Aside from the obvious reason that receiving a single, easy-to-read energy bill is always better than receiving two energy bills - one from the utility and one from the solar provider - consolidated billing solves a data problem. Typically, when billing for onsite solar usage or any other distributed energy resource (DER), bills are more often than not based upon some percentage of the solar production, an amount estimated to offset some consumption. Given that utilities are not great at matching actual solar usage to solar production across an entire property or subscriber base, this inevitably means that a community solar subscriber or tenant signs up for too little or too much solar, overpaying for their energy consumption.
The Solution: Consumption-Based DER Billing
The solution is consumption-based DER billing. That requires a lot of data from the owner of the meter, most often the local utility, thanks to laws prohibiting submetering by landlords that have outlived their usefulness. More on those laws later. Consumption-based billing ensures that a solar subscriber or tenant never pays for more solar energy than they actually consume and never pays more than they would have paid for utility-supplied power.
This requires a substantial amount of consumption data for each participating tenant/subscriber and the utilities do not make it easy to obtain such data for tenants. Utilities have generally not kept pace with advances in the energy or data industry. Consequently, attempting to get timely, accurate, and reliable data on hundreds of individual tenants and/or subscribers is akin to chasing shadows - just when you think you have it, it slips away.
Submetering Laws: A Barrier to Consumption-Based Billing
The original intention of laws prohibiting master metering (a single meter for an entire building) was to encourage conservation of energy by providing specific consumption information through unit meters to tenants, as well as to protect tenants from potential exploitation. Such laws either prohibit or have been interpreted to prohibit submetering, a technology that was not widely used or readily available at the time. Requiring the utility to directly meter each unit prevents landlords from installing their own meters and potentially overcharging for utilities. However, these regulations haven't evolved to match today's energy technology and data management advancements. Laws prohibiting master metering now stand as barriers to more efficient use of onsite DER and more transparent energy billing.
The direct metering by the utility requirement forces onsite DER prover-landlords to rely on utilities for consumption data. However, the delays and/or unreliable data cause a disconnect between solar production and energy consumption. When renewable energy and smart grid technologies are rapidly advancing, this is an unnecessary obstacle. The submetering laws created to protect tenants are now hindering their access to clean energy, savings on their energy bills, and fair, accurate billing practices.
The Benefits of Consolidated Billing
Currently, the most effective and cost-efficient way to get that data - at least for tenants - is to have the property owner/manager, which provides the solar energy, manage the tenant utility accounts on behalf of the tenants. This allows one entity to provide one authorization on behalf of each tenant to access their utility data, rather than hundreds.
In the absence of this one entity providing such authorization, the property owner must obtain separate authorizations from each tenant to access their utility account data, which is not nearly as reliable. If the tenant changes the password on their account, the property owner loses access to the consumption data and cannot produce a bill based on what the tenant actually used. And even with access, the data reliability is poor, requiring many hours of work to get the utility to address missing data points critical for billing.
When tenants manage their own accounts, they must deal with these issues individually. With consolidated billing, the property owner/manager or billing company can address these issues on their behalf and provide them with a bill that is easy to understand and shows them how to maximize their use of the solar resource.
IvyDual Billing: Our Solution to Navigating Regulatory Challenges
Given that the California Public Utilities Commission does not seem amenable to implementing a fix for the data challenges or to allowing consolidated billing, Ivy is exploring more robust data connections to continue billing tenants based upon their actual consumption of solar energy. Although this works in California, such data is not available everywhere. It’s unfortunate that such a simple solution is so difficult to implement. However, Ivy’s dual billing system ensures compliance with the Commission’s rules and offers billing solutions no matter the data landscape.
Don’t let outdated systems hold you back. Explore how Ivy’s innovative billing solutions can streamline your energy management and maximize your solar investment. Contact us today to learn more and take control of your energy future.
Pioneering the Future of Multi-Tenant Solar Energy Management
2024 was a trailblazing year for Ivy Energy, where we shattered barriers, redefined possibilities, and delivered innovative solutions to address the multi-tenant solar split incentive challenge. By driving product advancements, forging impactful partnerships, and scaling operational processes, we empowered multi-tenant properties to embrace clean energy with confidence.
A Year of Growth and Market Expansion
Ivy has grown its active project pipeline 450% compared to 2023, with a line of sight to clear +600% in active projects by the end of the year. Our tech-enabled solutions empower more communities than ever. With $18M in Series A funding (Read more) and the strategic acquisition of Glow Energy (Read more), we are poised for unprecedented growth and impact. This investment enables us to enhance our technology, streamline operations, and expand our reach into new markets nationwide.
