U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Green Power Network

Net Metering Policies

Net metering programs serve as an important incentive for consumer investment in renewable energy generation. Net metering enables customers to use their own generation to offset their consumption over a billing period by allowing their electric meters to turn backwards when they generate electricity in excess of the their demand. This offset means that customers receive retail prices for the excess electricity they generate. Without net metering, a second meter is usually installed to measure the electricity that flows back to the provider, with the provider purchasing the power at a rate much lower than the retail rate.

Net metering is a low-cost, easily administered method of encouraging customer investment in renewable energy technologies. It increases the value of the electricity produced by renewable generation and allows customers to "bank" their energy and use it a different time than it is produced giving customers more flexibility and allowing them to maximize the value of their production. Providers may also benefit from net metering because when customers are producing electricity during peak periods, the system load factor is improved.

Currently, net metering is offered in more than 35 states (see the summary table and map below). For a more detailed description of state net metering policies and links to the authorizing legislation, see the DSIRE database, which is a project of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council funded by the U.S. DOE and managed by the North Carolina Solar Center.

Table of State and Utility Net-Metering Rules from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Map of State Net Metering Rules from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (PPT 545 KB)
Net Metering for Wind by State (PPT 720 KB)

Relevant Literature

Some of the the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Cook, C. and J. Cross. (1999). A Case Study: The Economic Cost of Net-Metering in Maryland: Who Bears the Economic Burden? Prepared by Maryland Energy Adminstration, Annapolis, MD.

Forsyth, T.L., M. Pedden, and T. Gagliano. (2002). The Effects of Net Metering on the Use of Small-Scale Wind Systems in the United States, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/TP-500-32471, November. (PDF: 1.3 MB)

Hesse, P. (2000). Connecting a Small-Scale Renewable Energy System to an Electric Transmission System, Golden, CO: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse. April.

Starrs, T. (1996). Net Metering: New Opportunities for Home Power. Washington D.C.: Renewable Energy Policy Project.

Wan, Y. (1996). Net Metering Programs, NREL/SP-460-21651, Topical Issues Brief. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. December.

Wan, Y. and Green, H.J. (1998). Current Experience with Net Metering Programs, Presented at WINDPOWER '98, Bakersfield, CA. April 27-May 1, 1998.