Oncor Interconnection: The Installer's Field Guide

Oncor is the largest TDU in Texas, covering Dallas–Fort Worth and a wide band of north and west Texas. Its interconnection process is well-documented and predictable — which means most Oncor delays are self-inflicted. Here's the process as it actually runs, and where jobs stall.

The process

File as soon as the design is done — don't wait for the city. The permit track and the interconnection track are independent, and neither §25.211 nor Oncor's published sequence conditions submitting on a city permit or a passed final. Holding the filing until after the final just pushes the start of Oncor's clock by however long plan review and inspection take. Energizing still waits for both the AHJ final and the PTO letter — filing early runs the utility's paperwork alongside the city's, it doesn't let you turn the system on any sooner. In unincorporated areas without permitting, the application stands on its documentation. Design to the certified path — UL 1741-listed inverters — so the job qualifies as a certified residential system.
Application via eTRACK. Oncor's online portal handles submissions with electronic signatures and status tracking; Oncor itself notes eTRACK reduces processing time versus paper. The application identifies the parties and carries the technical package: one-line diagram, equipment make/model, and system details. Installers work in the portal routinely; homeowners doing self-installs have to request access (dg@oncor.com).
Signature #1 — the tariff application. The customer signs; this is what starts Oncor's review. No signature, no clock.
Review. Oncor screens the application, raises any objections, and performs a system impact review where appropriate. Certified renewable systems at residential scale generally don't carry a study fee (Oncor's fee schedule applies to larger systems — its 500 kW+ track involves study fees, impact review, and possible upgrade costs).
Signature #2 — the interconnection agreement. Signed by the customer and Oncor. Chase this the day it's issued.
PTO. Once the agreement is fully executed, Oncor issues the Permission to Operate letter to both the customer and the installer. PTO is event-driven, not clock-driven — the interconnection rule that governs this process, 16 TAC §25.211, sets no deadline for the letter itself; the term doesn't appear in it. What the rule does set is the interconnection window: four weeks from Oncor's receipt of a complete application for pre-certified equipment, six weeks otherwise (16 TAC §25.211(m)), and even that is a best-reasonable-efforts standard rather than a guaranteed date.
Meter and market updates. Oncor orders the meter reprogrammed with an out-flow channel (allow up to 30 days), updates the load profile with ERCOT for certified systems, and surplus generation starts reporting to the homeowner's REP after the first full billing cycle following the later of the meter reprogram or the executed agreement — practically, 30–60 days after PTO.

What the application carries

eTRACK is the interconnection track, not the permit track — different reviewer, different file, different clock. Nearly every field on it is a rejection surface. Assemble all of this before you open the portal.

Service address and ESI ID. The ESI ID is the 17-digit identifier unique to the meter. The homeowner can pull it off the REP bill or out of Smart Meter Texas.
Account holder name, exactly as it reads on the REP bill. If the bill is in one spouse's name, the application matches that name. Mismatches here are a routine rejection cause and cost a full cycle.
Customer signature on the interconnection agreement, on Oncor's form.
DC and AC system size in kW — nameplate DC, and AC post-inverter.
Inverter make and model. UL 1741 SA listing is effectively automatic on anything built since 2020; what matters is that the model on the application is the model on the wall.
Battery presence and capacity in kWh, if there is one. Storage triggers extra review — see below.
One-line diagram showing all panels, inverter(s), combiners, the AC disconnect, the point of common coupling, and the utility meter. Label the Visible Lockable Labeled Disconnect location clearly, and write that phrase out in full at least once on the drawing before you use the "VLLD" acronym anywhere on it.
Site plan showing the array, equipment locations, and the meter.

Then the photos. Confirm the current set against Oncor's own application checklist before you submit — the list below is what crews are commonly asked for, and it is worth having ready either way:

Meter — exterior shot with the meter and the visible disconnect in the same frame.
Main panel — the breaker that back-feeds the system, with the NEC 705.12 backfeed label readable.
AC disconnect — with the lockable provision visible.
Placards — close-ups of the NEC 690.13 PV system disconnect placard, the NEC 690.7(D) maximum DC voltage placard, and the NEC 690.12 rapid shutdown placard.
Array — at least one full-array shot of the installed modules.

A missing or unreadable photo is a correction request, and a correction request is a lap.

Technical details Oncor checks

Certified equipment. