El Paso Electric Company: Solar PV Pilot Program

El Paso Electric (EPE) offers rebates to its Texas customers that install photovoltaic (PV) systems on homes or other buildings. The program is currently slated to operate on a pilot basis for two years. EPE customers of all rate classes (e.g., residential, commercial, etc.) are eligible to participate in the program. The term "customer" means "the entity with financial responsibility for paying the electric bill for the meter behind which the distributed solar energy equipment is to be installed." Rebates may be assigned to the customer, a service provider, or a third party.

Rebates for new construction projects are permitted, but could involve complications that conflict with program guidelines. Special considerations and rules also apply to apartments, rentals, condominiums, leased properties, large companies, and government agencies. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the program manager prior to submitting an application.

The rebate program for 2012 opened on November 1, 2011. Rebates are offered at a flat rate of $2.00 per watt (DC) for residential customers and $1.75 per watt (DC) for non-residential customers. Residential systems are limited to a $20,000 incentive and non-residential systems are limited to $87,500. Individual systems must be at least 1 kilowatt (kW) and maximum system size is 50 kW (as determined by El Paso Electric's net metering, per SB 1910 passed June 2011). In addition, systems may not be sized to produce energy in excess of that required to meet annual on-site energy consumption. Customers may only apply for one rebate per point of service, as defined by a unique meter ESI-ID number. Customers with multiple points of service are therefore permitted to apply for multiple rebates, subject to the restriction above and other program limits (e.g., limits on total incentives available to a single customer).

Systems must be new, connected to the grid on the customer side of the meter, meet minimum estimated performance requirements (80% of optimum), and meet all applicable code and utility interconnection requirements. In addition, all equipment (i.e., modules, inverters and meters) met standard qualify and safety requirements (e.g., inverters must certified under UL-1741 or its equivalent). All installations must be performed service providers who meet program eligibility requirements. Service providers are also subject to ongoing quality assurance standards and are required to attend technical training sessions. Installations may be subject to a variety of inspection and performance monitoring requirements in the short- and long-term. EPE claims ownership of renewable energy certificates (RECs) produced by systems that receive incentives.

The program budget is $1,150,00 for 2012 (past budgets were: $141,300 for 2010 and $1,350,000 for 2011). Contact program personnel for additional information on applications, incentive eligibility, installer qualifications and other program details.