Tired of Newton Electric bills? Here are your solar and backup options

Who runs Newton's electric system

The City of Newton is a public power city. It owns the electric utility serving customers in its territory, and City Council sets the rates. Homes outside the city system in Catawba County are served by other utilities, so check your bill to see who you pay.

Behind the scenes, Newton is one of 19 members of North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1. The agency owns most of Unit 2 at the Catawba Nuclear Station and supplies member towns with wholesale power. ElectriCities manages the agency and gives member towns shared help with rates, line work training, safety and mutual aid after storms.

Solar on the Newton system

Newton's solar terms were not posted where we could verify them, so call the electric department early. Across ElectriCities towns the usual pattern is an interconnection application, a signed interconnection agreement, often a power purchase agreement, a second meter and a final inspection. Most nearby towns credit solar output at the utility's avoided cost rather than the full retail rate. That changes the payback math a lot, so get the exact rule in writing from Newton before you compare quotes.

Outages and backup

ElectriCities reports that public power customers in North Carolina average fewer outages per year and fewer minutes without power than co-op and investor-owned customers. That is a statewide average, though. A tree on a line, a car into a pole or a problem on the transmission side can still leave your street dark, and an average does not keep a freezer cold.

If backup power is the goal, plan for a battery or a standby generator. Grid-tied solar stops producing during an outage unless it is paired with equipment built to island safely. Ask the contractor to size backup around the loads you cannot do without, such as heat, the fridge, a sump or well pump, and to confirm the layout with Newton Electric before anything is installed.

Newton's older neighborhoods have big oaks and maples over the lines. Ice and summer thunderstorms are the usual reasons the lights go out here.

Start with a $349 home energy evaluation

Getting a solar contractor out to Newton can take a while. Booking a paid evaluation on HomeBackupPros changes that. For $349 a contractor does an electric audit, reviews your energy use and writes up a quote for a system that fits Newton Electric's rules. If you buy from that same contractor, the $349 is credited toward the system.

Have your kWh by month handy from your Newton Electric bills, and note what runs on electric versus gas or propane. Every contractor on HomeBackupPros is reviewed and approved by our team, and we check their NC electrical contractor license. Contractors are independent businesses and HomeBackupPros does not install anything. Some contractors also offer a free site visit or an estimate, and the choice is yours.