Understanding RI Energy’s New Smart Meters and What They Mean for Your Solar Bill

Newport Solar Staff
4 days ago
3 min read

Rhode Island Energy is rolling out new Advanced Metering Functionality, or AMF, meters to homes and businesses across Rhode Island, including properties with solar systems, as part of a statewide upgrade to modernize the electric grid.

This transition has understandably raised questions for many solar homeowners about how production and usage are measured and how billing works with the new meters. Let’s break it down in plain language.

What Are AMF Meters

Advanced meters, also called smart meters, replace older equipment and provide two-way digital communication between your home and RI Energy’s systems. They transmit detailed usage data directly, which helps with faster outage detection, improved service, and more accurate data collection.

Once your AMF meter is installed, you will also have access to the AMF Customer Portal, where you can view your energy usage patterns and trends in near-real-time, giving you a clearer view of how and when your household uses energy.

How the Meters Work for Net Metering and ReGrowth Systems

The AMF meters capture the value of solar production, but how they operate and how that data translates to your monthly electricity bill depends upon what type of system you have. We’ll break this down below.

Net Metering
ReGrowth

Net Metering and Your AMF Meter

In a net metering setup, the utility credits you for the electricity you send back to the grid. With an AMF smart meter, you will see two main values on your bill.

Delivered (DEL) - How much energy you took from the grid during the billing period.
Received (REC) - How much excess solar energy you sent back to the grid.

What the AMF Meter Does Not Measure

The AMF meter, does not measure your solar system’s total output. It only measures the flow of energy between your home and the grid.

Solar production first offsets the electricity your home is using behind the meter. Only excess solar production that flows back to the grid is recorded by the AMF meter.

Total solar production is still best tracked through your inverter’s monitoring system.
This is why some customers feel like their bills do not add up when they compare the numbers on the bill to the numbers in their solar app. It is not a billing error. It is simply a difference in what each system is designed to record.

ReGrowth and AMF Meters

ReGrowth is Rhode Island’s alternative solar compensation program, and it functions differently from traditional net metering.

In the ReGrowth program:

Solar production and electricity consumption are measured on two separate meters.
RI Energy installs two AMF meters, one for each application.
The system layout remains the same as before, only the meter technology is newer.

What This Means for ReGrowth Participants

Your monthly utility bill will continue to record two values, just as it did before the meter replacement. The values are simply recorded in a different format than before.

Delivered (DEL) - How much energy you took from the grid during the billing period.
Received (REC) - Total solar production sent back to the grid.

If something on your bill does not look right, it is always appropriate to question it and ask for clarification. Understanding your data helps ensure it is accurate.