(A) The town owns and operates its own electric utility. The Town Council has determined that the development of a net metering program in the town may encourage the use of renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, as well as promote the wise use of Indiana's natural energy resources to meet growing electricity demand.
(B) NET METERING is an arrangement of equipment for the production of electricity from renewable generation sources, such as solar or wind, that are owned and operated by single phase customers of the town utility, which allows a customer to offset its use of electricity by spinning the customer’s electric meter backwards, effectively crediting the customer for electricity contributed to the grid.
(C) Under a net metering arrangement, in those instances when the net metering customer’s facility is not producing sufficient electricity to meet the customer’s needs, the customer-generator purchases electricity from the utility under a typical retail service schedule or tariff. Conversely, any electricity produced by a customer in excess of the customer’s needs is fed into the utility grid and offsets the customer’s electric bill.
(D) The Town Council believes development of a net metering program, which encourages energy users to become more energy efficient, reduces demand, and potentially reduces energy bills, is an appropriate undertaking for the benefit of ratepayers and is in the public interest.
(E) The safety of town utility workers and the general public requires inspection and testing of equipment arranged for the production of electricity from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, or hydroelectric facilities that are owned and operated by residential, commercial or industrial customers of the town utility and connected to the utility’s grid.
(Ord. 2-16-2016, passed 2-16-2016)