Understanding Net Energy

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As a net-metered customer, you can be a net-user, a net-generator, or you can be completely reliant on the Utility service provider for your power — all depending on the production of your system.

Net User: Your home will use all of the energy produced by your solar system before going to the grid for additional power. Whenever your home pulls power from the grid, that energy is recorded on the delivered channel of your net meter. Thus, the delivered reading represents what power your home needed after using all available solar energy. The delivered channel is not a measurement of your home’s total energy consumption.

Net Generator: When you are producing more energy than your home needs, your excess energy goes back to the grid. That “leftover” amount is reflected on the received channel of your meter.  The received channel of your electric meter does not record the total production of your solar system, rather it tells you how much excess power you had after your home used all of the available solar generated power.

System Power: if your solar system is not generating any power, your home will pull 100 percent of your power needs from the grid. Any power pulled from the grid is recorded on the delivered channel of your meter, and reflected as an Energy Charge on your bill.

 

Determining Total Power Generated

Utility provider only measures the energy on the utility side of the meter to track what you use from the grid and any excess energy you put back on the system. When you receive 100 percent of your electricity from grid, we can easily provide your monthly consumption totals. As a net-metered customer, you are an independent generator of power and your solar energy system is not metered or maintained by Utility provider. Since we don’t meter your solar energy system, it is not possible for us to provide you with a production total for your solar system.

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Calculating Your Net Energy Consumption

Net energy is the total energy delivered to you from grid minus any excess power you put back on the grid. Net energy is not displayed, but is easy to calculate with the information found on your net meter.

To calculate your net energy take the delivered energy and subtract the received energy displayed on your meter. 

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Net Metering and Your Monthly Bill

As a utility customer with a net meter agreement, your bill is a bit different because you consume both the energy produced by your solar electric system, and the energy you receive from utility provider. Your monthly net metered bill will include the following components:

• Facility Charge is a fixed monthly charge paid by every Utility provider each month to cover the cooperative’s “fixed” costs to provide electric service including meter reading, billing, account maintenance and member services.

• Energy Charge is energy you used from the United Power system. If you had excess generation for that month, your energy charge is zero, and your excess generation was “banked” for you.

• Net Meter Banked Usage is the excess energy you generated that is “banked” for future use. If you use more energy than you generate, credits are pulled from this bank.

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Your Net Meter Bank

When you produce more energy than you use, you can receive credit for that energy through an energy banking process listed on your bill as your Net Meter Banked Usage. Your current bank balance is printed on your monthly bill.

Adding to Your Bank: When you generate more energy than you use in a month, a “deposit” is made into your net meter bank. That balance continues to grow as long as you produce more energy than you use each month.

Making a Withdrawal: If you use more energy than your system produced in a given month, utility provider will “withdraw” energy credits from your bank first before you are assessed any energy charges. Remaining monthly energy use in excess of your net meter bank balance will appear as an energy charge on your bill.

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Annual Settlement of Your Net Meter Bank

Your net meter energy bank balance will continue to roll over each month until March when all net meter energy banks are settled and returned to a zero balance.

If you have a balance in your net meter bank, you can elect to receive a check payment for that energy paid to you at the wholesale energy rate, or you can have your balance applied as a bill credit to your April bill to help offset future service and energy charges. All net meter bank balances are paid out at the current wholesale energy rate.