New net meter question -- did yours start at 00000 and did you flip it backwards?

[Alchete]

So, I'm the first person in my town to get a true net meter (my town had previously used two meters, one to measure usage and one to measure production).

We have very few solar households in my town; less than 10. I've been told that to date, no one "is even close" to producing as much as they consume and the town officials feel it will never happen -- yes, they're *certain*.

I oversized my system for a future electric car. Running the numbers, I should produce 9,000+ kWh per year, and my consumption is just under 6,000. Without telling them these numbers, I keep asking what happens if someone "overproduces". The question, however, is a non-starter because they're certain this will never happen. Yes, certainty in life is a wonderful thing -- especially if you base all your confidence off a sample size of less than ten.

My new net meter started at 00000.

After a couple of days of cloudy sun, I've already flipped it backwards. It's reading 99994 and dropping during daylight hours.

I'm an electrical engineer and a software developer -- my instincts tell me there's no way their billing software is going to figure out that 00000 to 99994 = -6, when in the entire history of the town, meters have only spun *forward*.

I'm literally expecting a $16,000 electric bill (based on 99,900+ kwH usage) at the end of the month.

For those that may be overproducing, did your net meter start at 00000, and assuming it flipped backward to 99,999, did the utility's billing dept. figure out that you spun it backward and not forward?

Cheers.

[8.4]

Doesn't your net meter have three different values? Mine has delivered, received and net. I haven't received a bill yet, but I 'm sure they're smart enough to figure it out or there would be a lot of complaints on this forum.

[Alchete]

I have a Itron Centron C1SR meter. I only see one number flashing, the "net" value, which for me has flipped below zero to 99,999 and is counting backwards. Additionally, the power company engineer told me it wouldn't go *below zero*, which it already has...

Yeah, I'm sure other towns and utilities have figured this all out, however, as I mentioned, this is the first net meter ever installed in our town, and the local power company is convinced no one will produce more than they consume -- so I have my doubts as to how well this will all be handled the first month.

[8.4]

Interesting. Does your utility not "store" your excess generation for your future use? I don't see how if the engineer says it can't go below zero, but obviously it did. But no worries, there's tracks for you to dispute. But it would be cool to post that you put up solar only to pay $16,000 in electricity.

[Alchete]

They do actually have a separate meter to monitor my generation -- so yeah, I'm pretty certain I won't be paying a $16,000 bill, but I'm not as certain that I won't receive one.

From doing some more research, it looks like they bought one of the cheaper net meters, perhaps because they also require that separate meter just for my generation.

We'll see. I'll be shocked if I'm not on the phone with them at the end of the month.

[foo1bar]

My new net meter started at 00000.

Mine was installed just a few months ago and started at 500000 or 50000 - it was a 5 followed by 0's so should take a long time before it will rollover in either direction.

my instincts tell me there's no way their billing software is going to figure out that 00000 to 99994 = -6, when in the entire history of the town, meters have only spun *forward*.

My guess is that their software is bought from someone who provides many electric companies with billing software.
So I think there's a good chance it will support backwards rollover.

I'm literally expecting a $16,000 electric bill (based on 99,900+ kwH usage) at the end of the month.

Did you read carefully the contract/rules for the POCO?
Overproducing in November probably means you will be overproducing by a LOT over the whole year.
And it would not be unusual for there to be a part of it that says you won't produce significantly more than your annual consumption.

[Alchete]

Mine was installed just a few months ago and started at 500000 or 50000 - it was a 5 followed by 0's so should take a long time before it will rollover in either direction.

Yep, they set yours to the midpoint, likely 50,000 -- which is the smart thing to do.

My guess is that their software is bought from someone who provides many electric companies with billing software.
So I think there's a good chance it will support backwards rollover.

Hopefully. Though, I'm dealing with a municipal power company serving only one town, who's never done this before and thinks it's impossible for anyone to run it backwards on a long-term basis. But maybe you're right, that their outsourced software was coded for this contingency. Should it end up being a problem, I think they can fix it easily just by telling their software that my first reading was 99999 instead of 00000. That means they'd give me a free kWh (16 cents, woo), and any simple subtraction math should work from there.

Did you read carefully the contract/rules for the POCO?
Overproducing in November probably means you will be overproducing by a LOT over the whole year.
And it would not be unusual for there to be a part of it that says you won't produce significantly more than your annual consumption.

So the longer story here is that they're in the process of changing their policy. I'm the first one with the new net meter, and they'll soon be retrofitting the others in town.

Until now, they paid wholesale prices for what you generate, and charged you retail for what you use. This required two meters.

They're in the process of changing it to a true net metering, with a main meter that counts forward/backward. They're literally writing the new policy now. The Chief told me that in the event someone generated more than they used, they'd probably settle up at the end of the year, and then of course added that "they don't ever see this happening".

[ButchDeal]

They do actually have a separate meter to monitor my generation -- so yeah, I'm pretty certain I won't be paying a $16,000 bill, but I'm not as certain that I won't receive one.

From doing some more research, it looks like they bought one of the cheaper net meters, perhaps because they also require that separate meter just for my generation.

We'll see. I'll be shocked if I'm not on the phone with them at the end of the month.

So you have two meters? Are you sure you have net metering and not dual metering? Do you sell all your generation to them and then purchase it back ( dual meter) . Are the meters in parallel or series?

In many areas with SREC you need a separate meter for the production but only for SRECs and then a net meter. You generally own the second meter in this case. In other areas without net metering that have dual metering regulations the power company owns both meters.