Rhode Island Energy and the two compensation paths
Rhode Island Energy (formerly National Grid's Rhode Island business) is the distribution utility for nearly the entire state. It administers both the net metering tariff and the REG program, and it handles interconnection. A few small municipal utility districts run their own rules; if your site is served by one of them, the analysis below changes.
Path 1: Net metering and virtual net metering
Under R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 39-26.4, a net-metered system must be sized to on-site load, based on a three-year average of consumption. Customers receive bill credits for generation up to 125% of consumption in a billing period. Generation between 100% and 125% of consumption is credited at the utility's avoided cost rate, defined as the last-resort service charge for the rate class.
Two 2023 changes matter for new projects. Projects initiated after April 15, 2023 receive a 20% reduction in renewable net-metering credits, subject to a 275 MW capacity limit, and new systems must be sited outside core forest unless on a preferred site such as a brownfield.
Virtual net metering lets eligible customers (public entities, educational institutions, hospitals, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers) host a system at one site and apply credits to other accounts, up to 10 MW per project site. For a school district, a hospital system, or a manufacturer with several meters, that is often the better economic structure than a single-building array.
Path 2: Renewable Energy Growth (REG)
REG pays a fixed price per kWh for the output of distributed generation under a long-term tariff. It is administered by Rhode Island Energy and planned by the ten-member Distributed Generation Contracts Board, which sets new ceiling prices and a megawatt allocation each year. It has two tiers:
- Small-scale (25 kW DC and under). For Program Year 2026, open to residential and small C&I (rate C-06) customers on a first-come, first-served basis until March 31, 2027, with 3 MW DC of capacity. The rate is 31.55 cents/kWh on a 15-year term or 28.65 cents/kWh on a 20-year term.
- Commercial-scale. Larger solar, wind, hydro, and anaerobic digestion projects enroll during designated two-week windows and compete against ceiling prices set for each size class. The 2026 to 2027 program year terms were set in RIPUC Docket 25-52-REG (decided at the March 27, 2026 open meeting).
Which path wins? REG tends to win where on-site load is low relative to available roof or land, because REG output is not capped at site consumption. Net metering or VNM tends to win where daytime load is high, retail rates are high, and the owner can use the 125% band. We model both on your interval data and rate class.