Here are some questions that we receive regularly from customers looking to switch to solar energy.
How will installing solar panels affect my utility bill?
Town of Smyrna customers that have solar panels will receive two separate bills each month. One bill will contain the customer service charge as well as any other charges for other services provided to you by the Town of Smyrna (e.g. water, sewer, trash). The seond bill will be for electric ONLY. Some months your solar panels may produce more electric than you consume which will result in the town applying a credit to your electric account. However, some months you may use more electric than your solar system produced in which case any credits on your electric account will be applied to your balance.*
Every year in the month of May, the town will review your solar account. If you have any credits on your account, the town will issue a refund based on our wholesale cost to purchase electric from our provider.
How much electric can you produce?
According to the Delaware code, Title 26, Chapter 10, Section 1014 (d) (5) related to Net Metering for municipal electric utility, electric cooperative, and DPL customers reads tha the systems be: "designed to produce no more than 110% of the host customer's expected aggregate electrical consumption, calculated on the average of the 2 previous 12-month periods of actual electrical usage." Therefore, the town is not required to compensate customers for any electric they over-produced above 110%.
Have you decided to go solar?
If so, below is a general outline of the process:
You (or your contractor) will need to complete an Interconnection Agreement and attach all related documents such as:
Inverter datasheet
PV module datasheet
Single line drawing
Site plan
AC/DC disconnect cut sheet
PV watts
Once we receive the application and required documents, the town will review the application. If we have any questions or need additional information on your solar system, we will contact you by phone or email.
Once the application is approved (approximately 2-3 weeks), you will receive a signed approved application with an attachment outlining our requirements.
The town will determine whether your current electric meter is a bi-directional meter. If it is not, a bi-directional meter will be installed at no cost to you.
After the proper electric meter is installed, you or your contractor may begin to install the solar system.
After your system is installed, but BEFORE turning on your solar system, you must contact the town at (302) 389-2315 to ensure that proper warning labels were installed to protect our electric crew members. At that time, we will also confirm that the meter can be read bi-directionally.
