Measurement Canada in-series connection update
August 27, 2010
The OPA has received a response from Measurement Canada to its proposal to address in-series connection configurations. The OPA proposal has been assessed by Measurement Canada and was determined to be capable of complying with the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act.
For more information on Measurement Canada’s decision on in-series connected projects, please refer to http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/mc-mc.nsf/eng/lm04345.html.
The OPA is undertaking an assessment of a possible implementation plan for the in-series connections proposal in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Energy Board.
For load customers who have in-series connections to FIT or microFIT projects, charges must demonstrate four distinct trade transactions from the two bi-directional meters used to calculate the customer’s electricity usage. Bill presentation is regulated by Ontario Regulation 275/04 and changes to billing systems can be costly. Therefore, more information will need to be collected to understand the full cost of implementing the proposal.
Upon completion, if the implementation plan is justifiable, the plan will be presented to Measurement Canada and the Ontario Energy Board for final review.
The connection of new projects using an in-series configuration will not be permitted until local distribution companies are able to connect in-series customers in compliance with the requirements set out in the accepted proposal.
Please note that if your project is already connected in-series and you have a FIT or microFIT contract, your contract will be honoured by the OPA.
Measurement Canada in-series connection background
Measurement Canada in-series connection past updates
Types of Connections
Your microFIT project can either be "directly connected" to the electricity distribution system or “indirectly connected”.
An indirect connection is where your project is connected to an existing building that is connected to the distribution system. Indirectly connected projects are connected either "in-series" or "in-parallel" to the existing building.
A direct connection is where your project is connected to the grid separately from any other building.
Click on the links below to learn more about the different connection configurations and their advantages and disadvantages.
Indirectly connected in series
Indirectly connected in parallel
Please note that if you are planning to install a battery backup system, it must be located "downstream" of the microFIT project generation meter. Battery backup systems will not be permitted on projects that are directly connected.