Permitting Support

From first form to permission to operate, on the right track

Your solar interconnection application in Kentucky passes through several hands before the meter changes. We organize the paperwork, coordinate the handoffs and track every step until the utility says the system may run.

Book a free fit call See how it works

From the first form to permission to operate. We track the whole way and send a status update at every change.Flat fee, in writingNo commissions, ever

A rail switching yard where a train of folders is routed toward a substation — The idea
Interconnection is a switching yard. One misrouted form can idle the whole train for weeks.

How a solar interconnection application moves in Kentucky

A solar interconnection application in Kentucky isn’t one form. It’s a sequence, and each step waits on the one before it. Details differ by utility, but the general path looks like this:

Application. The account holder, often with the installer, submits the utility’s interconnection and net-metering application. Expect to attach a one-line electrical diagram, a site plan showing major components and the inverter specification sheet. Those technical attachments come from your installer or a licensed professional.
Review. The utility reviews the application. Kentucky’s guidelines use two levels: a simpler path for certified, inverter-based systems within the net-metering limit, and a more detailed review for everything else.
Approval and agreement. The utility approves, sometimes with conditions, and you sign an interconnection agreement.
Permits and inspection. Your local government issues permits and conducts inspections. LG&E and KU say it plainly: cities and counties are responsible for permits and inspections.
Completion notice. You or your installer tell the utility the installation is finished.
Meter change. The utility installs a meter that records energy flowing both ways.
Permission to operate. The utility authorizes the system to run.

Picture a rail switching yard. Your installer’s drawings, your account details and the local inspection travel on separate tracks, and all three have to reach the meter together. A single form sent down the wrong track can leave the whole project waiting on a siding. Our job is to throw the switches in the right order.

Kentucky utilities don’t all work the same way

LG&E and KU take applications through a net metering group, by email or mail, and list three required attachments. Net metering covers systems up to 45 kilowatts. Customers who began net metering on or after September 24, 2021 receive dollar-denominated bill credits for exported energy.
Kentucky Power uses Level 1 and Level 2 applications, and its tariff says a customer may not operate until an interconnection agreement is signed and its conditions are met.
Duke Energy Kentucky moved new net-metering customers to a different rider at the start of 2025. Check the current version before filing.
Cooperatives served by East Kentucky Power Cooperative or Big Rivers each have their own tariffs and forms.
TVA-served co-ops and municipal utilities work through TVA programs. TVA’s Dispersed Power Production program, for example, requires an interconnection agreement arranged through your local power company and pays TVA’s avoided cost for power sold back, a different arrangement from net metering.

We don’t publish fees or day counts for specific utilities, because they change. We confirm current forms, fees and contacts for your utility when we start.

Rules under review

Kentucky’s interconnection and net metering guidelines date from 2009. The Public Service Commission is reviewing them in Case No. 2020-00302, and in 2026 it clarified that the review covers all behind-the-meter customers, including qualifying facilities that don’t use net metering. If your project is near or above 45 kilowatts, ask early which process applies. Our Kentucky net metering explainer covers how the credits work.

What we do, and what licensed parties do

We collect your account information, confirm form versions, assemble the packet, flag signatures, track every step, follow up with the utility and local office, and keep the record. Your installer or a licensed professional prepares the technical drawings and does the electrical work. The local authority inspects. The utility decides. Calvin Rudd coordinates, and you hear from us at every change.

One habit worth copying: keep the date your net metering service began with your permanent records. Your credit terms can depend on it, and the paperwork that proves it is easy to lose.

If your installer closed before permission to operate, we can pick up the paperwork, and a System Health Check can show how the system itself is doing. HOA and local permit packets are covered in Approval & Incentive Packets, part of our broader permitting administrative support.

What you walk away with

Outcomes, not opinions

Accepted the first time

Complete packets with the current form version, matching account details and every required attachment.

Visible progress

A tracker shows where the application sits, who has the next move and when we follow up.

Coordinated handoffs

Your installer, the local inspection office and the utility each get what they need from the others, on time.

Proof you can find later

Approval letters, the signed agreement and permission to operate, filed together for sale, refinance or warranty claims.

How it works

The process, start to finish

From the first form to permission to operate. We track the whole way and send a status update at every change.. You'll know the scope and the fee before any work begins.

Fit call
A free 20-minute call to identify your utility and project size, and to see where things stand.
Scope and flat fee
A written scope, deliverables, timeline and fixed fee before any work starts.
Assemble the packet
We collect account details, confirm the current forms and gather technical attachments from the licensed parties who prepare them.
Submit and track
With your authorization, the application is filed. We track review, agreement and conditions, and follow up on schedule.
Inspection to permission to operate
We coordinate the completion notice, inspection record and meter change, then close the file when the utility grants permission to operate.

Deliverables

What's in the report

Utility-specific checklist for your service territory and project size
Pre-filled application packet for your review and signature
Attachment log for technical documents supplied by your installer or a licensed designer
Status tracker with dates, owners and next follow-up
Correspondence log with the utility and local offices
Closeout file with approval, agreement, inspection record and permission to operate

Where our work stops

Boundaries we keep

We don't prepare one-line diagrams, site plans or other technical drawings; your installer or a licensed professional does.
We don't do electrical work, engineering or inspections, and we don't certify equipment.
We don't interpret or negotiate interconnection agreements; we flag questions for your attorney.
We can't promise review times or outcomes from any utility or local office.

Our full scope of services

Part of our Permitting Administrative Support practice. Also in this practice: Approval & Incentive Packets.

FAQ

Questions about Interconnection Paperwork Coordination

Can my system run as soon as the installer finishes?

Not until the utility says so. Kentucky utilities generally require an approved application, completed conditions and, for net metering, a meter change first. LG&E and KU, for example, grant permission to operate after installing the net meter. Running the system early can put you out of step with your utility's tariff.

What's the size limit for net metering in Kentucky?

Kentucky net metering covers eligible systems up to 45 kilowatts. Larger systems follow a different interconnection and compensation path, so check your utility's current tariff and process before the system is sized.

My utility is a co-op. Is the process the same?

The general steps are similar, but each cooperative has its own tariff, forms and contacts. TVA-served co-ops and municipal utilities work through TVA's programs, which can look quite different from net metering. We confirm the current process for your utility before anything is filed.

Who signs the application?

Usually the utility account holder, sometimes together with the installer. Technical sections are completed by the installer or a licensed professional. We prepare the packet, flag every signature and check that names match the account exactly.

Will my export credits match my neighbor's?

Not necessarily. Credit terms depend on your utility and on when your net metering service began, because new customers moved to different terms after recent PSC decisions. A neighbor's older system may still be on legacy terms.