Inspector Perspective: 2020 NEC
Xcel Energy’s 2020-2021 CO Renewable Energy (RE) plan, approved by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on April 28, 2020 requires that solar systems under 10 kW DC are not required to have a production meter. Due to this ruling, Xcel began enforcement of the PV production meter removal on June 8, 2020 for all systems 10 kW DC or less. Any applications that were submitted with a production meter were pushed back to the solar contractor for removal from the site plan and one-line diagram before it could be approved through our application process. Xcel will still require the yellow with black lettering “PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM CONNECTED” placard at the main billing meter. It is also worth noting that any installation that requires changes to the main billing metering (new, rewired, altered, or repaired) will be required to be in compliance with the current revision of the “Xcel Energy Standard for Electric Installation and Use” manual.
Xcel will not be enforcing any requirements for any associated AC disconnecting on these systems under 10 kW DC. Any requirements will be based on the NEC, and the local AHJ.
For interactive systems that are supply-side interconnected (POI is between the load-side of the meter and the main disconnect) Xcel will enforce per Section 2.13.5 item #6 that the customer’s equipment has a mechanical means to disconnect and isolate equipment from the load-side terminals of the self-contained electric meter socket or instrument transformers (CT’s and VT’s). This would include load/generation of the customer’s PV system.
All systems over 10 kW DC are still required to have the PV production meter.
Solar Rewards Group would still like to see a net meter release sent in for all systems, whether it has a PV production meter or not. This way, the process is consistent for all systems and takes the guessing game out of which systems get releases or not, and basically follows the practice all jurisdictions have followed for years.