Entering new markets with increased resources allows us to address diverse energy challenges and deliver tailored solutions to property owners and tenants. Additionally, the launch of our consulting arm provides expert guidance for our clients and partners to save money and enhance ROI while navigating intricate solar investments.
Meaningful Operational Updates
At Ivy, innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about creating digital tools that empower our clients and their tenants:
- PropTech Integrations: Partnered with RealPage, Entrata, and Yardi to automate rent roll syncing, move-in/move-out updates, and direct charge posting to resident ledgers. These integrations reduce monthly processing time by up to 2 hours per property while enhancing data accuracy and operational efficiency.
- NEM Credit Delay Optimization: The Utility Coordination team adopted the CPUC informal complaint process to reduce delays in NEM activation after PV solar system commissioning. This improvement cut the average resolution time for delayed NEM credits from 123 days in 2023 to 49 days in 2024, allowing property owners to see Net Operating Income over two months sooner on average.
Platform Advancements that Lead the Industry
Our engineering team broke new ground, ensuring our platform stays ahead of the curve:
- Migrated to a new infrastructure processing system for faster processing and further automation improvements across operational features.
- Introduced IvyDual in response to regulatory requirements in California, which allows us to enter new markets where consolidated billing is not viable.
- Achieved SOC 2 Compliance, reaffirming our commitment to data security. (Read more)
- Built initial public API for Conservice integration and new utility data access pathways, strengthening our platform’s versatility and reliability.
Empowering Positive Experiences with CX
At Ivy Energy, our customers rely on us as true partners in their clean energy journey, helping them achieve long-term NOI growth while providing exceptional support for property owners and tenants. We consistently deliver this experience by simplifying complex utility processes and offering our white-glove service that ensures our clients feel supported, informed, and empowered to succeed. This year, Ivy’s Customer Experience Team launched two significant platforms:
- Ivy Implementation Portal: A step-by-step, transparent portal that simplifies solar implementation for our clients and partners across multiple organizations. (Watch a walkthrough of the new portal here.)
- Resident Help Center: Educate tenants about the solar program with helpful resources and offer direct support online or by phone. (Explore the Help Center)
Shaping the Future Through Thought Leadership
In 2024, Ivy Energy reinforced its position as an industry leader; our Virtual Grid 3.0 impressed the judges and earned first place in Solar Power World’s “Best in Show” award for large-scale solar innovation. (Read more)
Leadership team members Alex Dogan, Tanya Kuhn, and Sean Nam were celebrated in San Diego Business Journal’s Leaders of Influence in Technology 2024 for their contributions to advancing sustainable energy. (Read more) Ivy was also featured in Alt Energy Magazine (Read more), San Diego Business Journal (Read more), and on Solar Academy. (Read more)
Logan Carter showcased Ivy’s groundbreaking innovations in a main stage speech at Cretech NY (Watch here), an engaging appearance on the IMN Podcast (Listen here), and a deep-dive interview with Chris Moreno, also known as “Mr. PropTech.” (Watch here) Ivy’s policy team further expanded its influence by authoring a Model VNEM Whitepaper, a critical guide to enabling multi-tenant solar models nationwide. (Read the Whitepaper).
Measurable Environmental Impact
This year, Ivy Energy amplified its environmental contributions, with contracted units in implementation set to offset an astounding 109 million pounds of CO2. Meanwhile, active units have already offset 9 million pounds of CO2, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to reducing carbon emissions.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we celebrate 2024’s successes, we are always looking to the future. In 2025, we’ll continue to push boundaries, deliver innovations that empower our clients, improve tenant experiences, and lead the multi-tenant housing sector toward a sustainable future.
A Message from Dover Janis, CEO of Ivy Energy
“2024 was a year of progress and adaptation. While utility-caused delays challenged our growing pipeline, our focus on agile problem-solving reduced their impact and kept the market moving forward. This is a testament not only to the dedication and focus of our team but also to the strong macro-level foundation that the onsite energy business model provides for real estate owners, even in the face of monopoly-driven resistance. With a large and expanding customer base and hundreds of projects, we have continued to validate the transformative potential of clean energy solutions for shared communities. I’m incredibly proud of our team—now among the most mature, knowledgeable, and experienced in the industry—as we trail blaze the path forward. The market is primed to grow and drive transformative change in local communities. I’m deeply grateful to our partners and customers, whom we have the privilege of serving every day as we continue to lead the way.”
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