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Net Metering in Vermont

Net metering makes it easier and more cost-effective for farmers and other Vermonters to generate some of their own electricity. In 1998 the Vermont legislature passed H.605 which allowed in Vermont a practice known as "net metering." Net metering requires electric utilities to permit customers to generate their own power using small-scale renewable energy systems. The excess power they generate can be fed back to their utilities, actually running their electric meters backwards.

All equipment purchased to construct and install a net metered renewable energy system is exempt from the state's 5% sales tax (Sec. 27. 32 V.S.A. § 9741(46). This five percent savings in the cost of a net metered system provides Vermonter's with an extra incentive to produce their own green power.

Who Can Net Meter?

Any electrical utility customer in Vermont can net meter once they have obtained a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Public Service Board (see below). Vermont's net metering law caps the size of net metering generators at 15 kilowatts of generation for the following renewable forms of energy generation: photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and fuel cells (when fueled by renewable sources). Farmers who generate electricity from farm produced methane can generate up to 150 kilowatts. This 150 kilowatt limit offers an opportunity to farms to economically generate their own power and reduce demand from utilities. In addition, the Public Service Board can issue up to five net metering CPGs per year for systems between 16 and 100kW.

Utilities must allow net metered systems on a first-come, first-served basis to all customers until the cumulative generating capacity of all the net metering systems on its lines equals one percent of the company's peak demand.

How Does Net Metering Work?

Net metering allows customers to generate and use power simultaneously. Prior to net metering, self-generators had to install expensive battery banks to store the power they needed or go through lengthy negotiations with their utilities to have them buy any extra power generated. With net metering, the meter will measure electricity flowing in both directions, unifying a customer's power usage into one system.

Once the net metering system is interconnected, power generated by that system can be fed into the utility grid. If a net metering customer uses more electricity than is generated, the customer will pay the utility only for the difference. If the system generates more electricity than the customer used that month, the utility records a credit for the excess kilowatt hours towards the customer's next bill. If, at the end of the year, a net metering customer still has a credit on the bill that credit reverts to the utility. Net metered customers must pay the same customer service charges and other monthly fees required of other consumers.

In order to install a net metered system you must first obtain a "Certificate of Public Good for Interconnected Net Metered Power Systems" from the Vermont Public Service Board. You can download and print a copy of the application below.

• Application for a Certificate of Public Good for Interconnected Net Metered Power Systems (PDF format, 30KB).
  *For more information on the net metering Certificate of Public Good contact the Public Service Board at 802-828-2358
• All net metered systems must meet the Public Service Board's interconnection safety and technological requirements (PDF format, 17KB).

If you would like to review the net metering law, it is in Title 30 Section 219a of the Vermont Statutes. It is titled "Self-Generation & Net Metering."

If you are interested in installing your own renewable energy net metered system check out the Vermont Renewable Energy Business Directory on the Renewable Energy page to find the renewable energy specialist nearest you.