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Whether the data is manually read by a walk-around meter reader or automatically by an AMS, metering data for both import and export quantities is processed by a service provider known as a data administrator. The data has several uses: 1.
| From your perspective, the data is used for invoicing. With export-capable DG installed and a buy-back agreement in place with your retailer, a typical invoice will have two components1: (a) a normal import component that shows what you’ve bought off the network and a charge for that at the prevailing retail electricity price and (b) a new export component that shows the excess electricity you’ve injected back into the network and the credit or payment you receive for that at the price you’ve agreed for that in accordance with the terms of the agreement you will have entered into with the retailer.
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| The distributor receives a copy of the metered import quantities that they then use in preparing invoices for lines charges. They might also request a copy of the export register quantities for network planning and management purposes. | 3.
| The retailer firstly uses import and export quantities for reconciling the net amount of electricity it purchases from its suppliers and from the wholesale electricity market. It then uses these quantities to make up its customer invoices/buyer created tax invoices, as in item 1 above. Note that as an exporting distributed generator, you effectively become one of the retailer’s electricity suppliers |
1. More technically, the DG energy buy-back part of this invoicing arrangement is called a buyer created tax invoice. At the time of writing this guide, the Electricity Commission has published for consultation an updated Model Domestic Contract for Delivered Electricity that is intended to guide retailers in establishing their own customer contracts. See in particular Schedule 1: Payment for electricity you send into the network starting at page 40 of this document.
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DG Metering Guide