Net Energy Metering (NEM)

For customers with clean energy generation systems (like solar panels), learn about our NEM program’s benefits, billing and true-up processes.

What is NEM?

If you have solar panels or other generation installed on your home or business, enrolling in NEM essentially allows you to offset your monthly electricity consumption with your monthly electricity generation.

Your electricity meter tracks how much electricity you use from the grid, and how much surplus you sent to the grid. The difference between these two numbers is called net energy.

Your bill includes your net energy. Net energy is shown as negative usage when you’re a net generator and positive usage when you’re a net consumer.

SDCP automatically tracks your usage and generation each Time-of-Use period. We will credit or charge you each month based on your rate schedule.

With NEM, your electricity meter tracks how much electricity you’re consuming versus generating.

How Our NEM Program Works

Please note: enrolling in SDCP service has no effect on your current rate schedules, including tiered and legacy rates or participation in legacy NEM programs like NEM 1.0 or 2.0

Enrollment

For New Customers:

Customers who applied for interconnection of an eligible renewable generating system, like solar panels or wind turbines, on or after April 15, 2023, will be enrolled into the Solar Billing Plan (SBP). Please view our SBP webpage to learn more.

For Existing NEM Customers:

Your transition to SDCP and our NEM program will happen at the time of your annual true up with SDG&E. This ensures that you don’t lose any credits. Transitioning to SDCP service has no effect on your current rate schedule, including legacy rates or participation in legacy NEM programs like NEM 1.0 or 2.0.

If you are an existing customer, you can view the schedules below to see when your account was or will be enrolled.

Enrollment Schedule for Cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa or San Diego

True-Up Month Enrollment Month
February February 2022
March March 2022
April April 2022
May May 2022
June June 2022
July July 2022
August August 2022
September September 2022
October October 2022
November November 2022
December December 2022
January January 2023

Enrollment Schedule for National City or the unincorporated communities of San Diego County

True-Up Month Enrollment Month
April April 2023
May May 2023
June June 2023
July July 2023
August August 2023
September September 2023
October October 2023
November November 2023
December December 2023
January January 2024
February February 2024
March March 2024

 

Monthly Account Adjustments

When you are enrolled in SDCP’s NEM program, you will continue to receive one bill from SDG&E for the transmission and delivery portion of your electric service. SDG&E’s electric generation charge will simply be replaced by SDCP’s.

Monthly account adjustments can help you to avoid large surprise bills.

If you are currently being served under NEM 1.0 or 2.0 and generate more electricity than you use in a given month, you will receive a credit for it at retail rates based on the Time-of-Use periods (e.g., Peak/Off-Peak) of your rate schedule.

If you are currently being served under a tiered rate system (e.g., DR) and generate more electricity than you use, you will receive generation credits at the retail rate of the total period value.

During months when you use more electricity than you your system generates, we will apply your accrued credits to help offset the cost. If your credits do not cover the entire charge, we will bill you for the difference.

Learn more about how monthly billing compares to annual billing in the “Monthly Versus Annual Billing Options” section below.

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 Up and Net Surplus Compensation

At the time of your standard true up period with SDG&E, SDCP will also conduct an electricity true up for the generation portion of your service. We look at how much electricity you generated versus consumed.

If you consumed more than you generated, don’t worry — you won’t receive a big surprise bill thanks to our monthly account balancing.

If you generated more than you consumed, we will pay you for adding clean electricity to the local grid. We will pay you for that surplus electricity at the monthly Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate, plus SDCP’s bonus incentive ($0.0075/kWh in addition to the SDG&E NSC rate).

