On February 10th, the Ontario government posted an amended Net Metering Regulation (O.Reg. 541/05) to its e-Laws website. The amended regulation is intended to help transition the microFIT program from a generation purchasing program to a net metering program, an evolution that was proposed in the 2013 Long-term Energy Plan (LTEP). The 2013 LTEP also referred to potential opportunities to expand and enhance Ontario’s net metering program.
The amendments include:
• Clarifying the description of the method used to calculate bill credits.
• Clarifying the carryover period for bill credits at a consecutive 12-month period.
• Allowing larger consumers to meet their annual electricity needs with renewable energy by participating in net metering, by removing the 500 kW project capacity size limit.
• Enabling net-metered customers to pair energy storage with renewable energy systems. For clarity, storage of electricity from the generation facility and from the distributor’s distribution system will be permitted, as will the remittance of stored electricity to the distribution system.
• Allowing net-metered customers who have an existing net metering agreement prior to the effective date of the amended regulation to enter into new agreements that reflect the updated regulation, or to maintain their existing agreements.
The Ontario Energy Board and local distribution companies have agreed to take steps to implement the program updates by the in-force date of July 1, 2017.
The amendments are intended to support customer choice in generating clean, renewable energy, to help reduce load on the electricity system, and to enable innovative technologies and customer-utility relationships.
The Ministry of Energy thanked stakeholders for their input, which was received through participation at consultations and written responses. The Ministry will outline how stakeholder feedback was considered in a Decision Notice that will be posted to the Environmental and Regulatory registries in the near future.
Questions can be addressed to the following parties:
• Questions on the amendments can be addressed to the Ministry of Energy’s Renewable Energy Facilitation Office (REFO). REFO advisors can be reached by e-mail at
• Questions regarding implementation of the updated program, for example, by electricity distributors, can be addressed to the Ontario Energy Board at
• Questions regarding technical requirements, the approvals process, and how to obtain a net metering agreement should continue to be directed to local distribution companies. Find your local distribution utility here.
These amendments do not address the relatively recent questions raised for discussion on Virtual Net Metering and Third Party Ownership. See also the related article “Virtual Net Metering and Third Party Ownership under consideration,” IPPSO FACTO, February 2017.