Wisconsin Net Metering

Chris Meehan

Program Type	Net Metering
Technologies	Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal Heat, Solar Hot Water Heating
Amount	Credited at retail rate
Required Documentation	Utility interconnection agreements, Standard Distributed Generation Application Form, and Distributed Generation Interconnection Agreement
Official Web Site	http://psc.wi.gov/apps/tariffs/content/elelist.aspx

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin first established its net metering requirement in 1982. The commission required all regulated utilities in the state to allow customers to net meter with their electric utility. As of September 2010, the rule was last augmented in 1992.

Under the regulation, utilities must file tariffs with the commission that allow customers with systems up to 20 kW in size to net meter. The rule applies to all Wisconsin utilities that aren’t electric cooperatives. Despite these guidelines, the commission has not adopted administrative rules for net metering, therefore utilities’ requirements for net metering and their reimbursement methodology vary from one to another.

For instance, customers’ net excess generation is usually credited at the utility’s retail rate particularly for renewable energy systems, according to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE). All distributed-generation systems are eligible under the rule, and systems like combined heat and gas are usually net metered at the utility’s avoided-cost rate. Excess generation in a month period is carried forward to the next month, but if generation credits exceed $25, the utility must send the customer a check.