Solar micro-generation

Help with Alberta micro-generation for solar: sizing, wire owner notification, permits, inspection and meter exchange for homes, farms and businesses.

What micro-generation means

In Alberta, a small generator that connects to the distribution grid to serve a home or business, using renewable or alternative energy, falls under the Micro-generation Regulation. The rules are administered by the Alberta Utilities Commission and carried out by the distribution utility (the wire owner) and your electricity retailer.

Being a micro-generator lets you export surplus solar to the grid and receive credit for it on your bill. In exchange, your system must meet sizing, safety and connection requirements, and you must not connect until the utility says so.

Sizing to your use

A micro-generation system is intended to supply all or part of the site's own annual electricity use, not to be a business selling power. Your past consumption records are the starting point, and the application must show the system is sized accordingly. If you are adding major loads such as an EV, heat pump or a new building, the rules may let you account for that, depending on the details.

Systems are also grouped by size, with smaller systems following a simpler process than larger ones. We confirm which path applies to your project and what the wire owner will need.

The paperwork we handle

• Collecting your consumption history and site ID from your bill.
• Preparing the notice or application with system details, inverter information and a single-line diagram.
• Submitting to the wire owner for your address and answering their questions.
• Applying for the electrical permit, and any building or development permit your municipality requires.
• Scheduling the inspection and coordinating the meter exchange.
• Telling you what to send your retailer so exports are credited.

Each party has a role. The wire owner approves the connection and changes the meter. The permit authority, which in Edmonton is the City, inspects the electrical work. Your retailer applies credits to your bill. Keeping them in step is most of the job.

Good records make future changes easier, so we give you copies of the approvals, the permit, the inspection result and the as-built single-line diagram at the end of the job.

Credits and your bill

Exported energy is credited on your bill under the rules that apply to your system size and your retailer's terms. Rates and how credits work vary by retailer and plan, and some retailers offer plans designed for solar customers. Ask your retailer how credits are calculated before you sign a new plan.

Delivery charges and other bill items are handled differently from energy, so solar rarely brings a bill all the way to zero every month. Your summer surplus and winter use balance out over the year in a way that depends on your plan.

Monitoring helps here. Your inverter app shows what the panels produce, and your bill shows what was exported. Comparing the two over a few months tells you how much of your solar you use directly and how much goes to the grid, which is useful if you are considering a battery later.

Expanding or changing a system

Adding panels, replacing an inverter or adding a battery can require an updated notice or application. Expansions must still meet the sizing rules. Tell us what you have and what you want to add, and we will tell you what the wire owner will need before any work starts.

Questions we hear