HOMEBUILDERS › UTILITY COORDINATION
PSE, Seattle City Light, and SnoPUD Solar Coordination for Builders
Three utilities serve Puget Sound build sites, and each one runs its own solar interconnection process. We identify the right utility for every lot and file the paperwork so your framing schedule never waits on a meter swap.
PHASE 1
Know Your Utility Before You Break Ground
Seattle City Light serves the city of Seattle proper. Puget Sound Energy covers the surrounding areas across King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, and Thurston counties. Snohomish County PUD serves Snohomish County outside the areas PSE holds. A single development spanning a city line can sit in two different service territories, each with its own application, timeline, and net metering agreement.
Seattle also carries a quirk worth flagging early: exporting power to the grid is not permitted in most of downtown Seattle, First Hill, South Lake Union, and the University District, so a lot inside that network area needs a different plan than one a few blocks outside it. We check the service territory and network status for every lot before design work starts, not after.
- Seattle City Light: city of Seattle proper, coordinated review with SDCI
- Puget Sound Energy: King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, and Thurston counties outside city utilities
- Snohomish County PUD: Snohomish County territory outside PSE’s service area
PHASE 2
How We Handle Solar Interconnection on Repeatable Programs
Every system needs its own solar interconnection application, approved before installation begins, regardless of utility. In Seattle, SDCI and Seattle City Light coordinate their reviews, so we submit both applications together to save time on the schedule. PSE and SnoPUD run permitting and interconnection as separate sequential steps, so we time the interconnection filing to land right after the electrical permit clears, not before.
On a repeatable program with several lots in the same development, we track each application by address and utility so nothing gets filed against the wrong service territory. Net metering credits carry a state-mandated expiration each March 31, so we also flag system sizing against a household’s expected load rather than letting a program default oversize the array and waste banked credit.
Three Utilities, Three Processes
Seattle City Light
Coordinated review with SDCI. Net metering excess resets at the account’s annual anniversary with no cash payout, and export is restricted inside the network area.
Puget Sound Energy
Net metering under Rate Schedule 150, applications reviewed after permitting clears, banked credits expire each March 31.
Snohomish County PUD
Interconnection application and net metering agreement filed before construction, roughly two weeks for staff review and Approval to Construct.
Net Metering Cap
All three utilities cap net metering at 100 kW AC, well above what a typical residential system needs.
Utility Coordination Questions Builders Ask
How do we know which utility serves a given lot?
We check the address against each utility’s published service territory before design work starts. On developments near a city line or county boundary, we confirm it lot by lot rather than assuming the whole development sits in one territory.
Does the interconnection application happen before or after the electrical permit?
In Seattle, they run in parallel since SDCI and Seattle City Light coordinate reviews. With PSE and SnoPUD, we file the interconnection application once the electrical permit clears, since both utilities expect the permit as part of the submission.
What happens to net metering credits if a home sits vacant after closing?
Credits still accrue and bank against the account, but per state law any unused balance resets each March 31 with no cash payout. We size systems against expected household load rather than maximum roof capacity so a program does not generate credits that go unused.
How does this connect to our repeatable solar program?
A repeatable program standardizes the panel package and rough-in details across a plan set, but each home still needs its own interconnection filing against whichever utility serves that specific lot. We build the utility check into the same intake process as the rest of the program so it never gets treated as a separate task.
Let Us Map the Utility Path for Your Sites
Send us your lot addresses and we will confirm the utility, the process, and the timeline before your crew breaks ground.
