AEP Ohio Net Metering

What This Page Covers

The broad AEP Ohio interconnection and process guide is AEP Ohio solar. This page is narrower: net energy metering, the two-way meter, excess generation, credits, Standard Service Offer vs a competitive supplier, and why export treatment is not “full retail on every kWh.”

The controlling billing tariff is Ohio Power P.U.C.O. No. 22 Schedule NEMS (Original Sheets 261-1 and 261-2), effective April 10, 2026, in AEP Ohio’s September 2026 tariff book (Case 25-392-EL-AIR). AEP’s January 18, 2023 NEMS customer packet is still posted and explains credits; the December 1, 2021 tariff sheets attached to that packet are superseded. Tariffs can change. There is no grandfathering promise.

What Net Energy Metering Is

On AEP Ohio, net energy metering is a tariffed billing service for a qualifying customer-generator whose solar (or other listed fuel) is on the premises, runs in parallel with AEP Ohio’s system, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of that customer’s own electricity needs.

It is not AEP Ohio buying your solar with a separate power-purchase check. AEP Ohio’s customer packet says the company does not buy the electricity produced from the customer’s generator.

Interconnection, permission to operate, and NEMS are three different steps. The interconnection agreement is the legal and technical permission to connect. Permission to operate is AEP Ohio’s written notice that the generator may be turned on. NEMS is how the bill treats import and export after the two-way meter is in service. All three are required before NEMS billing. See the process page for the PowerClerk sequence.

How the Meter Measures Imports and Exports

AEP’s dual-register meter tracks two quantities. Delivered kWh is energy AEP Ohio supplied to the house (imports). Received kWh is energy the array exported to AEP Ohio. The monthly net is delivered minus received. Solar used in the house as it is produced never appears as received energy; that is on-site use, not an export credit.

Schedule NEMS says net energy metering uses a single meter capable of registering flow in each direction. If the existing meter cannot measure two-way flow, AEP Ohio installs an appropriate meter at the customer’s expense upon written request. AEP’s July 23, 2026 application information lists a typical residential dual-register meter cost of $319 when the customer bears actual cost; that figure can change, and some meters already measure both directions. A separate production meter, if installed, is not the NEMS billing quantity.

In the house, solar first serves loads that are on at that moment. Extra power goes out through the meter as an export. At night or in heavy use, the house takes power in as an import. The bill looks at the billing-period net of those flows, then applies tariff rules — not a handshake “spin the meter backward at full retail.”

Excess Generation, Credits, and Carry-Forward

When a billing period ends with net excess energy — meaning AEP Ohio received more kWh from the home than it delivered to the home during the billing period — the applicable NEMS credit calculation is used. AEP Ohio’s NEMS customer materials say a monetary credit is calculated and applied to the current bill. Unused credit carries forward continuously as dollars on future bills.

That credit is negative kWh multiplied by the generation energy component of the standard service schedule for the account. The credit does not include other generation components, distribution, or transmission charges and riders. Negative kWh are not banked as kWh to apply later; they become dollars.

AEP Ohio’s packet says the company is not required to pay the monetary credit other than crediting future bills, and the credit is lost if you do not use it or stop taking electric service at that premises from AEP Ohio.

Current Schedule NEMS (effective April 10, 2026) still includes this written-request refund: the customer may request, in writing, a refund of accumulated credit no greater than an annual true-up of accumulated credits over a twelve-month period. That is not an automatic check, and AEP’s customer FAQ still answers “Will I get a check?” with “No” for ordinary monthly leftover credit. Do not assume every leftover dollar is cashed out. If you want the true-up path, the request has to be in writing and is capped at that twelve-month accumulation.

Ohio’s net-metering rule (OAC 4901:1-10-28) requires the system to be sized at interconnection so it does not exceed 120% of the customer’s electricity requirements, using a three-year average or a reasonable estimate. AEP Ohio’s still-posted NEMS materials also say production should not exceed 120% of needs over a rolling 12-month period, and that excessive generation can disqualify NEMS. That rolling-year test is in AEP’s explainer and application, not in the two-page Schedule NEMS tariff text.

