First, how does net metering work? Net metering allows you to receive a monetary credit for each unit of electricity your system produces but is not used or stored in your home. Customers that generate energy from their own solar panel system may be eligible to reduce their energy costs under Duke Energy’s net metering strategy. Participants in net metering earn credit on their Duke Energy bills for the extra energy that their solar panel installation produces.

States covered by Duke Energy’s program

The program is available in various states across the United States.  Utility rates fluctuate from time to time. 

Duke Energy has a current list of electricity rates in your state.

Bill Credits from your Duke Energy net metering program

Duke Energy will handle your excess net metering bill credits differently depending on where you live.

North Carolina: The monthly Basic Facilities Charge is paid individually by customers. When a customer’s solar panel system produces more energy than Duke Energy provides, the extra kWh is applied to the customer’s account the following month. Any accumulated credits will be reset to zero each May 31 and cannot be used to reduce demand charges or basic facility charges.

South Carolina: Extra energy credits that are not used to cover the month’s electricity usage can be carried over to the following billing month. The customer receives any credits that are still owed at the end of the March billing cycle. After which, the net metering credits are reset to zero.

Florida: Any extra energy produced after the billing cycle is applied to the customer’s energy usage for the following billing cycle. Duke Energy credits unused net metering credits to the client at the end of each calendar year at a yearly growth based on the COG-1 tariff.

Ohio: A customer obtains net metering credits accumulated over a year when their solar panel system produces more energy than they need in a month. The utility will value customer refund requests made in writing at the Rider RE rate.

Indiana: The monthly connection fee must be paid separately by the consumer. The customer receives a credit for the extra kWh in the following billing cycle when a solar panel system produces more electricity than Duke Energy provides. These credits never run out, but any unused credits are given to Duke Energy if the consumer stops using net metering.

Kentucky: The customer receives a credit for the extra kWh in the following billing cycle when a solar panel system produces more electricity than Duke Energy provides. These credits are transferable to Duke Energy if the consumer stops using net metering, but they do not expire. The monthly customer charge is still the customer’s responsibility.

Solar Incentives offered by Duke Energy

Residential users will be eligible for a reimbursement of 60 cents per watt for solar energy systems of 10 kilowatts (kW) or less under the program. For example, a standard rooftop array of 8 kW would be eligible for a $4,800 credit. Installed systems of ten kW or more would qualify for a maximum reimbursement of six thousand dollars.

Customers who are not residents would be eligible for 50 cents per watt. Nonprofit clients (such as churches and schools) would be eligible for a 75-cent-per-watt subsidy for systems 100 kW or less. Nonresidential clients would be eligible for a maximum rebate of $50,000. Nonprofit customers would be eligible for a maximum rebate of $75,000 for installed systems of 100 kW or larger.

Additionally, Duke Energy provides customers with programs that allow them to support renewable energy in additional ways in some states:

• GoGreen Indiana The amount of clean energy used by one GoGreen Indiana program block is 100 kWh. One REC is equal to a purchase of ten blocks at 1,000 kWh (1MWh).
• GoGreen Kentucky Gives customers a chance to support green energy sources like solar and wind by buying a minimum of two 100 kWh blocks of green energy for $2 each month.
• NC GreenPower is a non-profit statewide organization allowing North Carolina citizens to pay $4 monthly, $2 of which is used to purchase 50 kW of green energy and $2 to fund the development of solar demonstration projects at NC K-12 schools.
• GoGreen Ohio This program block corresponds to 100 kWh of renewable energy. One REC equals a 10-block purchase (1,000 kWh) (1MWh).
• South Carolina provides two programs: “Shared Solar” and “Clean Energy Connection.” The former is substantially more expensive than a typical energy bill, while the latter should give some savings over time.

Changes to Net Metering in Indiana

Duke Energy Indiana is replacing Net Metering with a new tariff called Excess Distributed Generation. Any net metering Customer Generator Facility interconnection application submitted on or before June 30, 2022, and installed and ready for operation on or before December 31, 2022, shall be eligible for the current net metering price.

Excess Distributed Generation (EDG) has mostly replaced Net Metering as the most popular behind-the-meter arrangement. You can use the electricity you generate while receiving service from Duke Energy under the EDG arrangement. Your EDG generating facility’s rated nameplate capacity cannot exceed 1 megawatt.

The EDG behind-the-meter setup is a metering and billing agreement between utilities and their customers that allows modest, renewable energy-generating units to be connected to the electricity grid. It accommodates small-scale renewable energy systems, ensuring that consumers have a consistent source of energy from the grid even when their renewable generators are not producing energy, and provides significant benefits to the electric power-generating system, the economy, and the environment.

What’s our role to play

DroneQuote will help build a system so that you can take advantage of the Net Metering benefits. Let’s get you started by clicking here.