Net Energy Metering (NEM)

We know that solar can be complex. Let’s break down NEM.

What is NEM?

If you have solar panels or other self-generation systems, like wind turbines, Net Energy Metering (NEM) allows you to offset the energy that you use each month with the energy that your system produces. Please note that NEM is closed to new solar customers as of April 15, 2023. New solar customers will be enrolled under the Solar Billing Plan.

Your electricity meter tracks both your consumption, o cuánta energía utiliza, y su generation, or how much energy your self-generation system produces.

With NEM, you receive bill credits when you generate more energy than you consume. These credits can help offset charges for energy that you will use in the future.

If you generate more energy than you consume over your annual true-up period, San Diego Community Power will pay you for that excess energy.

How Does NEM Work?

The difference between the amount of energy you use and the amount of energy your system generates is called net energy.

Community Power calculates your net energy each month and determines whether you’re a net generator (generating more energy than you consume) or a net consumer (consuming more energy than you generate).

Your net energy will be positive on your bill if you are a net consumer, and negative if you are a net generator.

At the end of each billing period, net generators receive credits that can be used to offset future charges. Net consumers will be charged for the net energy that they consumed, minus any available credits.

Please note that Community Power credits offset Community Power generation charges only; they cannot offset SDG&E’s transmission and delivery charges.

Torre de transmisión eléctrica y casa con energía solar que ilustran la generación neta de energía.
Líneas eléctricas al anochecer y una casa que utiliza electricidad por la noche con paneles solares en el tejado.

Community Power’s NEM Program

Community Power and SDG&E both offer NEM programs with slight differences.

Community Power’s NEM Program

Choice between monthly or annual application of credits and charges for generation service

NEM Balance Credit Refund applied at time of true-up for charges applied throughout true-up period

Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) applied at wholesale rate plus Community Power’s $0.0075/kWh bonus incentive

Los clientes reciben automáticamente cheques para NSC por encima de $100

Todo NSC inferior a $100 se transferirá para compensar futuros cargos de Community Power

SDG&E’s NEM Program

Credits and charges applied annually for all customers

No se aplican créditos adicionales en el momento de true-up para los cargos aplicados

Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) applied at wholesale rate

Customers must contact SDG&E to request check for NSC

Monthly Account Adjustments

Monthly account adjustments can help you avoid unexpectedly large annual true up bills.

You earn bill credits for generating electricity. If you generate more energy than you consume in a given month, you will receive a credit for it at rates based on the time-of-use periods of your rate schedule or the plan that determines how you pay for the energy you use. If you are on a tiered rate, you will receive generation credits at the retail rate of the total period value. Learn more about rate schedules on our Tarifas residenciales o Tarifas comerciales páginas.

When you consume more energy than you generate in a given month, we will apply any credits that you’ve accrued to help offset your charges. If your credits do not cover all of the charges, you will be charged for the difference.

If you generate more electricity than you use, you will receive a credit for it at retail rates.

If you use more energy than you generate, you will be billed for it at the same retail rate.

True-Ups y compensación por excedente neto

At the time of your true-up with SDG&E, Community Power will also conduct a true-up for the generation portion of your service.

If you are billed monthly, don’t worry — you won’t receive a big surprise bill for Community Power charges since you will have already paid smaller amounts for any months of net consumption throughout the true-up period.

If you generated more than you consumed, we will pay you for that surplus energy at our Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate, which is always $0.0075/kWh more than SDG&E’s.

If your net surplus compensation is greater than $100 per account, we will automatically issue you a check. If your net surplus compensation is less than $100, we will carry it forward as a rollover to help offset future Community Power charges.

