Net Metering

Summary

Eligibility and Availability

In 1988 the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) adopted terms and conditions of purchase that govern the supplying and delivering of power to a cooperative/utility’s electric system by a small power producer or cogenerator (as the terms are respectively defined under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978) of 100 kilowatts or less.

Under the adopted rules, net metering is available to all customer classes. There is no limit on the amount of aggregate net-metered capacity, and utilities are not allowed to require new liability insurance as a condition for interconnection.

In April 2014 Oklahoma’s governor signed S.B. 1456, allowing utilities and regulated electric cooperatives to apply to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for approval to apply a fixed charge to customer-generators who install net-metered distributed generation on or after November 1, 2014.

In May 2019, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission adopted new net metering rules raising the system size limit to 300 kW, removing the 25,000 kWh annual generation limit, and requiring utilities to compensate net excess generation at their avoided cost rate.

Net Excess Generation

Utilities and regulated electric cooperatives are required to purchase monthly net excess generation (NEG) from customers at the avoided cost rate.

Under provisions in S.B. 1456 utilities are allowed to apply to the OCC for permission to apply a fixed charge to customer-generators who install net-metered distributed generation on or after November 1, 2014. Previously, utilities had not been allowed to impose extra charges for customers signed up for net metering. The accompanying Executive Order 2014-07 clarified that S.B. 1456 does not mandate increased charges for distributed generation customer-generators and directed the OCC to consider alternative rate reforms such as time-of-use, minimum bills, and demand charges before allowing the implementation of a fixed charge for net-metered systems.