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In order to serve you better, please select your Dominion Energy location services.

Choose Your State of Service

In order to serve you better, please select your Dominion Energy location services.

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Overview

Net Metering is a special metering and billing agreement between Dominion Energy and participating customers. Residential and Business customers who choose to participate in Net Metering agree to have a renewable energy source on their property that connects to the Dominion Energy power grid.

Net Metering encourages Dominion Energy customers to consider a small-scale renewable energy system, while ensuring they still always have a reliable source of energy from the grid even during times when their own generator isn’t producing energy.

Net Metering Virtual Agent

How It Works

Net Metering allows customers to interconnect approved renewable generation systems (such as solar, wind, and geothermal) to the electric grid and provide electricity to their own residence or business facility.

That electricity offsets the electricity that would have otherwise been delivered by Dominion Energy. And when you generate more energy than your residence or facility needs, you’ll receive credit from Dominion for the electricity your generator produces and delivers onto the grid.

Several types of renewable energy are potentially eligible for net metering:

  • Solar energy (photovoltaic)
  • Wind energy
  • Biomass (landfill gas or methane)
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Waste heat
  • Geothermal energy
  • any other renewable generation that meets state guidelines

Participate Now

If you're interested in applying for Net Metering, please follow the steps below.

Before Installation

Step 1: Complete the correct Interconnect Request form based on your generator size and sign the form at the bottom.

Step 2: Submit the Interconnect Request form and application fee to Dominion Energy and send by US mail to:

Dominion Energy North Carolina
Net Metering
600 East Canal Street
11th Floor, South
Richmond, VA 23261

We will send return confirmation that the Request form was received.

Step 3: We will review the specifications of the proposed generating system and determine if the system is compatible with the electric distribution grid and the existing electric distribution facilities serving the interconnection point.

When the review is completed, we will return a signed copy of the Notification form along with any additional system protection requirements and/or required upgrades to the existing electric distribution facilities serving the interconnection point to enable completion of the interconnection.

Note: A Net Metering Applicant is solely responsible for compliance with all applicable local zoning requirements, building codes, electrical codes, or any other codes or restrictions governing installation and operation of a generation system. Dominion Energy does not review or approve the system equipment selection, installation method, or installation location. Dominion Energy only reviews the proposed interconnection for compatibility with the electric distribution system, based on UL1741/IEEE1547 standards.

After System Installation

Step 4: Complete Section 5 of the Notification form and resubmit to Dominion Energy. In cases where the applicant or a licensed North Carolina Class A or B General Contractor has installed the generation system, a copy of the final electrical inspection signed by the inspection authority may be provided as an alternative to the completion of this section of the Notification form. See the Net Metering FAQs, below, for additional information.

Step 5: We will complete the required metering work and return a separate written authorization to energize and operate the system.

Net Metering Billing

Once the final interconnection notification form is approved, the customer’s 12-month net metering period begins. The energy your renewable energy generator produces will offset the energy you would normally purchase from Dominion Energy.

If you generate more electricity than is needed for your home or business in a given billing period, the amount will be credited to your account to offset the cost of future electricity you receive from Dominion Energy. The billing period credit is accumulated, carried forward and applied at the first opportunity to any billing periods in which you have positive net consumption. Please note that even if a credit is issued, the customer will still receive a bill each month with basic monthly charges.

Eligibility FAQs

Eligible energy resources include solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, and hydropower.

Batteries may be included as part of a renewable generation system, but do not qualify as a renewable generation source by themselves.

Any residential or commercial customer who is served on a standard rate schedule which allows a parallel generator interconnection, may participate in Net Metering. For other rates not shown below, send questions to the net metering team.

Net Metering Compatible Rate Schedules

Schedule Rate
Schedule 1 163
Schedule 1P 164
Schedule 1T 165
Schedule 5C 169
Schedule 5P - with conditions 170

Non-Residential Net Metering Compatible Rate Schedule

Schedule Rate
Schedule 6C 175
Schedule 6P 176

Dominion Energy does not sell or install renewable generation systems. Interested customers should contact a qualified electrical contractor or renewable energy contractor. These contractors can provide the necessary structural engineering analysis, equipment specifications, installation costs, and energy production estimates.