2024 SDCP True Up Monthly Rate Table

MonthYearSDG&E
$/kWh
SDCP
Bonus Premium
SDCP
$/kWh
March20240.040100.00750.04760
February20240.048810.00750.05631
January20240.043970.00750.05147

2023 SDCP True Up Monthly Rate Table

MonthYearSDG&E
$/kWh
SDCP
Bonus Premium
SDCP
$/kWh
December20230.044150.00750.05165
November20230.045120.00750.05262
October20230.045910.00750.05341
September20230.047370.00750.05487
August 20230.044110.00750.05161
July20230.046120.00750.05362
June20230.053360.00750.06086
May20230.064690.00750.07219
April20230.079140.00750.08664
March20230.090790.00750.09829
February20230.145380.00750.15288
January20230.063800.00750.07130

2022 SDCP True Up Monthly Rate Table

MonthYearSDG&E
$/kWh
SDCP
Bonus Premium
SDCP
$/kWh
December2022
0.053320.00750.06082
November2022
0.053520.00750.06102
October2022
0.052530.00750.06003
September2022
0.045530.00750.05303
August2022
0.038130.00750.04563
July2022
0.032110.00750.03961
June2022
0.028870.00750.03637
May2022
0.033870.00750.04137
April2022
0.043650.00750.05115
March2022
0.050910.00750.05841
February2022
0.054720.00750.06222
January2022
0.056520.00750.06402

2021 SDCP True Up Monthly Rate Table

MonthYearSDG&E
$/kWh
SDCP
Bonus Premium
SDCP
$/kWh
December20210.05470.00750.0622
November20210.055280.00750.06278
October20210.051880.00750.05938
September20210.041440.00750.04894
August20210.030630.00750.03813
July20210.022610.00750.03011
June20210.024480.00750.03198
May20210.027020.00750.03452
April20210.030680.00750.03818
March20210.033640.00750.04114

If your net surplus compensation is above $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 consumption charges.

View Example Vea un Ejemplo

Monthly Versus Annual Billing Options

Because most NEM customers in our service territory are net consumers (use more electricity than they produce), SDCP defaults NEM customers enrolled in our service to monthly billing. Monthly billing allows customers to pay smaller amounts each month rather than one large bill at the end of the relevant period.

NEM customers with an interconnection date prior to April 15, 2023 can elect to change to annual billing by filling out the form belowAnnual billing may be preferable for NEM customers who are net generators in any month during their relevant period, as payment for a month of net consumption would likely be covered by subsequent months of net generation throughout the relevant 12-month period.

In both billing options for NEM customers, 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. If you generated more than you consumed over the course of the year, SDCP will pay you for your excess electricity at the Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate offered by SDG&E plus SDCP’s bonus incentive of $0.0075 per kWh.

Please note that if you wish to update your NEM billing to the annual option, you will need to do so at the time of your true up before you have been billed for any SDCP charges. Also note that if you make this change, you will not be able to make another switch for a full 12 months. 

Please note that Annual billing is available only to NEM customers with an interconnection date prior to April 15, 2023; according to the Solar Billing Plan, SBP customers will be placed on monthly billing without access to an annual billing option.

Switch to Annual Billing
Bonus

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SDCP offer a NEM program for qualified solar electric and other distributed generation systems?

Yes, SDCP does offer a NEM program for existing and new customers that installed solar systems or other generating systems. Existing NEM customers were enrolled into our service starting February 2022.

Our NEM program functions similarly to SDG&E’s program except we settle and bill monthly to avoid large bills at your true up. An optional annual settlement and billing is available by contacting us or filling out our Annual True Up Notification. 

As an incentive for generating clean electricity, customers that are producers of excess electricity as measured in annual kWh at the end of their 12-month relevant period will be compensated at our Net Surplus Compensation rate. This rate is based on SDG&E’s True Up Monthly rate, plus a $0.0075/kWh bonus incentive.

I am a resident with solar panels. When will I be enrolled in NEM?

Residents with solar panels or other NEM will automatically transition to SDCP’s NEM program at the time of their annual true up with SDG&E, regardless of which city they reside in, to ensure that all true up credits and relevant true up period details are not impacted by the transition.

What will change when I enroll in SDCP as a NEM customer?

Because you will be automatically enrolled in SDCP’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: SDCP’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 SDCP or at the time of your true up.  

 Net Surplus Compensation Rate: At the end of the 12-month relevant true up period, SDCP 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. 

What happens if I’m a NEM 1.0 or 2.0 customer and switch back to SDG&E?

