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Net Energy Metering (NEM) FAQ
Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Net Energy Metering.
If you submitted your application and all required documents, free of any major deficiencies, by 11:59 p.m. PST on April 14, 2023, you made the deadline, and you are eligible for NEM 2.0.
If we received your application by the deadline, we sent you and/or your contractor a confirmation email letting you know we received it.
If you missed the deadline, you would not have an opportunity to apply for NEM 2.0. However, you can apply for SCE’s Solar Billing Plan, a new program available to customers who install eligible renewable generating systems, such as solar or wind.
Net Energy Metering (NEM) is available to SCE customers who produce their own electricity through an eligible renewable generating system. The NEM option allows you to receive credit(s) for the surplus electricity you supply to the electric grid. This credit is applied to your energy bill to offset all, or part of the costs associated with the energy you consume from the grid each month.
Once enrolled in the NEM program, SCE uses a bi-directional meter to track the amount of electricity exported to the grid by your generating system as well as the amount of electricity you consume from the power grid during each billing period. SCE will then calculate the “net” difference between your consumption and the exported energy to determine the final charges for your electricity.
If you have an open and active NEM application in progress, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Install NEM-eligible renewable energy system, e.g., solar PV, wind, fuel cell, etc. (the generating system’s capacity must be sized to the customer’s onsite historical usage).
- Have a compatible meter. Customers with a SMART meter already meet this requirement, although SCE must still program the meter. Customers who prefer not to have a SMART meter (opt-out customers) may have other metering options (subject to availability by region and inventory).
- The generating system must be sized to offset, but not exceed the customer’s onsite usage. In general, SCE estimates the annual generation (kWh) of your proposed system size and compares it to the previous 12 months of your kWh usage history.
NEM customers are required to take service on a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate. If you are not already on a TOU rate, your account will be defaulted to TOU-D-4-9. To learn more about the available TOU rate options, please click here.
Although processing times may vary based on application volume, simple and standard (solar-only) interconnection requests that have all the correct information and required documents, may receive Permission to Operate within 10 business days. Complex interconnection requests, i.e., paired storage or non-standard metering, will need more time to process as they require additional technical and engineering review.
We strongly recommend that you or your contractor submit the application, Single Line Diagram, signed Interconnection Agreement, final electrical permit approval issued by the local building department, and any other applicable documentation all at once to expedite the review of your interconnection request. This allows ample time for us to evaluate program eligibility, conduct a technical review of the proposed system and initiate a meter change, if necessary. If a meter change is required, we will arrange the installation with our local planning department before PTO is issued.
To protect consumers installing solar electric systems and participating in the NEM program, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the State Legislature have put into place measures designed to help customers make a more fully informed decision about installing solar on their single-family homes. These measures include a requirement that solar consumers review and sign a Solar Consumer Protection Guide that ensures the consumer knows their rights and have enough information regarding the several factors they should consider when installing solar at their homes. This requirement does not apply to self-installation or new construction projects.
The Service Account holder should sign and initial the Consumer Protection Guide. If the name on the contract, consumer guide and NEM agreement are not the same across all three documents, SCE will require an explanation of the relationship between the parties signing each document uploaded with the consumer guide.
Anyone authorized to sign on behalf of the solar provider qualifies as a company representative. Consult an attorney if you have any questions.
If your storage device is paired with a NEM eligible generator (e.g., solar, wind, etc.), an Interconnection Application will need to be submitted.
Please Note: If the energy storage device is not paired with a NEM generator, then the interconnection application must be submitted to the Grid Interconnection and Contract Development (GICD) team as a Rule 21 Non-Export project. For questions regarding the GICD application process, please send an email to InterconnectionQA@sce.com.
There are currently no applicable restrictions related to the sizing for energy storage devices paired with NEM generators. The 150% rule originally outlined in the NEM Tariff has been suspended through August 2025.
Please note that rebate programs such as the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) may have a different sizing requirements for the energy storage device. As such, you will need to ensure that the size of the storage device meets both the NEM tariff and rebate program requirements to qualify and take advantage of both programs.
Battery systems in a NEM-Paired Storage (NEM-PS) agreement are charged by a renewable generator i.e., solar, wind, etc., but are not permitted to charge from the grid.
To learn more about how to read your NEM bill statement, please visit on.sce.com/nembillcalc.
