Water and Energy Adminstration
811 East Red Hills Parkway
435-627-4800
Introduction to Net Metering on the Website
Net Metering Basics
The City adopted a Net Metering Program in 2005 and revised the program in 2015. The 2015 revisions included implementation of the following fees.
One Time Fees:
Monthly Solar Reliability Fee
The “RESOURCES” section below contains the documents related to the Net Metering Program.
Common questions related to the Net Metering Program
If you are considering installing solar PV on your home or business, there are several questions to ask in order to make an informed decision.
Roof top solar typically refers to solar Photovoltaic (PV) system installed on a roof which generates energy from the sun to power a person’s home or business.
Behind the customer meter: The system is located so that any generated electricity flows first the customer, if the customer needs more energy than the solar PV is generating, St. George delivers the energy to you from the electrical grid. For example, if your home uses 100 kWh a day and your system produces 80 kWh per day, you will receive 20 kWh a day from the electrical grid.
kW: Kilowatt – is equal to 1,000 watts. A solar PV system capacity is measured in kW. For example a 3 kW system would have the ability to produce 3 kW of demand (which is the maximum of energy output at a moment in time).
kWh – kilowatt hour – is a measurement of energy, it is a kW multiplied by the time in hours. For instance 2 kW for 1 hour is 2 kWh. Customers are billed based on how many kWh consumed in a billing cycle. For example if you have a 3 kW system (shown above) and it generated 3 kW for 1 hour, it would produce 3 kWh of energy. It is estimated that a 3 kW system in St. George has the potential of generating 5,193 kWh in a 12 month period. The energy produced would go first to your home and then if any more energy is needed, St. George would deliver energy to you from the electrical grid.
This question addresses what is termed “name plate capacity” of a solar PV system and is expressed in kilowatts (kW). The capacity of the system will tell you how much energy the system will generate. For example a 3 kW system is expected to generate 5,193 kWh in a year.
PV Watts Calculator is a website that can provide an estimate of how many kWh’s you will save based on the system size. The website is http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/
Contact the St. George City at 435-627-4700 to request a copy of your energy use history.
That is a question for your installer to answer. You should check with the City Building Department to determine the requirements. 435-627-4000
That is a question for your installer to answer.
The fees and how they are calculated are listed in the Net Metering Appendix which found in the Resources section of the Net Metering page on the City’s website. www.sgcity.org
Yes a homeowner can install solar on the house they are residing in. A homeowner cannot install solar on income property. A licensed electrician will be required to handle the interconnection with the utility. An individual installing a system on their owner/occupied home will need to follow the net metering program requirements.
St. George requires all solar contractors to have a City business license and to have completed the pre-qualified solar contractor class. For a list of contractors that have met this requirement please contact 435-627-4095
It is recommended that you obtain more than one bid as part of the decision making process.
Complete the Net Metering Application which can be obtained via the City Inspect webportal. Contact The Building Department with questions related to the City Inspect webportal.
A time line and steps in the review process are located in the Net Metering Program document.
The line item for “SOLAR REL CG” is the Solar Reliability Charge.
This charge is based on the kWh's your system produced in the billing period.
For example in March I produced more energy than I needed. What happened to my excess energy?
Your excess energy was delivered to St. George grid and a calculation for a credit of kWh was put to your bill for the next month. Let look at the charge below for example.
Customer A
Month |
Consumed kWh |
Generated kWh |
kWh billed or credit |
Bill reflects |
March |
420 |
445 |
-25 |
420 - 445 = (25) |
April |
480 |
495 |
-40 |
480 - 495+ (25) = (40) |
May |
600 |
527 |
33 |
600-527-40=33 |
June |
800 |
552 |
248 |
800-552=248 |
July |
900 |
524 |
376 |
900-524=376 |
Aug |
600 |
498 |
102 |
600-498=102 |
Sept |
400 |
453 |
-53 |
400-453=(53) |
Oct |
420 |
436 |
-69 |
420-436+(53)=(69) |
Nov |
400 |
318 |
13 |
400-318+(69)=13 |
Dec |
300 |
287 |
13 |
300-287=13 |
In this scenario, Customer A used the kWh credit and was billed for the energy needed from St. George. The customer will not be paid anything for excess solar generation in December.
For the customer who has a kWh credit in December, see the chart below.
Customer B
Month |
Consumed kWh |
Generated kWh |
kWh billed or credit |
Bill reflects |
March |
420 |
445 |
-25 |
420 - 445 = (25) |
April |
480 |
495 |
-40 |
480 - 495+(25) = (40) |
May |
550 |
527 |
-17 |
550-527+(40) = (17) |
June |
560 |
552 |
-9 |
560-552+(17) = (9) |
July |
570 |
524 |
37 |
570-524+(9)= 37 |
Aug |
525 |
498 |
27 |
525-498=27 |
Sept |
500 |
453 |
47 |
500-453=47 |
Oct |
400 |
436 |
-36 |
400-436=(36) |
Nov |
300 |
318 |
-54 |
300-318+(36)=(54) |
Dec |
200 |
287 |
-141 |
200-287+(54)=(141) |
Customer B If Customer B chooses they can request the utility credit the customer for the kWh credit at the Renewable Wholesale Rate and the meter will be reset to zero.
In months where you have a net kWh credit, your bill will reflect a zero kWh charge because the kWh credit is carried forward to your next month.
Customers who have a kWh credit on their meter in December can request a credit on their January bill for those kWh’s. Their bi-directional meter will be reset to zero.
Customer B will see a credit on their next bill for the buyback of 141 kWh at the Renewable Wholesale Rate and the meter will be reset to zero.
As of July 1 2019, the Renewable Wholesale Rate is $.04019/kWh. So Customer B will see a credit of $5.67 on their next bill.