Longmont Power & Communications - Net Metering

Summary

Longmont Power & Communications (LPC), an electric cooperative utility, offers net metering* to residential and commercial customers who generate electricity using wind or solar resources. Systems up to 50 kilowatts (kW) in capacity are eligible. Net metering is accomplished by using a single, bi-direction meter that measures kilowatt-hour usage and production. Customers with net excess generation (NEG) at the end of a monthly billing period will receive a credit on their next bill, equal to the present retail rate ($0.04519/kWh for residential and $0.04608/kWh for commercial). At the beginning of each calendar year, LPC will pay customers for any remaining unused credit balance accumulated during the previous year. A summary of these net metering procedures can be found on page 7 of LPC , Ordinance No. O-2005-74, "Rates and Regulations." * LPC offers "true" net metering to its customers. In 2002, Colorado enacted legislation (C.R.S. 40-9.5-304 et seq.) requiring the state's electric cooperatives to offer "net metering" to customers. However, the term "net metering" is a misnomer in this particular law. Under the law, customers receive a lower rate (the utility's avoided-cost) for all electricity generated, while customers must pay the full retail rate for all electricity they purchase from utilities. This practice, commonly known as "dual metering," is much less favorable to customer-generators than "true" net metering.