Solar

Customer Solar Photovoltaics Development & Metering

It is SNEW Policy to facilitate the development and installation of customer-side solar photovoltaic (PV) resources, consistent with safe electric utility practice and sound economic and social policy.

In general, SNEW and the District Commission are opposed to the subsidization of customer-side solar installations, in the belief that such installations need to rely on their inherent economics to be successful in the marketplace, and to avoid the flow of economic benefits between customer groups. However, for consistency with State policy and practices within the municipal electricity industry in Connecticut, SNEW offers a limited monetary incentive for customer solar photovoltaic installations.

A one-time payment of $0.487 per Watt will be made to solar installations which file an application form (available on the SNEW website) and which conform to SNEW’s solar installation standards and pass SNEW’s inspection. Rebates are limited to the first 10 kW of any installation. Such rebates may be adjusted, at SNEW’s sole discretion, to reflect market conditions and industry practice.

Customer-side solar installations must comply with the provisions of the SNEW Electric Service Rules, Regulations and Standards, Part D, which will include the submission of SNEW’s notarized “Owner Certification of Non-Parallel Operation-Open Transition Transfer Switches.”

A SNEW-owned 2-register electronic meter must be installed at the solar site. SNEW does not currently permit net metering at full retail; solar PV installations are limited in size, and must be sized to generate no more than 75% of the customer’s anticipated peak electrical demand. If the solar PV installation generates energy in excess of the customer demand, SNEW will purchase the net excess power at its wholesale cost of electricity, on an annual basis, as determined by the weighted average cost of electricity as purchased from the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC).

If, during the applicable monthly billing period, the electricity generated by the customer exceeds the electricity supplied by SNEW, the customer shall be billed for the applicable monthly service charges, and the balance of the electricity generated shall be carried into the following billing period and appear as a credit on the customer’s account. Credits will be carried forward until the customer’s consumption offsets the excess energy or the end of the 12-month true-up period is reached. At the end of the 12-month true-up period, any unused energy (kWh) credit accumulated during the previous 12 months will be reimbursed to the customer of record in the form of a check. The 12-month net-metering true-up period shall last from April 1 through March 30 of each year. No credits will be carried past March 30 into the succeeding annual true-up period.

This policy is effective as of June 20, 2018.

Second Taxing District Commission

June 19, 2018