How does Palmetto Electric Cooperative distributed resources measure system size?

The published limits do not say whether they are measured in alternating or direct current.

Palmetto Electric Cooperative distributed resources: tiers, fees and insurance

How the size is measured: not published

The published limits here are stated in kilowatts without saying whether that is the inverter rating in alternating current or the array rating in direct current. On a system near a threshold that decides which band it lands in, so the checker asks the question rather than choosing an answer.

Size bands and what each one obliges

Residential, up to 20 kW Size 0 to 20 kW	A $100 application fee applies. A standard homeowner policy with liability coverage of at least $100,000 per occurrence is required, stated to be primary for all purposes, with a certificate delivered before interconnection. $100 application fee $100,000 per occurrence homeowner liability coverage, primary for all purposes Certificate of insurance delivered prior to interconnection Manual load break isolation device, suitability at the cooperative’s sole discretion
Non residential, up to 100 kW Size 20.001 to 100 kW	A $250 application fee applies for non residential members, or $500 for a non member receiving service. Comprehensive general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence is required, primary for all purposes. $250 application fee, or $500 for a non member $1,000,000 per occurrence comprehensive general liability, primary for all purposes Certificate of insurance delivered prior to interconnection

Residential, up to 20 kW Size 0 to 20 kW

A $100 application fee applies. A standard homeowner policy with liability coverage of at least $100,000 per occurrence is required, stated to be primary for all purposes, with a certificate delivered before interconnection.

$100 application fee
$100,000 per occurrence homeowner liability coverage, primary for all purposes
Certificate of insurance delivered prior to interconnection
Manual load break isolation device, suitability at the cooperative’s sole discretion

Non residential, up to 100 kW Size 20.001 to 100 kW

A $250 application fee applies for non residential members, or $500 for a non member receiving service. Comprehensive general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence is required, primary for all purposes.

$250 application fee, or $500 for a non member
$1,000,000 per occurrence comprehensive general liability, primary for all purposes
Certificate of insurance delivered prior to interconnection

The screens that decide it

Below the capacity of the service entrance cable
The resource capacity must be less than the capacity of the cooperative owned secondary, service and service entrance cable at the point of common coupling, and must not overload the transformer beyond its nameplate. Both depend on facility data the cooperative holds, so they are asked rather than scored. If the proposal exceeds them the member is told that service under the rider is not allowed.
Circuit level saturation, limit undisclosed
Palmetto caps the cumulative output of all interconnected resources on a circuit at limits as may be determined by the cooperative, and publishes no number. Its sister documents at EnergyUnited and Union Power publish hard kilowatt ceilings in the identical clause; Palmetto deleted them. Circuit headroom in Palmetto territory therefore cannot be screened before the sale at any price and must be asked.

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

Is the 20 kW and 100 kW cap measured on the inverter AC rating or the array DC rating? The rider does not say, though Palmetto’s own completed application and agreement are filled in kW DC.
What is this member’s estimated maximum hourly kilowatt demand? The rider caps at the lesser of that figure and the kilowatt ceiling. Note that the rider says hourly demand while Palmetto’s web page paraphrases it as annual; the rider governs.
What is the circuit level saturation limit at this address and how much headroom remains? No number is published.
What is the review timeline? The standard’s process section contains no day counts.

Worth knowing before you quote

Two dates decide whether to sell here. Revisions took effect 1 July 2024, and after 31 December 2027 the net metering rider is no longer available, with existing members transitioned to net billing. Compensation is tied to the wholesale supplier: the value of renewable generation is developed from the cooperative’s wholesale power supplier’s value with retail adjustments, posted by 1 May and applied from 1 July. Published values are $0.0484 per kWh for 2024 to 2025, $0.04329 for 2025 to 2026 and $0.04662 for 2026 to 2027. Excess credit rolls to the next month while the account is active and resets to zero each 1 November. The agreement must be signed by the account holder, not the installer. Energy storage technologies are in scope by name, and the sample agreement recites that it does not authorize export, so export requires the rider separately.

Source

Palmetto Electric Cooperative Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources Less Than 2 MVA, with the Net Billing Rider for Residential and Commercial Rates effective 1 July 2024

Read and recorded 2026-09-12. Rural electric cooperative, outside the South Carolina interconnection standard. The cooperative's own published documents govern. The interconnection standard itself carries no revision date. The net billing rider is dated and governs the size cap and the compensation.

All South Carolina 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