What is Net Metering?
Net metering is a renewable energy incentive that allows the owner of a solar system to receive credit from an electric utility for all, or a portion of, the electricity their system produces.
Net metering customers receive credit for energy their system sends to the utility grid during peak production times minus the energy they pull down from the grid when
the system is not producing electricity. At the end of a certain length of time (either monthly or annually) the balance of credits is reconciled and a customer receives a
final balance. In other words, "net" in this context means "what remains after deductions." Net metering is the incentive that allows consumers to
"zero out" their bill at the end of the year.
All public utilities in the United States are required to provide customers with net-metering service. However, the exact rules of how the net-metering is calculated and regulated vary significantly from state to state, and even utility to utility.