Idaho Falls Power net metering and small generation: tiers, fees and insurance

How the size is measured

the generator size in kW AC, which is the only alternating current statement Idaho Falls publishes and it appears on the application form rather than in the policy. Note that the binding size test here is not a kilowatt test at all: the policy limits the facility by annual energy, so a screen needs twelve months of kilowatt hours rather than a nameplate to predict the answer.

Size bands and what each one obliges

New residential construction, 5 kW ceiling Size 0 to 5 kW	For new residential construction the facility may not exceed five kilowatts. After the first twelve months of consumption history the customer may reapply for additional generation. This effectively rules out most new construction solar in Idaho Falls and is exactly the kind of thing a pre sale screen has to catch. Design drawing approval by Idaho Falls Power engineering before construction, within 30 days of application Mandatory in person orientation session with Idaho Falls Power staff Notarized application, obtained from the City Building Department
Existing premises, sized to the previous twelve months of usage Size 5.001 to 2000 kW	The facility may have a maximum annual generating capacity of no more than the previous twelve months of electric usage, with exceptions possible where historic consumption warrants. Commercial sizing is based on an electrical engineer’s calculations not exceeding the estimated annual consumption per meter. Twelve months of consumption history City building permit and electrical permit with an additional copy of the system design Notarized application

New residential construction, 5 kW ceiling Size 0 to 5 kW

For new residential construction the facility may not exceed five kilowatts. After the first twelve months of consumption history the customer may reapply for additional generation. This effectively rules out most new construction solar in Idaho Falls and is exactly the kind of thing a pre sale screen has to catch.

Design drawing approval by Idaho Falls Power engineering before construction, within 30 days of application
Mandatory in person orientation session with Idaho Falls Power staff
Notarized application, obtained from the City Building Department

Existing premises, sized to the previous twelve months of usage Size 5.001 to 2000 kW

The facility may have a maximum annual generating capacity of no more than the previous twelve months of electric usage, with exceptions possible where historic consumption warrants. Commercial sizing is based on an electrical engineer’s calculations not exceeding the estimated annual consumption per meter.

Twelve months of consumption history
City building permit and electrical permit with an additional copy of the system design
Notarized application

The screens that decide it

Sized within the previous twelve months of consumption
The binding test is annual energy rather than kilowatts. The facility may not have a maximum annual generating capacity above the previous twelve months of usage, and Idaho Falls states that it is not its intent to compensate a facility generating more than its annual consumption, reserving the right to require the arrangement be renegotiated where there is excess. Compute this from the customer’s bill before quoting.

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

What was this premises’ consumption over the previous twelve months? That figure, not a kilowatt limit, is the cap.
What will the interconnection cost? Idaho Falls makes reasonable system modifications with all costs paid by the customer, estimated in advance and due before installation, and metering is installed at the customer’s expense. No dollar amounts are published.
What is the current export rate? Excess is credited at the rate adopted in ordinance for the corresponding period, described as the fluctuating electric market rate, and the fee resolution is not published alongside the policy.
When is the orientation session available? It is a mandatory step in the sequence and it gates the application.

Worth knowing before you quote

The process order is prescribed and counterintuitive: design drawings are reviewed first, within 30 days of application, then the mandatory orientation session, then the application is filed and approved, and only then may installation begin. Application forms are picked up at the City Building Department rather than from the utility, and the application must be notarized. There is no fifteen percent screen and no minimum load test; the gate is the annual consumption test plus a broad discretionary veto where the interconnection would have a negative monetary or physical impact on the system. No insurance requirement appears anywhere in the 46 page policy. Billing is per period with non energy charges always billed, including a $20 monthly residential service charge, so this is not retail netting. A visible break disconnect in a metal enclosure lockable by an Idaho Falls padlock is required adjacent to the bidirectional metering and accessible at all times. On an approximate three year rotation the customer must confirm the status of the facility, and the utility reserves the right to disconnect the facility or the full service if the customer does not. Idaho Falls takes all renewable energy credits and other renewable attributes for the duration of the interconnection. No modification is allowed without prior written approval, including replacement panels or added parts.

Source

Idaho Falls Power Service Policy 2023, section VII, Generation Facility Design and Installation Requirements and Generation Facility Net Metering and Power Purchases, with the Net Metering and Small Generation Interconnection Agreement Application

Read and recorded 2026-09-12. Municipal or public utility, outside its state's interconnection rule. Its own published documents govern. An Idaho municipal utility. The 25 kW residential and 100 kW commercial limits installers carry over from Idaho Power are a Public Utilities Commission tariff and appear nowhere in the Idaho Falls service policy. Do not apply them here.

All Idaho 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

What to do with this