Generation vs Distribution on the Bill

If AEP Ohio supplies more kWh than the array exports in the billing period, energy charges of the standard service schedule are calculated using net energy usage.

If the array exports more kWh than AEP Ohio supplied, only generation-related energy charges (including applicable generation-related riders) are calculated using the net energy supplied to the company. All other energy charges are calculated using zero kWh. In plain English: extra solar can zero out that period’s generation energy line and create a generation-energy credit. It does not automatically wipe distribution, transmission, or every rider.

That is why “every exported kWh is worth the full retail rate” is not an AEP Ohio NEMS statement for a typical residential SSO account.

Standard Service Offer vs a CRES Supplier

Schedule NEMS applies to non-shopping customers who take generation under AEP Ohio’s standard service offer. AEP’s NEMS application and April 2026 CRES handbook name Open Access Distribution Schedule NEMS for shopping customers. A standalone OAD-NEMS sheet was not in the September 2026 tariff book. AEP Ohio applies the matching treatment if you switch.

A CRES provider may offer a net-metering contract at any price, rate, or manner of credit for excess generation — or, under Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-21-13, an electric services company providing retail generation may offer net metering; it is not described as mandatory. Verify export treatment with your supplier. AEP Ohio still delivers the power and still handles interconnection.

Hospital accounts use Schedule NEMS-H (credit at PJM hourly LMP). That is not the typical house tariff.

A Simple Example (Illustration Only)

This is an example to show the flows. It is not your bill, not an AEP Ohio rate quote, and not a savings claim. Actual billing depends on the applicable tariff and, if you shop, your CRES contract.

Suppose this month the house uses 1,000 kWh and the array produces 1,200 kWh.

• About 700 kWh is used in the house as it is produced (it never hits the export register as a net sale).
• 500 kWh is exported through the two-way meter.
• The house still imports 300 kWh at night and on cloudy hours (1,000 used − 700 used on-site).

Net excess for the billing period is about 200 kWh (500 exported − 300 imported). On Schedule NEMS with standard service generation, AEP Ohio’s materials say that net excess is credited using the generation energy component — not distribution, not the full stacked residential rate. The 300 kWh imported still lives inside the netting math; remaining non-generation charges are not assumed to be $0.

Change the numbers, the rate schedule, or the supplier, and the dollar result changes. That is why we ask for the actual AEP bill.

AEP Ohio Net Metering — FAQs

Does AEP Ohio pay the full retail rate for exported solar?

Not under the NEMS customer explanation for SSO accounts. Excess is credited at the generation energy component. Distribution and other charges are treated separately under the tariff.

Do credits expire?

They carry as dollars on future bills. Current Schedule NEMS lets you request a written refund no greater than an annual twelve-month true-up. AEP’s posted explainer still says leftover credit can be lost if you stop taking service at that premises, and that AEP is not required to pay the credit other than by crediting future bills. We will read your bill against the current tariff rather than promise a check.

I shop for generation. Is net metering automatic?

No. Arrange credits with the CRES provider. AEP Ohio interconnection is still required. OAC 4901:1-21-13 says a CRES company may offer net metering.

Can I oversize the array to maximize credits?

NEMS is meant to offset your own use. Ohio’s rule sizes the system at interconnection to 120% of requirements. AEP’s NEMS materials also describe a rolling 12-month production test that can disqualify the tariff.

Official Sources

• AEP Ohio September 2026 tariff book, Schedule NEMS Sheets 261-1 and 261-2 (effective April 10, 2026)
• AEP Ohio Net Energy Metering Service customer packet (January 18, 2023) — explainer; attached 2021 sheets are superseded
• AEP Ohio generating equipment / interconnection
• AEP Ohio application information and fees (July 23, 2026)
• Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-10-28 (net metering)
• Ohio Administrative Code 4901:1-21-13 (CRES net metering)
• Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4901:1-22 (interconnection)
• Solar Brokers AEP Ohio solar guide

Last reviewed: September 2026. AEP Ohio tariffs and fees can change.