Note: The net metering policy metioned below has been sucessfully passed by the Provo City Council, allowing Provo City residents the ability to connect their renewable energy production to the utility grid.

PROVO - Power from the sun can light up refrigerators, lamps and cable televisions in people's homes, and it's getting one step closer to becoming a reality in Provo.

Provo Energy Director Kevin Garlick said the proposed net metering policy that he presented to the Municipal Council at the last meeting will create a process for property owners to put renewable power systems on their property to generate their own power. The private systems, most of which will be solar panels, can interconnect with the city's power grid. This allows users to save money on their monthly power bills.

"We're outlining the process, trying to get authority from the council," he said.

The city doesn't have any way to deal with solar panels currently, so they're not technically allowed. Garlick said about three years ago his staff asked if residents were interested in solar panels, and none seemed to be. Now, though, two people have put them up and want to be legal, and at least one more is asking questions. It's not a big number yet, but big enough that Garlick is ready to check out the possibilities. To get started, they're doing so by checking out their neighbor.

Rocky Mountain Power, which supplies most of the electricity in Utah County, already has the net metering system for those people with solar panels or other renewable energy sources. Spokesman Jeff Hymas said more than 400 customers throughout the state participate, and almost all of those are solar.

The average household in Utah uses 742 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, which is about $2 a day, according to Rocky Mountain Power. A kilowatt-hour is the amount of electrical energy consumed when 1,000 watts are used for one hour.

According to the coolerplanet.com solar calculator, a home in Provo with 1.4-kilowatt solar panels can produce about 25 percent of its energy a month. That saves the average family about 185 kilowatt-hours, or about $16, a month. Sounds good, right?

Putting in the solar panels, though, comes with a hefty price tag. The same Web site estimated the cost, including rebates, tax credits and other incentives, at close to $6,000. That's for a smaller system than what's generally available. At that price, a homeowner with solar panels would have to use them for almost 25 years to break even.

"Certainly there's the environmental benefits and the long-term savings, but you also need to look at the initial up-front investment that's required," Hymas said.

Now, the average Rocky Mountain Power customer who uses the net metering has a larger system and saves about a third of his power, so people can break even sooner. Sometimes people will bring in half to three-fourths of the power they used, which will significantly drop monthly bills, and the system is set up so if a customer actually produced more than he used, that power would go back into the power grid and the customer would get a credit for it.

Garlick doesn't expect this to happen much, since houses will have smaller units and the sun isn't always out, but it is a possibility. The plus side in all of this for the city is less power is being pulled from its plants and less is being produced, which can help the current facilities last longer.

"If there are those that want to be more independent and develop their own consumer generation sources, this policy will allow them to do that," he said.

There also are some other potential hurdles. Zoning doesn't preclude people from putting solar panels up in their homes and businesses, said Chief Building Inspector Dan Stubbs. There are, however, still rules. People wishing to add that to their property would have to comply with the National Electric Code and have the appropriate building permit.

So, it's not for everyone. While both Garlick and Hymas agreed more solar power would be good for the environment, they also said expecting many people to participate simply isn't feasible because of the cost. Hymas said Rocky Mountain Power allows customers to participate in the Blue Sky program, in which they spend an extra $1.95 a month, which enables Rocky Mountain to purchase 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of renewable energy from a wind farm. That means less energy comes from coal-generated power plants.

The Municipal Council will consider this policy at its Sept. 22 meeting.