What Is Virtual Net Metering?

The host system’s output is metered at its own account, and the resulting credits are assigned, under a written allocation schedule, to participating meters whose bills drop by their assigned share. Rules specify which properties qualify, whether the meters must sit on the same parcel or on contiguous parcels, how often the split can be changed, and who administers it.

Sales interest comes from multifamily owners, property managers, farms with several meters, and associations with shared spaces. The decision maker is usually the property owner, not a tenant, and the pitch centers on allocation and tenant billing. The closer needs account numbers for every meter involved. Setters should capture whether the contact owns the building and roughly how many meters it has.

It is not community solar: virtual net metering usually involves meters on properties the host owns or controls, while community solar sells shares to the public. Tenant consent and landlord-tenant rules add steps, tenant billing rules vary, and availability is state-specific, with some utilities offering nothing like it. Promising a tenant a bill reduction before the owner has agreed to participate is a classic wasted appointment.