Renewable Energy is a Vital Part of Ontario’s Electricity Future!
Ontario has opened the electricity market to safe and clean renewable energy.
The net metering program is designed to help you participate in this clean energy future – and to manage your energy costs.
So, if you can generate any portion of your electricity needs through wind, water, solar or agricultural biomass, you need to know more about net metering in Ontario.
What is Net Metering?
Net Metering is a program whereby eligible customers with specific generation facilities can reduce their net energy costs by exporting surplus generated energy back onto the distribution system for credit against the energy they consume from the distribution system, which in turn is the “Net” total from which a customer’s bill is calculated.
Excess generation credits can be carried forward for up to 12 months to offset future electricity costs.
Who is Eligible?
The net metering program was designed for any Ontario customer who generates electricity and meets the following conditions:
• The electricity generated is primarily for the customer’s own use
• The electricity generated is transmitted to the customer’s own consumption point
• The maximum cumulative output of the generator does not exceed 500 kilowatts in size
• The electricity is solely generated from a renewable source or a combination thereof
What Type(s) of generation Qualify?
• Solar
• Wind
• Water
• Agricultural Bio-Mass
• Combination thereof
How will my bill be calculated?
Customers participating in the Net Metering program will have the net energy charge on their hydro bill adjusted according to the Net Metering Regulation.
Essentially, customers will receive a credit or an adjustment on their monthly bill for the energy exported onto the utility’s grid up to, but not exceeding the value of the energy consumed from the utility’s grid.
If Net Metering customers export more power than they use during a billing period, their excess credit is carried over into their next billing period.
Excess energy credits from successive billing periods can be carried-over up to a maximum of 12 months.
For GST purposes, the supply of energy to the customer and the exporting of energy on to the utility’s grid are considered to be separate supplies.
As a result, the customer will be charged GST based on the gross supply of electricity rather than the net supply.
