Delaware
Incentives/Policies for Renewable Energy
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Last DSIRE Review: 10/23/2009
| Incentive Type: |
Net Metering |
| State: |
Delaware |
| Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: |
Photovoltaics,
Wind,
Biomass,
Hydroelectric,
Anaerobic Digestion,
Small Hydroelectric,
Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels
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| Applicable Sectors: |
Commercial,
Industrial,
Residential,
Nonprofit,
Schools,
Local Government,
State Government,
Fed. Government,
Agricultural,
Institutional
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| Applicable Utilities: | All utilities
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| System Capacity Limit: | 2 MW for non-residential & 25 kW for residential DP&L customers; 500 kW for non-residential & 25 kW for residential muni and DEC customers
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| Aggregate Capacity Limit: | 1% of peak demand (utilities may increase limit)
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| Net Excess Generation: | Credited to customer's next bill at retail rate; excess granted to Delaware Green Energy Fund (at avoided-cost rate) at end of 12-month billing period
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| REC Ownership: | Customer and utility
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| Meter Aggregation: | Not addressed
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Authority 1:
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26 Del. C. § 1014(d)
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| Date Enacted: | 1999 (subsequently amended) |
| Date Effective: | 1999 |
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Authority 2:
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PSC Order No. 7435
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| Date Enacted: | 09/02/2008 |
| Date Effective: | 10/10/2008 |
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Authority 3:
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S.B. 85
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| Date Enacted: | 07/09/2009 |
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Authority 4:
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S.B. 153
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| Date Enacted: | 09/21/2009 |
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Summary:
Note: In July 2009 the Delaware legislature enacted S.B. 85, significantly improving net metering in the state. The enacted legislation: (1) extends net metering to farm service customers on residential rates for systems up to 100 kW (or more on a case-by-case basis); (2) removes provisions requiring annual forfeiture of net excess generation (NEG) and allows customers to request payment at the supply service rate for NEG credits at the close of the calendar year; (3) grants customer-generators ownership over all renewable energy credits produced by net metered systems; and, (4) expands the aggregate program capacity limit from 1% of peak load to 5% of peak load. Separately, S.B. 135 enacted in September 2009 permits the owner of a grid-integrated electric vehicle to receive credit for electricity that the vehicle exports to the grid at the same rate as the customer pays for electricity drawn from the grid to charge the vehicle. As such vehicles do not actually produce electricity, over time they cannot receive a net credit from this arrangement.
The remainder of this summary describes net metering in Delaware as it existed prior to the enactment of S.B. 85 and S.B. 153. The Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC), Delaware Electric Cooperative (DEC), and municipal utilities will need to adopt revised rules to implement these changes.
Enacted in July 2007,S.B. 8 requires the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) and municipal utilities to develop rules and regulations to implement the provisions described below. The Delaware Electric Cooperative (DEC) was added to this law in 2008 by S.B. 193, clarifying that it is not subject to PSC net metering rules. In September 2008 the PSC issued final rules (PSC Order No. 7435) for these amendments which became effective October 10, 2008. It is important to note that the PSC rules do not apply to municipal utilities and the DEC, although both are still required to offer net metering under the terms of state statute, which is quite detailed.
In Delaware, net metering is available to any customer that generates electricity using solar, wind or hydro resources, anaerobic digesters, or fuel cells powered by renewable fuels. The maximum capacity of a net-metered system is 25 kilowatts (kW) for residential customers of DP&L, DEC and municipal electric utilities; two megawatts (MW) per meter for non-residential customers of DP&L; and 500 kW per meter for non-residential customers of DEC and municipal utilities. The DEC and municipal utilities are "encouraged" by statute to offer net metering for nonresidential customers with eligible systems up to 2 MW in capacity. Systems must be intended primarily to offset all or part of a customer's electricity requirements.
Customers are credited in kilowatt-hours (kWh), valued at an amount per kWh equal to the sum of delivery service charges and supply service charges for residential customers, and equal to the sum of the volumetric energy (kWh) components of the delivery service charges and supply service charges for non-residential customers, for any net excess generation (NEG) in a billing period. NEG is carried over to subsequent billing periods to offset a customer's consumption in those billing periods until all credits are used or until the end of a 12-month period, ending either December 31 or July 31, to be chosen at the discretion of the customer. (In essence, NEG is carried over to the customer's next bill at the utility's retail rate.) Any unused NEG at the end of a 12-month period is forfeited by the customer and credited at the utility's avoided-cost rate to Delaware's Green Energy Fund. Customers retain ownership of renewable-energy credits (RECs) associated with electricity produced and consumed on-site. RECs associated with NEG are conveyed to the utility.
Competitive utilities -- including competitive municipal utilities and competitive electric cooperatives -- must provide net-metered customers electric service at nondiscriminatory rates that are identical, with respect to rate structure and monthly charges, to the rates that a customer that is not net metering would be charged. Competitive utilities may not charge a net-metered customer any stand-by fees or similar charges, with the exception that the Delaware Energy Office will promulgate rules that allow DEC and municipal electric companies to request to assess non-residential net-metered customers a fee or charge "if the electric utility's direct costs of interconnection and administration of net metering for these customer classes outweigh the distribution system, environmental and public-policy benefits of allocating the costs among the [utility's] entire customer base."
All net-metered systems meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the NEC, the IEEE and UL. Competitive utilities must develop interconnection rules by using as a guide the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's (IREC) model rules and the best practices identified by the U.S. Department of Energy. Competitive utilities may not require eligible net-metering customers who meet all applicable safety and performance standards to install excessive controls, perform or pay for unnecessary tests, or purchase excessive liability insurance.
Net metering is accomplished using a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions. An additional meter or meters to monitor the flow of electricity in each direction may be installed with the consent of the net-metered customer, at the expense of a competitive utility. If the existing meter of an eligible customer is incapable of measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, then the utility is responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a bi-directional meter. However, if a larger capacity meter is required to serve the customer, or if a larger capacity meter is requested by the customer, then the customer must pay the utility the difference between the larger capacity meter investment and the metering investment normally provided under the customer's service classification. If an additional meter or meters are installed, the net energy metering calculation must yield a result identical to that of a single meter.
Utilities are authorized to disallow additional net-metered energy systems if the aggregate capacity of all net-metered systems exceeds 1% of the capacity necessary to meet the electric utility's aggregated customer monthly peak demand for a particular calendar year.
History
Net metering was expanded significantly in July 2007 by S.B. 8, which extended net metering to all customer classes, added biogas and fuel cells as eligible technologies, addressed the ownership of RECs, and increased the previous individual system limit of 25 kW, among other changes.
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