Riverside Public Utilities distributed generation: tiers, fees and insurance

How the size is measured

the gross nameplate rating in kilovolt amps, which Riverside defines as the total gross generating capacity of the generator as designated by its manufacturer. Net nameplate rating is that figure minus the generator’s own electrical consumption. Every threshold in Rule 22 is stated in kVA rather than kW, so a design near a boundary should be checked on the apparent power figure rather than the real power one.

Size bands and what each one obliges

Simplified interconnection, 11 kVA gross or less Size 0 to 11 kW	Screen 6 qualifies a system of 11 kVA gross nameplate or less for simplified interconnection and skips the remaining screens. The residential net energy metering initial review fee is $241.75, and half of the initial review fee is returned if the application is rejected or withdrawn. No insurance is required at any size. $241.75 residential initial review fee, or $387.00 commercial flat and demand, or $929.75 commercial time of use Manual disconnect with a visible break, unless non islanding inverters total 1 kVA or less
Above 11 kVA, full screens Size 11.001 to 5000 kW	All screens apply. Supplemental review is $645.00 and a full system study is at actual cost. On a shared single phase secondary the maximum net nameplate is 20 kVA, and on a center tapped 240 volt service no more than 6 kVA of imbalance is allowed between the two sides. $860.00 initial review fee where not net energy metering, $645.00 supplemental review, full system study at actual cost Manual disconnect with a visible break

Simplified interconnection, 11 kVA gross or less Size 0 to 11 kW

Screen 6 qualifies a system of 11 kVA gross nameplate or less for simplified interconnection and skips the remaining screens. The residential net energy metering initial review fee is $241.75, and half of the initial review fee is returned if the application is rejected or withdrawn. No insurance is required at any size.

$241.75 residential initial review fee, or $387.00 commercial flat and demand, or $929.75 commercial time of use
Manual disconnect with a visible break, unless non islanding inverters total 1 kVA or less

Above 11 kVA, full screens Size 11.001 to 5000 kW

All screens apply. Supplemental review is $645.00 and a full system study is at actual cost. On a shared single phase secondary the maximum net nameplate is 20 kVA, and on a center tapped 240 volt service no more than 6 kVA of imbalance is allowed between the two sides.

$860.00 initial review fee where not net energy metering, $645.00 supplemental review, full system study at actual cost
Manual disconnect with a visible break

The screens that decide it

Within the 5,000 kW facility ceiling Limit 5000 kW.
An eligible facility has a capacity of not more than 5,000 kilowatts on the customer’s owned, leased or rented premises. Riverside applies three caps at once: 5,000 kW on the facility, 1,000 kW on export, and 150 percent of annual consumption.
Within the 1,000 kW export cap Limit 1000 kW.
Maximum export to the distribution system under Schedule Self-Gen may not exceed 1,000 kilowatts, independently of the facility size cap.
Fifteen percent of line section peak load 15 percent of line section peak load, a figure only the utility holds.
Screen 4 asks whether aggregate capacity on the line section is less than 15 percent of line section peak load; failing it means supplemental review rather than refusal. A line section is the portion of the distribution system bounded by automatic sectionalizing devices or the end of the line. Exceeding 15 percent may also require reclose blocking on the affected recloser.

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

How much of the 64 MW program cap remains? Schedule Self-Gen closes to new customers once cumulative capacity reaches 64 MW, counting existing net energy metering customers, and Riverside publishes no running subscription figure. This is the only hard aggregate cap among the western municipals and it closes the schedule outright.
What is the peak load on this line section, and would the system require reclose blocking?
What is the service transformer rating? On a dedicated distribution transformer the maximum single phase net nameplate is the transformer nameplate itself.

Worth knowing before you quote

A new customer does not get retail net metering. Existing net energy metering agreements are grandfathered; new customers go on Schedule Self-Gen and are paid the avoided cost of energy, $0.0923 per kWh effective 1 July 2024 through 30 June 2025, up from $0.0773 the year before, applied by time of use period. Residential Self-Gen customers are placed on the domestic time of use rate. Self-Gen customers remain responsible for every charge on their otherwise applicable tariff including service, customer, reliability, network access and demand charges and any monthly or annual minimum, regardless of how much they generate. A Self-Gen facility needs no interconnection agreement. The system is limited to 150 percent of annual consumption, and the customer may request an increase by submitting proof of purchase or a city permit giving reasonable assurance of increased load. Rule 22 carries a full certified non export regime with reverse power and under power settings and a formal non export test procedure. Published clocks are in business days: acknowledgment within 10, initial review within 10 of a complete application where the facility qualifies for simplified interconnection, and supplemental review within 20.

Source

Riverside Public Utilities Electric Rule 22 Distributed Generation Facilities Interconnection effective 1 July 2024, with Schedule Self-Gen effective 1 November 2022, the Avoided Cost of Energy attachment effective 1 July 2024 and Electric Appendix A

Read and recorded 2026-09-12. Municipal or public utility, outside its state's interconnection rule. Its own published documents govern. A California publicly owned utility, outside Public Utilities Commission Rule 21. The 2024 revision of Rule 22 moved the fee table out to Appendix A, so fee figures quoted from the 2022 version are stale.

All California interconnection rules

Size bands and what each one obliges

The screens that decide it

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

Worth knowing before you quote

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