FRANKFORT, KY — Net metering will be tested through pilot programs run by Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU). The three-year pilots will allow 25 customers of each utility to try net metering, with residential customers limited to 10-kW systems and nonresidential customers limited to 25-kW systems.

Under the pilot programs, the customer must have a generation system that uses as its total fuel source solar, hydro, or wind power.

To be eligible for net metering, customers must install a generation system that meets specific guidelines necessary to prevent damage to the LG&E or KU electrical grid systems. During periods when the customer generates more electricity than needed, the excess will feed into the utility’s grid system through the customer’s meter, causing the meter to run backward. Consequently, the customer will receive a credit equal to the applicable retail rate for all excess energy fed into the utility’s system.

Should a customer generate more electricity during a billing period than is consumed, the customer’s excess will be carried forward to the next billing period.

Publication date: 06/24/2002