PV system installed, but no PTO from PG&E yet. Installer said to leave the system on...

[Afrmthabay]

Hi maybe someone could explain the danger of leaving a system on approved by a city inspector hooked up to a smart meter. I know the systems are designed to turn off during a power outage and they put the big red magnets on your electrical panel and conduit saying you have a photovoltaic system. Just curious what the danger could be especially since during the install they are not notified that the system is on for testing purposes or troubleshooting nor do they require it now that I reflect back to my install.

[ButchDeal]

Hi maybe someone could explain the danger of leaving a system on approved by a city inspector hooked up to a smart meter. I know the systems are designed to turn off during a power outage and they put the big red magnets on your electrical panel and conduit saying you have a photovoltaic system. Just curious what the danger could be especially since during the install they are not notified that the system is on for testing purposes or troubleshooting nor do they require it now that I reflect back to my install.

All power companies are not the same and some do charge for the feed in.

Also so those should not be magnets but permanent stickers.

[inspron]

Hi maybe someone could explain the danger of leaving a system on approved by a city inspector hooked up to a smart meter. I know the systems are designed to turn off during a power outage and they put the big red magnets on your electrical panel and conduit saying you have a photovoltaic system. Just curious what the danger could be especially since during the install they are not notified that the system is on for testing purposes or troubleshooting nor do they require it now that I reflect back to my install.

No danger - if everything was installed correctly and inspector approved.

The trouble is, your power company could force you to disconnect the solar system as it has not been approved to be turned on until they say so. The smart meter will automatically alert them when there is an unapproved energy generating device connected to the grid. This could cause lengthy delays on your net metering application process.

Second, POCO could charge you peak rates for your excess generation.

Turning it on after approved inspection is not a safety issue, just a potential for a lot of hassle and costly in most cases.

[Afrmthabay]

Oh okay thanks for the info

[DrLumen]

When they changed my meter for my PTO they also confirmed that the inverter shut down when the power was off. One last safety inspection I guess.

[maximus96]

My neighbor got solar installed about a month prior and I found out he also turned his system on after building inspection but prior to PTO. He was not assessed any charges for the back feed.

At any rate, I turned off my system on the day I learned about the PG&E language and will now wait for a PTO.

[Afrmthabay]

All my neighbors and co-workers various installers from Petersen dean , Semper Solaris to local installers all had their systems left on and they all have smart meters just to be transparent. My installer left my inverter on standby mode my neighbors and co-workers completely on and generating

[maximus96]

I just checked my usage on PG&E website. Daytime usage during production shows $0 for all the days I left the system on. Good to know I don't have to worry about that part. solar.JPG

[maximus96]

Update, received PTO from PG&E today, 9 days after application. Looking at PG&E's website, I actually started accruing credits on 10/21, or 5 days after application.

[dailo]

Update, received PTO from PG&E today, 9 days after application. Looking at PG&E's website, I actually started accruing credits on 10/21, or 5 days after application.

Same experience here

[cebury]

Ditto here. Offset my usage just fine, didnt double charge because the smart meter I guess already supported it. Lots of zero usage during production, no negative (net meter credit) until approval though.

[Afrmthabay]

My co-worker that got his system recently installed just showed no usage for the day time during hours where there was lots of production but no credit for excess put back into the grid either until the approval comes through.