetary values for each month during the contract year at the rates specified in LIPA?s SC-11 buyback or wholesale avoided cost rate, which is approximately 0.375 cents. This rate will vary upon each season. This total amount of money will be credited to the net metered customer and the customer?s energy bank (in kilowatt hours and dollars) reset to zero and the end of the contract year. Back to top
What If My PV System Produced More Energy Than What I Consumed From LIPA At The End Of The Contract Year?
At the end of the contract year, in the event that the cumulative dollar value is positive (your PV system produced more energy than you consumed from LIPA) end of year reconciliation dollars will be applied as a credit to your LIPA customer account and the energy bank reset to zero. Back to top
What If I Consume More From LIPA Than What My PV System Produces At The End Of The Contract Year?
In the event that the cumulative dollar value is negative at the end of the contract year, (you consumed more from LIPA than your PV system produced) you will be billed that amount by LIPA at the retail rate and the energy bank reset to zero. Back to top
Net Metering for Time-of-Use Customers
As a LIPA Time-of-Use customer, in order to net meter, LIPA requires that you have a second, non-time-differentiated meter wired to your service. Both meters will only be able to record electrical consumption in one direction. The LIPA revenue Time of Use meter will record only the energy provided by LIPA and will be identified as the ?sell meter.? The ?sell? meter will be programmed to record LIPA energy you consume utilizing the appropriate Time-of-Use rate structure. The second meter will be identified as the ?buy meter?. This meter records the amount of kWh energy that you have generated and are selling back to LIPA.
According to LIPA?s billing tariff for residential small solar electric generators (PV systems) who are served under a residential Time of Use Service Classification, LIPA will combine the purchases and sales recorded on the two meters by first offsetting purchases from LIPA during the peak period by the amount sold to LIPA in a given billing period. Any additional energy supplied from the PV system will then be used to offset the off peak period within the same billing period. After satisfying the current billing period, any remaining kWh energy will be carried over to the next billing period and will be used to offset LIPA energy rates. All net sales transactions are based on a ?contract year,? which begins with the date the second ?buy? meter is installed by LIPA. At the end of the contract year, LIPA will adjust any remaining energy credits at LIPA?s SC-11 Buyback or wholesale avoided cost rate, which is approximately 0.375 cents. This rate will vary upon each season. The total amount of money will be credited to the Time of Use net metered customer account and the customer?s account reset to zero at the end of the contract year.
