Puerto Rico - Net Metering

Puerto Rico enacted net-metering legislation in August 2007, allowing customers of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to use electricity generated by solar, wind or "other" renewable-energy resources to offset their electricity usage.

Eligibility and Availability

This law applies to residential systems with a generating capacity of up to 25 kilowatts (kW) and non-residential systems up to one megawatt (MW) in capacity.*

Net Excess Generation

Customer net excess generation (NEG) is carried over as a kilowatt-hour (kWh) credit to the following month, but NEG credit is limited to a "daily maximum" of 300 kWh for residential customers and 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) for commercial customers. Customers with excess credits remaining at the end of a 12-month period (ending in June) will be compensated as follows: 75% of the excess credits will be purchased by PREPA at a rate of $0.10 per kWh or "the amount resulting from the subtraction of the adjusted fuel fee based on the variable costs incurred by the public corporation exclusively for the purchase of fuel and energy, from the total price charged by the public utility to its customers, converted into kilowatt-hours, whichever is greater". The remaining 25% will be granted to PREPA to distribute as a credit or reduction applied to the electricity bills of public schools.

Special Provisions
System owners must, at their own expense, use a bi-directional meter installed by an expert electrician. Systems must comply with the standards and specifications on minimum efficiency requirements established by the Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration (EAA) or another designated government body. In 2008, legislation (S2377 Ley 211) was enacted that removed the requirement that systems be installed by a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) installer, and instead established that all systems must be installed by an electrical engineer or expert electrician that is registered with the EAA and meets the additional EAA requirements for renewable energy system installers. Yet, legislation enacted in 2012 applies this NABCEP requirement again. All equipment must be guaranteed for at least five years by the manufacturer or distributor. Installations must incorporate emissions and noise-control mitigation measures, when applicable.

Program Administrator Type
PREPA adopted the necessary regulations for compliance with this law in October 2008 and established the procedures for applying for net metering. A net metering application (in Spanish) is available on PREPA's website. PREPA and EAA must also develop and implement educational campaigns designed to inform consumers of the benefits of net metering and of available renewable-energy technologies.

* Senate Bill 2472 increased the capacity limit to 5 MW for non-residential customers connected to transmission or sub-transmission lines. The regulations have not yet been updated to reflect the changes implemented by the new law.