MesAñoSDG&E $/kWhCommunity Power Prima de bonificaciónCommunity Power $/kWh
Noviembre20250.020760.00750.02826
Octubre20250.020370.00750.02787
Septiembre20250.017530.00750.02503
Agosto20250.014510.00750.02201
Julio20250.012840.00750.02034
Junio20250.013720.00750.02122
Mayo20250.016670.00750.02417
Abril20250.023850.00750.03135
Marzo20250.030720.00750.03822
Febrero20250.031920.00750.03942
Enero20250.018370.00750.02587
MesAñoSDG&E $/kWhPrima de bonificación SDCPSDCP $/kWh
Diciembre20240.01680.00750.0243
Noviembre20240.016730.00750.02423
Octubre20240.015410.00750.02291
Septiembre20240.014630.00750.02213
Agosto20240.011790.00750.01929
Julio20240.008540.00750.01604
Junio20240.011570.00750.01907
Mayo20240.017390.00750.02489
Abril20240.026660.00750.03416
Marzo20240.04010.00750.0476
Febrero20240.048810.00750.05631
Enero20240.043970.00750.05147
MesAñoSDG&E $/kWhPrima de bonificación SDCPSDCP $/kWh
Diciembre20230.044150.00750.05165
Noviembre20230.045120.00750.05262
Octubre20230.045910.00750.05341
Septiembre20230.047370.00750.05487
Agosto20230.044110.00750.05161
Julio20230.046120.00750.05362
Junio20230.053360.00750.06086
Mayo20230.064690.00750.07219
Abril20230.079140.00750.08664
Marzo20230.090790.00750.09829
Febrero20230.145380.00750.15288
Enero20230.06380.00750.0713
MesAñoSDG&E $/kWhPrima de bonificación SDCPSDCP $/kWh
Diciembre20220.053320.00750.06082
Noviembre20220.053520.00750.06102
Octubre20220.052530.00750.06003
Septiembre20220.045530.00750.05303
Agosto20220.038130.00750.04563
Julio20220.032110.00750.03961
Junio20220.028870.00750.03637
Mayo20220.033870.00750.04137
Abril20220.043650.00750.05115
Marzo20220.050910.00750.05841
Febrero20220.054720.00750.06222
Enero20220.056520.00750.06402
MesAñoSDG&E $/kWhPrima de bonificación SDCPSDCP $/kWh
Diciembre20210.05470.00750.0622
Noviembre20210.055280.00750.06278
Octubre20210.051880.00750.05938
Septiembre20210.041440.00750.04894
Agosto20210.030630.00750.03813
Julio20210.022610.00750.03011
Junio20210.024480.00750.03198
Mayo20210.027020.00750.03452
Abril20210.030680.00750.03818
Marzo20210.033640.00750.04114

Understanding Your NEM Bill

San Diego Community Power customers receive one bill from SDG&E. Community Power appears as a line item on your SDG&E bill, but this is not an extra charge. This is merely replacing the electricity generation charge that you would otherwise pay to SDG&E.

Monthly vs. Annual Billing

Because most NEM customers are net consumers, Community Power defaults NEM customers to monthly billing, which allows you to receive smaller bills each month rather than one large bill at the end of the relevant period.

Annual billing may be preferable if you are a net generator in at least one month during your true-up period since it applies all charges and credits at the end of your true-up period. This can allow a month of net consumption earlier in the year to be offset by later months of net generation.

For both monthly and annual billing, annual true-up cash-outs are based on the total cumulative usage of your account over the course of your 12-month relevant true-up period.

To update your billing preference to annual billing, please fill out the form below. However, please note the following:

You must be a NEM customer with an interconnection date prior to April 15, 2023.
You must update your billing preferences at the time of your true-up, before you have been billed by Community Power.
You will not be able to return to monthly billing for a full 12 months.

Preguntas frecuentes

Sí. Si usted es un cliente existente que instaló un sistema de autogeneración de energía renovable elegible antes del 15 de abril de 2023, obtenga más información sobre nuestro programa Net Energy Metering (NEM) en nuestro Página Net Energy Metering.

Si solicitó la interconexión de un sistema de autogeneración de energía renovable elegible a partir del 15 de abril de 2023, o si ha llegado al final de su período de legado de 20 años en el NEM 1.0, obtenga más información sobre nuestro Solar Billing Plan (SBP) en nuestro Página Solar Billing Plan.

According to SDG&E, changing service providers has no effect on rate schedules or Net Energy Metering (NEM) interconnection. This includes customers automatically enrolled into San Diego Community Power service and those who opt out of San Diego Community Power service. Customers will not need to reapply for interconnection when they change service providers as they are still under the same interconnection agreement regardless of their electricity service provider.

NEM customers can opt out of San Diego Community Power service and return to SDG&E at any time. Please note, however, that an opt out will result in a premature true up, and SDG&E will set your renewed annual true up date to align with your return to SDG&E service.

