Solar interconnection in South Carolina, in plain English.

The agreement

What is a solar interconnection agreement?

It is the contract that lets a home system run in parallel with the utility's lines. In South Carolina the form depends on the name printed on the electric bill.

Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, and Dominion Energy South Carolina use the South Carolina Generator Interconnection Procedures. Home systems of 20 kW AC or less use the Section 2 process and Attachment 7, the request and terms for certified inverter-based facilities no larger than 20 kW. Santee Cooper, the electric cooperatives, and municipal utilities such as Greer CPW use their own applications.

S.C. Code Title 58, Chapter 40, from the Energy Freedom Act, defines a customer-generator to include an energy storage device configured to charge solely from an onsite renewable resource. Residential systems under that chapter are capped at 20 kW AC. Customers of utilities covered by the chapter may use the energy they generate behind the meter without penalty. Utilities with fewer than 100,000 accounts sit outside that section. Each distribution cooperative's board adopts its own policy.

Who signs it

The homeowner or the person on the account signs. On Duke Energy and Dominion Energy's Attachment 7, that Interconnection Customer certifies the request and agrees to the terms. The utility signs a contingent approval. Blue Ridge Electric has the member and the cooperative both sign. Laurens Electric, Broad River Electric, and Berkeley Electric require the member or account holder to sign.

We help you understand what your utility needs. The account holder is the one who signs. The utility decides the request. Detail Solar is not affiliated with any utility.

Permission to operate

Do not flip the switch early. The local electrical inspector signs the certificate of completion. That certificate, the electrician's information, and the signed electrical permit go back to the utility. The utility may witness a test. Otherwise it issues a written approval to energize. Duke Energy calls that permission to operate. The procedures say the customer is not authorized to energize until that notice is received.

Berkeley Electric says not to energize until the bi-directional meter is installed. Blue Ridge Electric and Laurens Electric send a permission-to-operate letter after inspection and the meter. The procedures also require proof of homeowner liability coverage. There is an application fee. The 2025 procedures changed it, so the amount belongs on the current form, not on this page.

Changes

Adding a battery or changing an inverter

Adding a battery or changing an inverter usually means paperwork with your utility before it is turned on. The utility decides what review is needed.

Under the procedures Duke and Dominion use, a material modification needs written authorization first. That includes a non-like-kind inverter replacement, a change to inverter specifications or control settings, an increase in AC output, or a reduction of more than 10 percent. A like-kind panel or inverter swap is not a material modification. The 2025 text says DC-coupled storage that does not change maximum generating capacity, the production profile, or the AC configuration is not one either. An AC-coupled battery can still need review. Duke's riders also ask for written notice within 60 days when the nameplate changes. Greer CPW says the customer submits a new application at least 30 days before modifying the system's rating.

How that looks when the panels are already up is onadd a battery to existing solar. Duke's rate plans are onDuke Energy Solar Choice.

Selling or buying a home with solar

These agreements generally do not travel with the deed. Under Attachment 7, the agreement does not survive the transfer of ownership. The new owner submits a new interconnection request within 20 business days. A new study or inspection is not required unless a material modification happened. Technical requirements stay in place when capacity, electrical characteristics, and facilities are unchanged.

Santee Cooper's solar manual says the next homeowner signs an amended interconnection agreement and receives the credits in the current distributed-generation rider. The buyer does not keep the old credit terms. Greer CPW asks for written notice 30 days before an ownership change. The new owner assumes the agreement in writing or signs a new one, and is not permitted to net meter or begin parallel operation until then.

On Duke Energy, the dates that control an older net-metering rider follow the original application date, including for a later owner. ReadSolar Choice and the transition riderbefore you assume the old plan came with the house.

If the installer is gone

The agreement is with you and the utility. It stays in place when the installer cannot be reached. Under the terms Duke Energy and Dominion Energy use, the utility may terminate the agreement if the facility fails to operate for any consecutive 12-month period. That is a right the agreement gives the utility. It is not a statement that the utility will use it.

If the system has been sitting, start withorphaned systemsand then read the agreement on the account. A new roof that takes the array down and puts it back can also be something the utility wants notice of. That solar work isdetach and reset. Repair of the equipment itself ishome solar panel repair, and storage that is already installed and misbehaving isbattery storage repair.

By utility

Your utility, your rules

The bill names the utility. Each row is the public agreement or policy, with a link to the utility's own page. Town notes forGreenville,Greer, andEasleystart from that same bill.Detail Solar LLC serves all of South Carolina from 1609 Rutherford Road, Greenville, SC 29609.

Questions

Related

• Add a battery to existing solar
• Duke Energy Solar Choice in SC
• Orphaned systems
• Residential solar
• Request service

(864) 283-0070 · Detail Solar LLC, 1609 Rutherford Road, Greenville, SC 29609. We help you understand the form. The utility decides.