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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Energy Markets and Tariffs

Net metering

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

nounCommon term

In energy & renewables, net metering means: A billing system in which electricity that a customer's solar panels send to the grid is subtracted from the electricity they take from it, so they pay only for the difference.

In Turkish: mahsuplaşma, net ölçüm

How it is used

Important for the economics of rooftop solar. Customers are eligible for net metering, and netting may be hourly, monthly or yearly. Many countries are replacing it with net billing, where exported power is paid at a lower price than imported power.

Example sentences

  1. With net metering, the energy we export at noon is deducted from what we use in the evening.

  2. The new rules move households from net metering to hourly net billing.

Common collocations

  • net metering scheme
  • eligible for net metering
  • net billing
  • export to the grid
  • rooftop solarSolar panels installed on the roofs of homes, offices, factories or warehouses, mainly to supply the building's own electricity needs.
  • smart meterAn electricity or gas meter that records consumption at short intervals and sends the data automatically to the supplier or network operator.
  • feed-in tariffA support scheme that guarantees renewable energy producers a fixed price for each kWh they feed into the grid, usually for 10 to 20 years.
  • tariffThe set of prices and rules that decides how much a customer pays for electricity or gas, for example per kWh, per month or by time of day.

More terms: Energy Markets and Tariffs

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