Customers should keep in mind that they are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable zoning requirements, building codes, electrical codes, and any other codes or restrictions applicable to the installation, operation and maintenance of a renewable generation system including, but not limited to any real property restrictions affecting the use of the property on which the generation system is located.

Dominion Energy does not review or approve the suitability of the generation system’s capacity, equipment specifications, installation method, or installation location.

Net Metering is intended to allow a customer to offset a portion or all of the electrical energy requirements of their home or business. The system must be sized so that it does not reasonably produce more than 100% of annual electrical consumption.

The maximum system size is based on the expected AC output of the system after all losses have been applied including panel orientation, shading, and inverter losses. The renewable energy facility capacity limits are:

  • Residential Customers: 20 kW AC or less
  • Non-residential customers: 1 MW AC or less 
 

North Carolina has an application fee, based on your generator size:

Generator Size Application Fee
Under 20 kW $200
20 kW to 100 kW $750
100 kW to 1,000 MW $1,000

Besides the application fee, there are usually no charges for interconnection of small residential systems. Interconnection charges for larger systems can vary substantially depending on the amount of equipment and construction work necessary to complete the interconnection. Dominion Energy will review the existing service capacity to the premise to determine if existing facilities are adequate to support the proposed generation load, and if additional protective equipment is required.

An interconnected generation system will operate in parallel with the utility system and must have “grid tie” capability. The system and associated inverters must be certified by a national testing laboratory, conforming to UL1741/IEEE 1547 specifications for grid tied systems.

All interconnections under Net Metering must comply with the requirements in the Dominion Energy Blue Book and the Net Metering Interconnection Parameters Manual.

The renewable generation system is interconnected at a point on the customer’s side of the Dominion Energy metering equipment. The system may not be interconnected anywhere within the metering equipment cabinet (typically a meter base or current transformer compartment) without prior approval from Dominion Energy.

A net metering interconnection request can still be submitted for the new location as long as a Dominion Energy Work Request number has been established. In this case, the Work Request Number should be used in lieu of the account number on the interconnection request form.

Billing FAQs

The energy you produce and consume offsets the energy you would normally purchase from Dominion Energy and can be valued at the amount you would pay for your next kilowatt-hour. The value will vary with individual usage patterns and you should refer to your previous electric bills to determine the appropriate value. Any excess energy returned to the grid is recorded as a credit and used to offset future electric energy delivered to the home or business.

You will receive a bill that is similar to your normal electric bill. However, you can expect that your bill amount will be lower than usual, since all or part of your electricity needs will be provided by your own renewable energy generation system and not provided or billed by Dominion Energy. If you generate more electricity than is needed for your home or business in a given month, the amount will be used to offset future electricity you would receive from Dominion Energy.

Your electric bill does not show all of the energy your system produced. The energy you produce that is consumed by your home does not pass through the Dominion Energy meter.

The net meter measures electricity that is delivered from Dominion Energy to you, and any electricity that is produced by you and returned to the electric grid.

Additional FAQs

We will continue to Net Meter and transfer the Net Meter to the next owner. Until Dominion Energy is advised that the system has been removed, the premise is considered a Net Metering premise.

You can cancel at any time by calling 866-366-4357. This will require disconnecting the renewable generation and removing the interconnection from Dominion Energy’s system.

Yes. There are a number of entities that will buy your power output. If you want to sell your power, you can explore the options available to you. The options include, but are not limited to, selling power into the PJM Market or to Dominion Energy. However, selling power may require additional metering and interconnection equipment, which is an additional cost you will want to consider.

No. Due to safety reasons, if the electric service to your home is out, your renewable energy facility will be forced offline. This precaution is to prevent your generation system from feeding excess electricity onto the grid, which would put utility line workers at risk as they repair electrical lines. The only way to supply power to your home with distributed generation during power outages is to invest in an energy storage system and a transfer switch.

Credits are accumulated and used to offset charges in future months. However, on June 1 of each year, any unused credit that has accumulated over the previous 12 months is forfeited. This reflects the fact that electricity is more costly in the high-demand summer and winter months than in the cool spring and fall months. For example, excess electricity that you generate and put onto the grid in April does not fully compensate the utility for the electricity that you consume in July, because it costs the utility more to generate that electricity in July than it does in April. If the credits could accumulate indefinitely, it would allow you to treat the grid like an “electricity bank”, and unfortunately the grid does not currently have that type of storage capacity.

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