Description

Green Mountain Energy Company, a retail provider of green electricity, offers a special energy buyback program to Texas customers that produce renewable energy from home-sited systems. It is only available to residential customers of Green Mountain Energy Company who purchase electricity under the company’s Renewable Rewards product (100% wind energy). Wind, solar, geothermal, biomass (and related technologies), hydroelectric, wave, and tidal energy systems are eligible for incentives under this program. The program is only intended to support systems of 25 kilowatts (kW) or less.

The Renewable Rewards Buy-Back program mimics net metering up to a certain point. The customer continues to pay the retail rate charged by Green Mountain under the 100% wind energy program for all the electricity they consume from the grid during a month. Any excess energy produced by the customer’s system that is exported to the grid (NEG) is metered separately and the customer’s account is credited (the following month) for the exported energy up to 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month at the retail rate. Energy export in excess of 500 kWh per month is credited at half of the retail rate. Notably, customers retain title to any renewable energy credits (RECs) or other environmental attributes produced by the system.

The arrangement requires the customer to enter into an interconnection agreement with their electric distribution utility (not Green Mountain). The customer must also work with their utility to install a meter capable of separately measuring the flow of electricity in both directions. The program website lists utility interconnection contacts for Oncor, CenterPoint, Texas-New Mexico Power, and American Electric Power.