Once you’re enrolled in NEM, SCE tracks the amount of electricity exported to the grid by your solar system, as well as the amount of electricity you consume from the grid, during each billing period. We then calculate the “net” difference between the value of your consumed and exported energy to determine the final charges for your electricity. NEM doesn’t track all the energy your solar system produces, only the excess energy you provide to the grid.
If your solar system produces more energy than you need, NEM allows you to receive credit(s) for the surplus electricity you supply to the electric grid. Exported energy can lower your balance or, in some cases, offset it completely – it all depends on how much energy you produce versus how much energy you consume. If your excess energy balance is more than your total energy consumed from the grid, you’ll have leftover energy credit that will roll over into the next month. This credit will roll over every month through your 12-month billing cycle. At the end of that cycle, you either pay any remaining balance owed, or you may still have unused credit. If you still have unused credit when you receive your annual settlement statement, you may be eligible for a payout at the Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate.
Your energy charges are the same whether you are an Annual Billing Option (ABO) customer or a Monthly Billing Option (MBO) customer. The difference between the two billing options is when you pay your energy charges.
- Annual Billing Option (ABO): With ABO, you are responsible for set fees each month, but you pay your net energy charges just once a year, at the end of your 12-month cycle.
- Monthly Billing Option (MBO): With MBO, you pay both your set fees and net energy charges in full every month, instead of a lump sum at the end of the year.
Both billing options have advantages: The ABO option offers you the simplicity of a single payment that calculates your total net energy for the year; the MBO option may benefit customers who want to avoid a potentially large balance due all at once. This can happen if your energy exceeds your solar generation, causing charges to build up over a year. You can always log in to My Account online to track your usage to see when you’re consuming energy from the grid. This can help you plan for a large end-of-year balance or decide whether to switch to MBO and “pay as you go.”
If you are an ABO customer and would prefer to pay your energy charges monthly in more manageable payments, you can opt-in to MBO by logging in and submitting this form. It will take 60 days after your change request is processed for monthly billing to begin.
DA and CCA customers are eligible to participate in NEM if the Energy Service Provider (ESP) or CCA agrees to support the NEM provisions of the NEM rate. The ESP or CCA must provide their agreement to support these provisions before your associated accounts can/will be placed on NEM. SCE will be responsible for delivery credits (if applicable), and your ESP or CCA will be responsible for any corresponding generation credits. DA and CCA customers are not eligible for Net Surplus Compensation from SCE.
If your ESP or CCA declines to support NEM, you have a few options:
- You may choose to remain with your service provider, continue service without the benefits of NEM, however you will still receive the usage reduction benefit from the system.
- You may choose to switch to a different ESP that offers NEM.
- You may choose to return to bundled service.
Where CCAs and ESPs have their own NEM programs, they still must go through our interconnection process and receive permission to operate their generating facility from SCE.
Note: SCE cannot speak for the ESP or CCA and cannot discuss the ESP’s or CCA’s reason(s) for declining to support NEM or NEM Aggregation. If you have any further questions, please contact your ESP or CCA.
GMAs offer certain NEM customers an alternative interconnection option to traditional supply-side connections (also called “line-side taps”). They eliminate the need to make modifications to your meter panel, which may help reduce the overall cost and time of your renewable generating facility installation. They provide a safer installation compared to the traditional line-side taps by eliminating the need to enter or modify the service panel. For more information, please refer to the GMA Fact Sheet.
This will be considered a line-side connection. Cities and AHJs may have various requirements regarding line-side connections, however, once the GMA is approved by SCE, most AHJs will accept the installation of SCE-owned equipment. Please ask your contractor to work with your city or AHJ to determine if the GMA is an approved method for interconnecting.
Yes, the GMA is SCE-owned and becomes part of the metering services. However, the neutral pigtail is the white wire included in the GMA. SCE makes the connections to the GMA, including the Neutral to the customer’s panel. If needed, the Contractor may assist with the Neutral.
If you submitted an NEM application prior to February 15, 2024 and you have multiple electric accounts on the same property as the renewable generator or property is contiguous or adjacent to that property, you can install a generator up to the aggregated load of all accounts, so long as all the properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by you. You must also be the customer of record on all SCE accounts and the accounts must have been established prior to December 15, 2022.
To learn more about NEM-A billing and the generation credit allocation methodology, please visit the NEM-A Bill Guide.
For the purposes of Form 14-937, parcels that are divided by a street, highway, or public thoroughfare are considered contiguous, provided they are within an unbroken chain of otherwise contiguous parcels and are all solely owned, leased, or rented by the Customer, as verified in Form 14-937.