Interconnection Guidelines

Summary

In May 2009 Nebraska established statewide interconnection and net metering rules for all electric utilities in Nebraska (see L.B. 436).

Process

The customer-generator must pay for costs incurred by the local distribution utility for equipment or services required for interconnection that would not be necessary if the qualified facility were not interconnected to the local distribution system, except the utility is required to provide at no additional cost to any customer-generator with a qualified facility a metering system that is capable of measuring the flow of electricity in both directions.

To be eligible, a qualified facility must meet all applicable safety, performance, interconnection and reliability standards established by the National Electric Code and adopted by the State Electrical Board, the National Electric Safety Code, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The qualified facility must also be capable of automatically isolating itself from the electrical grid.

Customers must request an inspection of their system from the State Electrical Division and provide documentation of the completed inspection to their utility before the system may be interconnected to the distribution grid. The utility may not require a customer-generator to purchase additional liability insurance if all safety and interconnection requirements are met.

System Capacity Requirements

Utilities are required to provide interconnection and net metering for a customer-generator’s “qualified facility,” which generates electricity from an energy source of solar, methane, wind, biomass, hydropower, or geothermal and has a rated capacity at or below 25 kilowatts (kW).