WHAT IS IT? Net metering is the process used to measure customer generation and apply it to their usage.
A small number of OPPD customers generate electricity through solar panels or other means at their homes and businesses. To accommodate this influx of power, the utility uses a net metering program for these customers.
If the customer generates more electricity than they use, their account will be credited based on the amounts in the rate schedule, and those dollars will be applied to future months’ bills during the year. If, at the end of the year, the customer still has a credit balance, that amount will be paid out in full.
These customers have one meter on their home with two registers to measure both usage and generation. Commercial customers with net metering have two meters on their property because OPPD measures additional information when their meter data is gathered.
Laura King-Homan is the supervisor, Brand and Communication Operations, at Omaha Public Power District. She has nearly 20 years of print journalism and design experience, including the Omaha World-Herald.
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