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My PV systems are all on a "grandfathered" net metering rate. It is pretty simple, effectively my meter runs backwards when I am putting power to the grid and then runs forwards when I need it back. No mandatory annual true up or reset, no differential rates. The utility does make an annual offer to buy my surplus, but I do not need to take them up on it. I have never taken them up on it as the price they offer is far lower than the retail rate. They also take advantage of summer and winter rates to pay to offer the minimum. Last winter, the rate for energy was around 20 cents per KW and I think its around 13 cents these days (both do not include a fixed rate and bunch of levies for various programs). So I get the yearly letter in the mail offering 7 cents per KW. The new wrinkle this year is they are offering an additional rate for Capacity, the joke is the utility does not collect power readings real time, they just poll a totalizer on a monthly basis and use a very complex tariff to estimate the capacity. In my case my 4.6 KW nameplate system has an "estimated" capacity of 1.7 KW. They do not attempt to show the details on how they came up with the capacity number but It looks like the use a standard industry estimate of my nameplate installed system KW and determine how much power it might be contributing to the grid on the peak system hour (typically around 5 PM on a hot day in the summer). Nowhere do they mention storage as customer owned storage is pretty new in the state, if I knew I could get what looks to be $28 per KWhr, I might elect to make my 50 plus KWhr of storage available to the grid and make that capacity available for $1400 (plus the energy rate). Of course that would mean that the utility would need to put in real time metering at my house and most likely bill me for the privilege.
Given that I use a minisplit to heat the house in shoulder seasons to burn up a big chunk of the surplus annually, most of it during the winter rate period of 21 cents I think I will stick to that approach. The bummer is I am considering building a new house and if I add solar that will be under a far less attractive tariff. Solar installers have somewhat cleared out of the state with the new tariff and have moved over to Maine which now has a overly generous solar tariff.
My former employer did generation, solar and storage management for many commercial and institutional customers in Mass and capacity payments were a big chunk of the profits on an ongoing basis along with capital investment surcharge tied to peak hour usage. They would get on the phone and call every client when the three day predictions for a potential "peak day" was coming up to remind them that it might be a real good idea to back off on power usage during a potential peak hour and be ready to export power from their CHP and storage during that hour. There would be few false alarms but in some cases the capital Investment surcharge tied to peak hour usage coudl amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When I sell the house, whatever surplus there is on the meter goes to whomever buys the place.
Given that I use a minisplit to heat the house in shoulder seasons to burn up a big chunk of the surplus annually, most of it during the winter rate period of 21 cents I think I will stick to that approach. The bummer is I am considering building a new house and if I add solar that will be under a far less attractive tariff. Solar installers have somewhat cleared out of the state with the new tariff and have moved over to Maine which now has a overly generous solar tariff.
My former employer did generation, solar and storage management for many commercial and institutional customers in Mass and capacity payments were a big chunk of the profits on an ongoing basis along with capital investment surcharge tied to peak hour usage. They would get on the phone and call every client when the three day predictions for a potential "peak day" was coming up to remind them that it might be a real good idea to back off on power usage during a potential peak hour and be ready to export power from their CHP and storage during that hour. There would be few false alarms but in some cases the capital Investment surcharge tied to peak hour usage coudl amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When I sell the house, whatever surplus there is on the meter goes to whomever buys the place.