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Metering Requirements
General Meter Requirements
In New Jersey, Class I renewable energy systems receive value from the electricity produced in two distinct transactions. The nature of these transactions frequently requires the installation of two separate meters to accurately reflect the value of each. First, the electricity is valued as a commodity depending upon the nature of the generator and how it is interconnected. Additionally, the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard places value on the attributes of the electricity produced through the creation of a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) which is unbundled from the electricity.
“Customer-generators” that enjoy net energy metering with their Electric Distribution Company (EDC) for their interconnected system receive retail credit for the electricity. This value is received either through directly offsetting the electricity that must be delivered by the grid or through a credit applied by the EDC after a month of net excess generation. The metering required to achieve this netting and crediting is not capable of measuring gross generation for the purposes of REC or SREC creation. Reliance upon one meter to receive value for both revenue streams would leave the customer-generator short changed on RECs or SRECs.
The net energy meter is a bi-directional meter installed by the EDC which replaces the existing meter. A net energy meter measures the difference between the electricity supplied to the customer by the electric distribution company and the excess electricity generated by the renewable energy system that is sent back to the grid during a billing period. More information about net energy metering.
Merchant wholesale power generators interconnected directly to the distribution grid receive wholesale value for the electricity. Since all of the electricity that is generated by the renewable energy system is delivered to the grid, the meter that is used to measure whole sale electricity may also be used for the purpose of generation RECs or SRECs.
Additional information is available on Solar Production Meter requirements and Wind & Biomass Production Meter requirements.