How We Compensate you for Excess Power Generation

If you’re already enrolled in our NEM program—thank you! You’re offering us a valuable resource, and we appreciate your conservation. We always make sure you’re adequately compensated for the energy you “sell” to us. Every 12 months, we reconcile your account to review:

• What you’ve purchased from the utility

• Excess generation you’ve returned to the grid

• Any payments or other adjustments made to your account

We call this a true-up period. At true-up, any remaining credits are also applied “backward” to any months that you may have had usage prior to having generation credits. And if the number of kWhs you returned to the grid exceeds the number of kWhs you’ve purchased, you’ll be compensated for the difference.

How We Compensate You

Compensation is made up of two components:

• Wholesale value of the commodity— a rolling average based on the utility’s Default Load Aggregation Point (DLAP) price from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Renewable Energy Credit (REC)—the portion of the excess generation compensation is the added value provided because the generation is from a renewable energy source

Your account will automatically be credited for the wholesale value if there’s any excess generation after your annual true-up. We’ll multiply the number of excess kWh you have by the average price applicable to your true-up month. See true-up table below.

To learn more about the process if you’d like to “cash out” with a refund check, please call our Customer Contact Center at 1-800-411-7343.

Renewable Energy Credit

Our NEM program is for customers who generate renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Credit (REC) portion of the excess generation compensation is the added value provided because the generation is from a renewable energy source. This additional compensation is called a Renewable Attribute Adder.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has determined the eligibility for NEM customers and developed an ownership verification and tracking process for RECs created by net surplus generators. You can find it in the CEC guidebook, sections IV, V, VII available at:  https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/renewables-portfolio-standard/renewables-portfolio-standard-0

The current CEC implemented process is complicated and really only financially viable for  those customers who produce more than 12,000 surplus kWhs over a 12-month period[1].

In order for customers to receive this Renewable Attribute Adder they need to:

1. Obtain certification from the CEC and provide a copy to SDG&E.
2. Transfer the ownership of the RECs associated with the net surplus electricity to SDG&E using the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS). The renewable attribute adder will only be paid to those net surplus generators who provide RECs to the Utility. This rate is updated annually. Please note WREGIS will require the customer to become an “Account Holder”. There's a fee to become a WREGIS Account Holder. The WREGIS fee is based on the amount of kwhrs transferred and the frequency of transfers.
3. Complete the Net Energy Metering Renewable Energy Credits Compensation Agreement.

To receive the renewable attribute adder, please return the Net Energy Metering Renewable Energy Credit Compensation Agreement (Form 182-100) along with your CEC Regional Energy Portfolio certification form to:

Net Metering/Customer Generation
8306 Century Park Court, CP52F
San Diego, CA 92123

[1] Determined by calculating the Annual WREGIS Account Holder Cost to Renew divided by the Renewable Attribute Rate per kWh 

Additional Resources

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has California Energy Commission verification and tracking process for renewable energy credits.