Production Meter Accuracy Requirements

A revenue grade system output meter that must meet or exceed the ANSI C12.1-2008 accuracy standards is required. The meter must be capable of recording the cumulative kilowatt-hours that the renewable energy installation produces. This meter is commonly called a “production meter”. The monthly kilowatt-hour generation recorded on this meter is used to determine how many REC’s the installation has generated. The monthly kWh production must be reported to the PJM GATS Tracking system to update your account. This meter does not need to be capable of transferring data electronically.

A revenue grade meter that meets the ANSI C12.1-2008 accuracy requirements may be purchased and installed via a variety of sources. This work should be performed by a licensed NJ electrical contractor in compliance with all local and national electric codes. You may contract directly with a licensed NJ electrical contractor or work with your project contractor to meet this requirement. You may also review the list of meter suppliers contained in the NJCEP Trade Ally database and selecting “Metering and Monitoring”.

There are many meters that meet the accuracy requirements and the two lists provided below are intended to assist you in identifying a revenue grade meter that meets these accuracy requirements. These lists do not necessarily include every meter that meets the ANSI C12.1-2008 standard, so you should verify a meter’s eligibility by requesting ANSI C12 documentation from the manufacturer.

1. New York State Department of Public Service provides a listing of approved Watt-hour meters which meet the ANSI C12.1-2008 accuracy standards.

2. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has prepared a list entitled “List of Eligible System Performance Meters” which provides a listing of hundreds of meters along with a column to designate whether or not proper documentation for these meters was supplied to the CEC by a third party Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) that verified the meter met or exceeded the +/- 2% accuracy standard. Before you install a meter that does not have the “Y” designation, you should check with the manufacturer to ensure the meter meets or exceeds +/- 2% accuracy required in ANSI C12.1-2008.