SDG&E may make changes to NEM 1.0 and 2.0 parameters in the future. Visit Sitio web de SDG&E for more information.net

No, your lease or PPA provider arrangement will continue as is.

Because most Net Energy Metering (NEM) customers are net consumers (consuming more energy than they generate), San Diego Community Power defaults NEM customers to monthly billing, which allows you to receive smaller bills each month rather than one large bill at the end of the relevant period.

Annual billing may be preferable if you are a net generator (generating more energy than you consume) in at least one month during your true up period since it applies all charges and credits at the end of your true up period. This can allow a month of net consumption earlier in the year to be offset by later months of net generation.

For both monthly and annual billing, annual true up Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) is based on the total cumulative usage (kWh) of your account over the course of your 12-month relevant true up period.

To update your billing preference to annual billing, fill out this form. However, please note that:

You must be a NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 customer with an interconnection date prior to April 15, 2023;

You must update your billing preferences at the time of your true up, before you have been billed by San Diego Community Power;

And you will not be able to return to monthly billing for a full 12 months.

At the time of your annual NEM true-up, we will issue you compensation up to the value of your NEM balance for any Community Power charges that were applied over the course of the relevant true-up period.

This means that if you have NEM credits remaining at the time of your true-up, we will apply those back to your account, either as a rollover or a cash out, for Community Power charges that were applied over the past year.

If you were a net generator (produced more electricity than you used) over the true-up period, we will add your NEM Balance Credit Refund to your Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) and any potential rollover credits from the last true-up period. If that cumulative value is more than $100, we will issue you a check. If it is under $100, we will roll it over to your NEM balance to offset future Community Power charges in subsequent relevant periods.

If you were a net consumer (used more electricity than you produced) over the true-up period, we will add your NEM Balance Credit Refund back to your NEM balance to offset future Community Power charges in months where you use more electricity than you produce.

Las varias diferencias entre Net Energy Metering (NEM) y Solar Billing Plan, incluyendo:

Los clientes NEM tendrán un periodo de legado de 20 años a partir de la fecha de su Permiso para Operar. Los clientes Solar Billing Plan tendrán un periodo de legado de 9 años a partir de su fecha de Permiso para Operar.

A los clientes NEM se les exige una tarifa por tiempo de uso. A los clientes Solar Billing Plan se les exige estar en una tarifa de tiempo de uso “altamente diferenciada”, EV-TOU-5 para clientes residenciales. En la EV-TOU-5, la electricidad es más cara durante la hora de mayor demanda y menos cara en otras horas. Los clientes no residenciales Solar Billing Plan permanecerán en su tarifa actual.

La tarifa de exportación de NEM se basa en las tarifas minoristas. La tarifa de exportación de Solar Billing Plan se basa en la Calculadora de Costes Evitados (ACC), que varía según la hora y el mes y está estrechamente alineada con las tarifas mayoristas.

Los clientes NEM tienen la opción de inscribirse en la facturación anual para que su facturación se aplique una sola vez en el momento de su ajuste anual. A los clientes Solar Billing Plan se les factura mensualmente y no podrán acogerse a la facturación anual.

Para más información, consulte nuestro Página de energía solar para tejados.

Because you will be automatically enrolled in Community Power’s generation services at the time of your true up, your enrollment should be a seamless transition and will not impact your existing credits with SDG&E. You will also maintain the same true up date as before.

The few differences include:

Monthly Billing: Community Power’s default billing option for our NEM customers is monthly billing. This means that we perform monthly account adjustments to avoid a large true up bill at the end of the year for your electric generation services. If you wish to maintain annual billing, you can fill out our Annual True Up Notification Form before your account transitions over to Community Power or at the time of your true up.

Net Surplus Compensation Rate: At the end of the 12-month relevant true up period, Community Power will pay net generators (as measured in annual kWh, not bill credits) for the surplus electricity at the applicable Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate, plus our bonus incentive, which is $0.0075/kWh. NSC rates vary each month, but our bonus incentive of $0.0075 per kWh will always be added to it. View the current NSC rate here.

Net Surplus Compensation Annual Cash Out: If your net surplus compensation amount is above $100 per account, we will automatically issue you a check. If it’s less than $100, we will carry that forward as a rollover to the next year to help offset any consumption charges in the future.

¿Más preguntas?

Póngase en contacto con nosotros en CustomerService@SDCommunityPower.org.