According to SDG&E, changing service providers has no effect on rate schedules or NEM interconnection. This includes customers being automatically enrolled into SDCP services and those that opt-out of SDCP services. Customers will not need to reapply for interconnection when they change service providers as they are still under the same (1.0) interconnection agreement regardless of the electricity service provider.

However, SDG&E may make changes to NEM 1.0 and 2.0 parameters in the future. Visit sdge.com for more information.

Will enrolling in SDCP impact my relationship with my lease or Power Purchase Agreement provider (SunRun, SunPower, Sungevity, SolarCity/Tesla, etc.)?

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

SDCP is simply replacing SDG&E as your electric generation provider. All billing will continue through SDG&E for our service, but you will now see SDCP charges, or “CCA Electric Generation Charges,” presented as a line item on your bill.

What are the advantages of monthly versus annual billing?

Because most NEM customers are net consumers (use more electricity than they produce), SDCP defaults NEM customers enrolled in our service to monthly billing.

Monthly billing allows customers to pay smaller amounts each month rather than one large bill at the end of the relevant period.

NEM customers can elect to change to annual billingThis option may be preferable for NEM customers who are net generators in any month during their relevant period, as payment for a month of net consumption would likely be covered by subsequent months of net generation throughout the relevant 12-month period.

Please note that if you wish to update your NEM billing to the annual option, you will need to do so at the time of your true up before you have been billed with SDCP charges. Once your NEM billing has been selected, you will not be able to change it until after the end of the applicable and pertinent 12-month true up period.

In both billing options, 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. If you generated more than you consumed over the course of the year, SDCP will pay you for your excess electricity at the Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate offered by SDG&E plus SDCP’s bonus incentive of $0.0075 per kWh.

What if I would like to continue with annual NEM billing?

If you prefer to continue with annual billing and true up, please fill out the Annual True Up Notification Form on the Net Energy Metering page of our website 

Please note that NEM billing changes can only be made at the time of your relevant true up date. If you make a billing option change to annual billing, you will not be able to make another switch (back to monthly billing) for a full 12 months. You will also not be able to make changes to your billing option in the middle of or during your 12-month relevant true up period. 

More questions? Reach out to us at customerservice@sdcommunitypower.org 

How SDCP’s NEM Program Benefits You

Clean electricity, all the time

With SDCP, the electricity you consume is clean and renewable — even during the night, when your system isn’t producing.

One single bill

You’ll continue to receive one monthly bill from SDG&E that includes your net electricity usage and production and the correlating credits and charges.

Premium annual compensation rate  

As a thank you for being an annual net producer of clean, renewable electricity, we add an additional bonus to your compensation rate.

Option to choose between monthly and annual billing

SDCP offers both monthly and annual billing for NEM customers. You can choose which option works best for you.

How our NEM program compares with SDG&E’s NEM

SDCP

  • 54.2-100% renewable energy
  • Option to choose whether credits and charges are applied monthly or annually
  • Compensation for net annual surplus at the wholesale rate, plus bonus incentive of $0.0075/kWh
  • Automatic checks for net surplus compensation above $100

SDG&E

  • 44.8% renewable energy
  • Credits and charges applied annually
  • Compensation for net annual surplus at the wholesale rate
  • Must call contact center to request refund check

Solar Billing Plan/Net Billing Tariff (formerly known as “NEM 3.0”) Update

The Solar Billing Plan, also known as the Net Billing Tariff (formerly known as “NEM 3.0”), went into effect on April 15, 2023 for all new customers installing renewable energy self-generation systems.

If your interconnection application was submitted on April 15, 2023 or later, you have taken service and have been billed on NEM 2.0 temporarily. You will be transitioned to SBP once SDG&E has finalized their billing systems and fully implemented SBP by December 2023.

SDCP has adopted one of the most customer-centric Solar Billing Plan in the State. Learn more about SDCP’s Solar Billing Plan.

Existing NEM customers will remain on their current NEM tariff for 20 years from the time their system was permitted by SDG&E and connected to the electric grid, unless they choose to switch to SBP or increase the capacity of their system by more than 10% or 1kW, whichever is greater.