A solar system uses solar panels and an inverter to convert sunshine into renewable energy for your home or business.

Surplus generation is any generated electricity not used, which will flow back onto the Oncor power grid.

Once the sun has set or is shaded by trees, clouds, and other objects, solar panels cannot generate electricity at the full capacity of the system. During these times, your home or business will first use any electricity generated from your system, and then use additional electricity provided from the Oncor power grid.

To measure surplus, your existing Oncor meter will be reprogrammed to operate as a two-way utility meter which allows it to separately measure electricity used from the Oncor power grid, as well as any surplus generation that flows onto the Oncor power grid. The Oncor meter will measure this surplus generation on the 057 outflow channel. It will also register your inflow, or usage, of electricity from the grid on the 001 inflow channel.

Solar panels are connected to your home’s electrical panel, which is connected to the Oncor power grid at the meter.

An Interconnection Application is needed to ensure a safe and reliable connection to the Oncor power grid. Once you have completed the interconnection process and received permission to operate, the Oncor meter will be reprogrammed to measure surplus generation.

If you are exploring a solar or other renewable system, we advise our customers to consider all options for making their home or business as energy efficient as possible. Reducing electricity usage by installing other energy efficiency measures first is typically more cost effective than installing a solar system. Please visit Take a Load Off, Texas to learn more.

If you’re ready to install a solar system, complete the steps below:

• Find an installer in your area. Please visit Oncor.com/solar to review questions to ask your installer
• Submit and track your Interconnection Application.
• Receive your Permission to Operate – turn your system on.

Oncor will reprogram your meter to measure your surplus generation and update your load profile to allow Oncor to send your measured surplus generation to your Retail Electric Provider (REP).

Once you are connected, you you may track your usage and surplus generation on smartmetertexas.com. You may also visit powertochoose.org. to review both buyback plans and non-solar rate plans.

Yes, Oncor will reprogram your existing meter to begin measuring surplus generation that flows onto the Oncor power grid as well as additional electricity you use from the power grid.

However, if you have an analog meter, please refer to "What if the customer has an Analog meter? What is Oncor’s Non-standard/Analog Meter process?"

Your system measures the total amount of generated electricity. The Oncor meter is not able to measure how much electricity your system generates. It only measures the surplus generation from your panels that flows onto the grid, if any, and the amount of electricity you used from the Oncor power grid.

Oncor operates in a deregulated electric market where net metering is not applicable. However, some Retail Electric Providers (REPs) offer renewable billing programs that offer credits for surplus generation. Please visit  powertochoose.org and select “Renewable Power” to learn more.

If you have completed the interconnection process and your Oncor meter has been reprogrammed to measure surplus generation, you can set up an account on smartmetertexas.com

View the Generation column to track measured surplus generation that flows onto the grid.

Once your meter has been reprogrammed, you can view the out-flow kWh value in the 057 channel on your meter to determine how much surplus generation has been measured. This value is cumulative, similar to the odometer on a car, not a monthly surplus generation total.

Oncor does not offer solar credits. Some Retail Electric Providers (REPs) offer credits to customers that are enrolled in a buyback program but not all. It is not required for solar customers to participate in these programs. Once your solar system is installed, you may visit smartmetertexas.com to track your electric usage and surplus generation. You may also visit powertochoose.org to review both buyback plans and non-solar rate plans.

REP buyback Programs can be found at powertochoose.org or by calling the Power To Choose helpline: 866-797-4839. Visit this site to review your options and select the plan that is best for you.

When the interconnection process has completed and you have received permission to operate, Oncor will place an order to have the meter reprogrammed to measure surplus generation, which generally takes about three weeks.

The load profile that allows measured electricity usage and surplus generation to be sent to the Retail Electric Provider requires one full billing cycle – 30-60 days – from the meter reprogramming date to update.

If you are participating in a REP buyback program, there are many reasons why credits may not show up on your bill:

• Your home or business may have used all of the electricity generated by your solar system.
• Please confirm that your meter has been reprogrammed to measure surplus generation.
• Please confirm the REP is receiving measured surplus generation. If you contact your REP and they indicate that your account does not have surplus generation data, then request that your REP contact Oncor.

Customers can expect the following costs:

• The amount for the installation and setup that are paid to the installer.
• For customers who financed their solar system, finance charges that are paid monthly to lease the system.
• Your REP’s rate, which should include the Oncor standard transmission and distribution charges per kilowatt hour used from the Oncor power grid.
• System Upgrade Fee: If a customer’s system size is large enough to require upgrades to the Oncor power grid, Oncor will provide a time and cost estimate. The customer has the option to reduce system size to avoid this cost.

Oncor is not permitted to provide installer information. Please research installers in your area.

For information related to Oncor’s incentive programs visit Take a Load Off, Texas

As long as you are connected to Oncor’s grid, Oncor will bill your Retail Electric Provider various charges. Oncor bills a monthly customer charge in addition to per kWh usage charges, so even if you don’t use any electricity from the Oncor grid, there will still be an Oncor charge to your REP.

If, and how, Oncor’s charges are passed on to you by your REP depends on the contract you signed with your REP. For information about these charges from Oncor on your electric bill, you will need to contact your Retail Electric Provider (REP). Your REP should understand the components of Oncor's delivery system charges and should be able to explain them to you. Oncor's delivery system charges are not a result of your installation of a solar system

An Interconnection Agreement is the agreement between the customer and Oncor, which allows the customer to interconnect their solar/renewable system to the Oncor power grid in order to generate electricity. This agreement is initiated by the installer submitting an Interconnection Application on the Oncor installer portal.

