DTE Energy solar interconnection: what it requires before you energize

Being verified being verified

Operating in parallel without written approval subjects you to disconnection under the Rider 18 tariff, with credit forfeiture on termination. documented

Rider 18 Distributed Generation, $50 application fee, most homes are Level 1 (under 20 kW). Agreement signed in about 10 business days, then install, then DTE site visit with anti-islanding test and meter reprogramming before written permission to operate. documented

Billing is inflow/outflow, not net metering: you pay full retail for inflow, outflow is credited at the power supply rate minus transmission, roughly a 45% haircut vs the old program. Don't oversize, systems cap at 110% of annual usage. documented

Zero-export is a formal path here, not a loophole: DTE's non-export track requires reverse-power relaying and a three-line protection drawing, plus a study. documented

Buying a home with a system? New owners must call the interconnection hotline and sign a fresh Parallel Operating Agreement. documented

sources: DTE rooftop solar & interconnection · MPSC distributed generation

Rider 18 is DTE's distributed generation tariff, and it's what every rooftop solar application in their territory actually enrolls in. The application carries a $50 fee, runs through DTE's portal, and operating in parallel without written approval is grounds for disconnection under the tariff's own terms.

The economics changed when Michigan moved from net metering to the inflow-outflow model: you pay full retail for every kWh drawn, while outflow earns roughly the power-supply component, a haircut of roughly 45% against the old program. Sizing to self-consumption is the whole game, oversized arrays sell their surplus cheap.

Process order: Rider 18 application and fee, DTE review, install after approval, electrical inspection, then the meter work and permission to operate. Existing systems being modified, including battery additions, generally trigger a fresh application, worth knowing before touching a working setup.

In DTE Energy territory, exported power earns well below retail, which is why zero-export and self-consumption builds dominate here.

Craftstrom export controller · AP Systems EZ-1 — caps export in hardware

EG4 6000xp / 12000xp — the community-standard inverter for self-consumption builds, mind bypass-mode leakage

Clamp meter · energy monitor — verify zero on your own meter before DTE Energy does

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