Path-Q Solar

How should a landlord evaluate export compensation when tenants and the property owner use different electricity accounts?

Answer

Map generation, on-site consumption, exports, and account ownership before estimating value. The landlord should verify which account, if any, receives export credits and how benefits can legally and contractually be allocated among tenants and the owner.

Key points

  • Identify each meter, load, account holder, tariff, and physical connection to the system.
  • Separate value from common-area consumption, tenant consumption, and exported energy.
  • Confirm credit allocation, settlement timing, expiration, and treatment when tenants move or accounts change.
  • Model alternative operating and billing arrangements rather than assuming all generation offsets the owner's bills.

What it depends on

  • Utility tariff and export-credit rules
  • Metering and interconnection design
  • Lease and utility-billing provisions
  • Ownership and allocation of system benefits

Risks and trade-offs

  • Export value may be lower or less predictable than on-site consumption value.
  • Credits may accrue to an account that does not match the person funding the system.
  • Changing tenant billing or metering arrangements can create administrative, contractual, or regulatory issues.

Information you may need

  • Recent bills for all relevant accounts
  • Meter and interconnection diagram
  • Written export-compensation terms
  • Lease and tenant-recovery arrangements

Your next step

What to do next

Ask the utility and a qualified designer for a written account-by-account energy-flow and credit-allocation model, then validate it against the leases.

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Some details may depend on your location, installer, utility, incentives, regulations, or specific property.

SQ03177