The Economic Value of PV and Net Metering to Residential Customers in California

Net metering has played an important role in jump-starting the residential PV market in the U.S., but changes to net metering policies have emerged in a number of states and contexts, and alternative compensation methods are under consideration.

Moreover, one inherent feature of net metering is that the economic value it provides to customers with PV depends heavily on the structure of the underlying retail electricity rate as well as the characteristics of the customer and PV system; consequently, the value of net metering can vary substantially from one customer to the next. For these reasons, it is important for solar stakeholders to understand the value of net metering to residential PV customers relative to other possible compensation mechanisms. In this webinar, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will explore these issues, based on a recent analysis of the bill savings from net-metered PV received by residential customers in California, and a comparison between the bill savings received under net metering to savings that may be provided by several alternative compensation mechanisms, including a feed-in tariff.