FAQ Category: Solar

Although we’ve given out all the available rebates for installing solar on your home or business, we have no rules against our customers installing solar if they choose. In fact since we’ve changed to the new Net Metering 2.0, we’ve had over 1,200 new solar installations totaling more than 41 megawatts installed in our District.…

There are rate schedules for our customers who wish to install solar, wind or other self-generation facilities on their properties of businesses in the Turlock Irrigation District service area. Below are links to the Self-Generation Rates.

These rate schedules all have the same components: Customer, Time-of-Use Energy and Demand charges as well as taxes and fees assessed by government agencies. For many customers these charges are nothing new – they already have Customer, Time-or-Use Energy and Demand Charges on their existing rate schedules. However, for some customers new to the Self-Generation…

A Demand Charge is a charge for the maximum amount of energy used in any fifteen minute interval within the billing period. TID stands ready to supply as much energy as our customers demand at any given moment. This charge is for TID’s costs associated with the infrastructure necessary to provide reliable demand service to…

“Time-of-Use” or “TOU” simply means that instead of a single rate for energy all day and night, there will be a different rate during two different time blocks each day. The cost and value of power is different in the on-peak block than in the off-peak block each weekday, and customers can choose to use…

Customers are able to net their generation with their use each month for the on-peak and off peak periods. If at the end of the billing period the customer has generated more than they used, the customer will be credited TID’s Short Run Marginal Cost for the excess generation. The Short Run Marginal Cost will…

When a customer installs solar they can opt to install a generation meter to properly track generation. That charge is typically $600 for a generation meter, but is optional.

That’s called “Aggregation” and is not available under the current self-generation rate schedules.

System sizes are not limited to a customer’s electric load under these rate schedules at this time. Keep in mind, TID reserves the right to perform an interconnection study or may otherwise limit the size of the solar system now or in the future. Contact TID for more information.

Customers that have installed or are considering installing solar should be aware that the District regularly makes changes to rate schedules and these changes could negatively impact your expected return on investment.