Washington Electric Coop’s is excited to announce that it is accepting applications for Net Metering in its service territory. The Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) issued a letter today indicating that the WEC net metering plan has been approved. This means WEC can resume taking net metering applications immediately.
Because the Co-op already obtains more than 90 percent of its power supply from renewable sources, and 10 percent of its peak power demand is met with net metered systems owned by WEC members, Washington Electric qualified to create its own program design under Act 99, the new net metering legislation passed by the Vermont Legislature on April 1, 2014. The PSB by way of its actions today approved WEC’s plan and WEC can now resume offering net metering to its members.
WEC President Barry Bernstein said, “We want a win-win for all our members and the State of Vermont. As a not-for-profit, our mission is to serve our members’ needs and interests. Clearly WEC members want us to offer a sustainable and fair net metering program, and we believe we have worked to meet those goals through this new design and pilot plan.”
While the WEC program includes many features in Act 99, there are some differences. For example, the program will require two meters and members will need an energy efficiency audit. WEC recommends before members get started to reach us at the coop and we will walk you through the new program. Also, it’s important to note that nothing will change for members already enrolled in net metering; those already participating will remain under the old plan. The changes to the program were created for new installations only, with the goal of making the program fair to all Co-op members on a forward-looking basis.
For more detail on the new program please see WEC’s June edition of Coop Currents which is available on line at www.washingtonelectric.coop. Also WEC will make available an online bill calculator as well as a meter schematic to help members design their net metering structures.
If you would like additional information please contact Bill Powell at 802-224-2329.
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