To interconnect your renewable system to the Oncor distribution system:

• Your installer sends you a Tariff Application for signature.
• The installer submits the solar installation via the web-based installer portal.
• Oncor reviews the solar project and required documentation, performs a study, and prepares an Interconnection Agreement.
• Once the Interconnection Agreement is signed by all parties, Oncor provides a Permission To Operate (PTO) letter to both the customer and the installer.
• Once the PTO has been granted, Oncor creates an order to reprogram your meter to measure any surplus generation sent to the grid. Generally, the meter is reprogrammed within 3 weeks.

'Surplus generation values are provided to the customer's retail electric provider (REP) within 30 to 60 days of the PTO. Customers can see the daily and monthly electricity data recorded in 15-minute intervals by their meter at smartmetertexas.com.

Please note these steps are for certified systems. Please refer to the non-certified process:“What is the general process description for applications that are not certified”

You may operate your system when the interconnection has been approved and you have received the permission to operate (PTO) letter from Oncor.

Please note that the interconnection process requires customer signatures on two documents. The first is the Tariff Application. This signed document initiates Oncor’s review of the interconnection. The second is the Interconnection Agreement. The permission to operate will be distributed when Oncor has completed the review of the interconnection and the Interconnection Agreement is signed by the customer and by Oncor.

If you operate a solar system without signing the Interconnection Agreement, and before receiving the PTO from Oncor, you are violating the Oncor tariff and the Public Utility Commission of Texas rules, which may be subject to a fine and possible disconnection by Oncor.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas requires Oncor to provide permission to operate within 30 days of the interconnection submission date. Please refer to, “What are the steps to interconnect my renewable system to the Oncor power grid?”

DIY solar customers will need to gain access to the Oncor Installer Portal to submit an Interconnection Application for Oncor’s review. These customers will need to contact Oncor Distributed Generation at dg@oncor.com to start the interconnection process

To have an Interconnection Agreement transferred to your name, email dg@oncor.com. Please include your address, phone number, and email to complete the transfer of ownership of the system.

Oncor will send you a Tariff Application and a new Interconnection Agreement for your signature. Your load profile that allows Oncor to send measured surplus generation to your REP will be updated within one full billing cycle from the interconnection approval date.

Once your load profile is updated, you may track your usage and surplus generation on smartmetertexas.com. You may also visit powertochoose.org to review both buyback plans and non-solar plans.

Yes, a new application will be required and once it is processed, a new Interconnection Agreement will be provided showing the equipment addition and change in capacity.

Please call Oncor at 866-728-3674 to check the status of your Interconnection Application.

Please contact us at dg@oncor.com to request to cancel your Interconnection Agreement.

Please contact your installer for updates to your equipment. For updates to your personal information such as name and address, please contact your REP and they will take the proper actions to notify Oncor of any changes to your personal information. Please ask the REP to submit a change via 814-PC to Oncor.

For more information, please contact us at dg@oncor.com.

A certified DRG system is an inverter based system which has been tested and certified to meet the standards specified in UL-1741 Utility Interactive (Underwriters Laboratory). Your DRG system vendor can verify DRG system certification. If your system does not meet these requirements, it is a non-certified system and may require increased process time and possibly a fee to study the systems impact on the grid.

For additional information regarding certification listings, refer to:

https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/topics/renewable-energy/solar-equipment-lists

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/63157.pdf

Systems that do not meet the requirements of UL-1741 Utility Interactive are not certified. The general process involves:

• Oncor receives a completed Interconnection Application and secures an Impact Study Fee and secures an Impact Study Fee
• Oncor prepares and submits to customer an Impact Study or Service Study
• Oncor secures payment from customer identified in the Impact Study for any required system changes
• Oncor schedules and completes any required system changes
• Oncor reviews customer relay test reports
• Oncor prepares, submits and secures an executed Interconnection Agreement from customer
• The application for small non-certified systems can be obtained by contacting Oncor at dg@oncor.com.

Final authorization for operation is granted after the Interconnection Agreement is executed, proper metering is installed, and all of the general process items are completed.

Oncor's Tariff for Retail Delivery Service provides a chart showing the various Oncor study fees for different types of application requests. In general, for small inverter based systems there are no fees. However, customers are responsible for any upgrades to the distribution system, like increases in transformer or other facilities’ capacity, to support your solar system.

The study fee chart is located in the Interconnection Application.

You may install your DRG system at any time. You will need to submit an Interconnection Application on the customer’s behalf via the installer portal. Customers are not authorized to operate the system until the Interconnection Agreement has been completed, and Oncor has provided the Permission to Operate letter.

You may install your DRG system at any time. You will need to submit an Interconnection Application on the customer’s behalf via the installer portal. Customers are not authorized to operate the system until the Interconnection Agreement has been completed, and Oncor has provided the Permission to Operate letter.

If you are interested in the solar photovoltaic program, visit Take a Load Off, Texas

Yes, all renewable systems must submit an Interconnection Application. Please visit Take a Load Off, Texas to learn about the Solar Energy Efficiency Program requirements.

Stand-alone generators that do not operate in parallel with the Oncor grid are not required to submit an Interconnection Application. Emergency generators with transfer switches that "break before make" do not need to apply as they never "parallel or operate synchronously" with the Oncor distribution system. However, these generators do fall under the jurisdiction of the local electrical inspection authorities and the National Electric Safety Code.

Contact your REP for billing questions, or Oncor about your meter and electric usage

If the battery system operates in parallel, for any length of time, with the utility and it can both charge and discharge into the utility system then an Interconnection Agreement is required. Please contact Oncor for specific questions.

Please view the Oncor installer portal for information regarding the status of your customer’s application.

Customers who have opted out of having an AMS meter and have an analog (non-standard) meter are not eligible for solar or other renewable systems. If the customer would like to update the meter, they can call 1-888-313-6862