Net-Metering (1998; expanded in 2006)
This policy allows owners of renewable electricity systems to interconnect their systems with the power grid, and literally spin their meter backwards to obtain full retail credit for the renewable electricity they generate.
Systems up to 10 kilowatts interconnect under NMPRC Rule 571 (the 1998 ruling): Extra credits are carried over each billing period, until such time as the system is disconnected, at which point the customer receives an “avoided cost” rate payment for any excess credits remaining at that time.
Starting in 2007, systems above 10 kilowatts and less than 80 megawatts can interconnect and net-meter under NMPRC Rule 570. Systems between 10 and 100 kilowatts get a standard interconnection agreement with simple interconnection requirements – those greater than 100 kilowatts get a system specific agreement (standard agreements for systems larger than 100 kilowatts will likely be offered after the Commission updates technical interconnection standards in 2007 to IEEE standards). Accounts under Rule 570 are “trued up” each billing cycle, at which point the customer receives an “avoided cost” rate payment for any excess credits remaining at the end of a cycle.
