Pepco Launches Online Application Portal for Solar Power

Pepco is trying to make it easier for District of Columbia and Maryland customers to install solar panels on their rooftops and connect them to the electric distribution system.

According to a Pepco news release, these changes should allow customers, who are interested in installing solar panels, to bypass the paper process and instead complete an online application. The other change allows an authorized contractor who is selling, leasing or installing the solar panels to quickly get customer information they need to enable installation.

“This quicker and easier access to solar power is another benefit of the recent merger of Pepco Holdings and Exelon,” said David Velazquez, president and CEO Pepco Holdings. “We’re responding to customer feedback and helping support the growth of solar power in our markets.”

As part of the merger, Exelon agreed to a number of commitments to foster the development of solar power in each of the regions served by Pepco and its utility affiliates, which includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

Any customer who wants to generate power using solar panels needs a new smart meter so that the excess electricity generated by solar can be transferred back to the electric grid, allowing the customer to receive credits on their Pepco bills. With the creation of the new online application portal for solar customers, the process is expected to become even easier. Contractors and self-install customers can access the portal through pepco.com/gpc.

Under current law, every solar contractor is required to know how much electricity a customer has used in the past before they can install solar panels. This ensures the panels can be correctly sized to match those customers’ needs.

In the past, gathering and providing the customer’s historical usage information to the contractor was a manual process, but the new online system has a secure, automated form that is described by  Pepco as quick and easy to use.

As of April 30, Pepco has more than 9,000 solar customers. That compares to approximately 6,700 a year ago. Maryland is one of the fastest-growing states for solar generation, and solar is also increasing rapidly in the District of Columbia.

To help meet that demand, Pepco, as part the Exelon merger commitments, will develop 10 MW of solar generation in the Pepco Maryland service territory – 5 MW each in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, and 7 MW in the District of Columbia.

About Staff Writer

View all posts by Staff Writer