In May of each year members on the R119 rate have the option to enroll in this elective rate provided they meet the following criteria:
For more information or to discuss enrollment, please contact our Member Services team.
Yes, our rates are structured to offer a one-to-one kWh credit. However, other rate components include monthly charges that must be paid regardless of a member's consumption/generation (such as the Service Availability Charge or Net Generation Loss Factor Charge) or require an annual reduction in banked kWh.
We are sad to see you go! When you move out you cannot take the credits with you to the next home or cash out the value. Instead, any remaining credits after the final bill is paid will be transferred to the next member establishing an account at the location.
Welcome to Kootenai Electric Cooperative! When you transfer the electric service into your name, we will send you an interconnection agreement so you can remain on the net meter rate. If there are any banked kWh left over from the previous member, those kWh will be transferred to your account.
The amount of electricity that you generate, as registered by your generation system’s app or software, most likely won't match up to the generation amount shown on your KEC billing statement. This is because the electricity you generate will first supply the immediate electricity needs of your home or business. If you generate more than you need at a given moment, that excess generation will be sent to our grid and will be displayed on your bill as “Generation.”
Here's an example: If you generated 600 kWh from your solar array and have 300 kWh shown as Generation on your bill, this means 300 kWh was used in real time by your home's consumption.
The Net Generation Loss Factor Charge recovers the cost of system losses resulting from the flow of energy attributable to a member’s metered generation (or excess generation). Such energy is (1) delivered to the grid at the moment produced and then (2) returned to the member at the moment of that member’s future need. KEC incurs system losses on both directions, resulting in the system loss factor being charged twice.
All members participating in the net meter program will be billed on the standard net metered rate schedule (R119). This rate schedule calculates the Net Generation Loss Factor Charge (NGLFC) on a monthly basis and is charged as a line item on the member's billing statement.
KEC also offers an elective net metered rate schedule (R120) where the member's volume of banked energy credits will be reduced in April each year by the amount of energy equal to the net generation losses that would have otherwise been billed for the prior 12 months under the NGLFC rate schedule.
Typically, no. However, a system designed with a battery backup may provide short-term power to the member’s location during a power outage. For the safety of utility line workers, a member’s generating resource shall have a manually operated knife-blade type disconnect switch that is readily accessible, visible, and lockable in the open position only, in accordance with National Electrical Code (NEC) 690.13(E).
No. We do not buy back power, however, any overgeneration can be carried over to the following month. The over generation will accumulate as “banked” kWh credits and be displayed on the bill. Once depleted, the remaining energy consumption will be billed at the energy rates of the applicable rate schedule. KEC will not issue payment for any banked kWh.
No. There will still be a monthly service availability charge on your bill for the connection to the electric power grid as well as applicable taxes and fees. For members with onsite generation, the service availability charge pays for the portion of the system that members rely on to act as the “battery” for their generation.
If you generate more electricity than you consumed for the billing month, it is possible not to have a kWh charge on your bill.
For members of our budget billing program, your budget amount will still be due every month regardless of how much power is generated, however, the current actual balance will reflect the net amount.
