After a 7 day test run I was told to turn my system off and wait

[solar pete]

I say go for it and enjoy the use of your system without delay...

This is bad advise if you get caught you could be in trouble

[inetdog]

This is bad advise if you get caught you could be in trouble

Among other things, if they have not yet reprogrammed your meter you can end up paying them for any power you export. In that case the OP might be better off financially to leave the system turned off!

[H20]

Pay for the power I exported, okay lets do the math..I generated 741 KWs before my PTO was approved most of which I used. I am guessing maybe 200 KWs was exported so doing the math on that I would owe Edson $15.00 give or take a couple dollars. Even if they billed me at the full 741 KWs that would amount to approx. $120.00 which would be a normal electrical bill for me. So paying for exported power should not be a concern unless your a large commercial type project generating for more.. Still worth the risk...

[foo1bar]

Pay for the power I exported, okay lets do the math..I generated 741 KWs before my PTO was approved most of which I used. I am guessing maybe 200 KWs was exported so doing the math on that I would owe Edson $15.00 give or take a couple dollars. Even if they billed me at the full 741 KWs that would amount to approx. $120.00 which would be a normal electrical bill for me. So paying for exported power should not be a concern unless your a large commercial type project generating for more.. Still worth the risk...

With AC, night time usage, etc. I am directly using ~20kwh each day, generating ~50kwh, of which ~20kwh goes out to the POCO and comes back.
With net metering that means I have ~10kwh each day that I am banking for winter use. And without solar i'd be paying for ~40kwh.
With a meter that tracks just how much power is going through it (and doesn't go backwards) I would be billed for 50kwh (30kwh exported, 20kwh imported. With 20kwh not going through the meter so not billed.)

The reason I know how much power is consumed/imported/exported/generated is that I have hooked up a TED5000 so that i can track those things.

Now, if you are able to get a lower bill by "testing" the system, I say good for you.
But anyone reading should be aware that it isn't always going to work out positively for everyone.
And you DO run the risk of pissing off someone at the POCO. They could look really carefully for a reason to pull your meter leaving you without power until you fix whatever issue they saw. (IMO most likely a "Oh gee, it's on? The installer must have forgotten to turn it off after he tested it" will defuse the situation)

[samotlietuvis]

It took my 1st install ~4 months to get PTO from SCE . I submitted application Nov 2014 and got approved March 2015. According to SCE they had very high influx of applications at the time and we backed up. I hope it does not take this long on my current install.

[Panelmal]

PGuess this is one thing NY does right, nearly every install I go to has the net meter installed before we get there. Heard of a few local solar city installs (from former employees) where they left the system on before the net meter was installed and the customer was billed for every kWh that they produced. You might be charged for yours too, definitely pay attention and check your bill.