Rules by state

Solar and battery interconnection rules in Oregon

Oregon net metering interconnection (Division 039). Every threshold below was read out of the document linked at the bottom of this page, and the same rules answer the free screening check.

Who this binds: investor owned utilities. A utility outside that list sets its own terms, so confirm who serves the address first.

Check a Oregon address free
How the size is measured

kW AC. Division 039 sets Tier 1 eligibility on two separate quantities, a generation capacity of 50 kilowatts or less and an export capacity of 25 kilowatts or less, and states its disconnect switch exemptions in kW AC by service type.

Size bands and what each one obliges

Tier 1 net metering Size 0 to 25 kW

Inverter based, with a generation capacity of 50 kW or less and an export capacity of 25 kW or less. Both tests must pass. The screen places this tier at 25 kW because a system with no stated export limit exports everything it makes; a deliberately export limited design may reach the higher nameplate allowance. A utility may not charge any application or other fee for Tier 1 review, and may not require liability insurance. If the utility does not tell the applicant whether the application passed within 20 business days of a complete application, the interconnection is deemed approved.

  • No application fee
  • Certified to IEEE 1547 and UL 1741 Third Edition Supplement SB (2021)
  • Generation capacity not above 50 kW as well as export not above 25 kW
  • No liability insurance may be required
Tier 2 net metering Size 25.001 to 2000 kW

A capacity of two megawatts or less that does not qualify for Tier 1. The fee may reach $50 plus $1 per kilowatt plus the reasonable cost of minor modifications, with engineering at no more than $100 per hour, adjusted once each January for inflation. Initial review is 15 business days after the application is complete.

  • Up to $50 plus $1 per kilowatt
  • Engineering at no more than $100 per hour
  • No liability insurance may be required

The screens that decide it

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

  1. What is the service type at this address? Oregon waives the manual disconnect switch only up to a kilowatt figure that depends on it, 7.2 kW AC on a 240 volt single phase service and 25.0 kW AC on a 277/480 volt three phase service.
  2. If a screen fails, what is your good faith estimate for minor modifications? Oregon caps what counts as minor at $10,000, and above that figure the project leaves the fast path.
  3. Will you require an inspection before operation? The utility must say so within three business days of the approval notice, and the customer must give at least five business days notice of the start date.
  4. Is this address served by a peoples utility district, municipal or cooperative? None of these rules reach them.

Worth knowing before you quote

Tier 4 is not a size band and is deliberately not a tier here. It is the study path for a facility of two megawatts or less that does not qualify for, or failed, Tier 1 and Tier 2, and it carries a fee of up to $100 plus $2 per kilowatt plus actual study time at no more than $100 per hour, an impact study completed within 30 calendar days of the executed agreement and payment, and a deposit of up to half the estimated facilities cost. Oregon forbids a public utility from requiring a compliant net metering customer to buy additional liability insurance or to name the utility as an additional insured, which is the clearest no insurance rule found in any state. It also forbids limiting cumulative net metered capacity in any manner except as expressly ordered by the Commission, so there is no aggregate cap. A Tier 1 application is deemed approved if no answer arrives within 20 business days of completeness. An applicant keeps its original queue position when resubmitting at a higher tier within 30 business days of a denial. The utility installs the bidirectional meter at its own expense. Certification is to IEEE 1547 and UL 1741 Third Edition Supplement SB (2021), and a utility may approve an interconnection despite a screen failure at its sole option where that is consistent with safety and reliability.

Utility programs we have read in Oregon

Source

Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 860 Division 039, net metering rules, OAR 860-039-0005 through 860-039-0080, as amended by PUC 3-2024 effective 9 April 2024

Read and recorded 2026-09-12. This is the path a typical Oregon residential rooftop system actually takes. Division 082 expressly does not apply to a net metering facility except where Division 039 says so, and Division 039 borrows the Division 082 screens rather than the Division 082 tiers and fees. Binds public utilities only, so Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and Idaho Power; the peoples utility districts, municipals and cooperatives are outside it.

What to do with this

Check a real address

The rules below are the general case. Run the free check to see which utility serves a specific address, which tier the system lands in, and what to ask.

Run the free check
Installers: keep the answer with the job

GridProjeX holds the project from here, with every value tied to the document it came from and the utility and permit tracks run to permission to operate.

How it works for installers
Utilities: see what applicants are told

The same published rules your applicants read here are the ones your queue sees. GridProjeX is the record both sides work from.

How it works for utilities

Also from CivyxIQ, if they fit what you already do: SolarProjeX for running the crews and the jobs, and Solar Home so the homeowner can follow their own project. Neither is needed to use the checker.