The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission issued a new order, making cuts to the state’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) program. The order maintains full retail credit for monthly net excess generation for supply but will no longer give credit for non-bypassable charges (NBC’s) like the system benefits charge. The decision removes the existing NEM caps and offers grandfathering to current customers.
Key Provisions
- The order goes into effect on September 1, 2017
- Maintains full retail credit for monthly net excess generation for supply & transmission, but will no longer give credit to non-bypassable charges, like the system benefits charge
- Monthly net excess production will only receive 25% of the distribution component
- Removes all net metering caps on current customers
- Current customers will be grandfathered until 2040
What’s the net effect?
Anytime the exported rate of solar does not receive the full 1:1 credit of the retail rate, the ‘$/kWh value of solar’ will get eroded. In addition to the non-bypassable charge, new customers installing solar will only receive 25% monthly export credits of the distribution component. To determine the effect for a specific customer will require modeling their project, using their specific load profile (or baselined load profile), rate schedule, and solar production profile. The order from the New Hampshire PUC stems from a decision made a year prior, which doubled the NEM cap and had the PUC decide on the next steps for rate design. The PUC will use this new order as a way of acquiring more data in order to set a long-term tariff structure.
Updates made in Energy Toolbase
- Users can model the New Hampshire NEM rules in Energy Toolbase, by setting the NBC rate in “Step 2 – Utility Rates” based on the specific rate they are modeling.
Links
- New Hampshire Shines in Solar Compromise, Solar Industry Magazine
- Big Decision Issued on Solar in New Hampshire, Conservation Law Foundation
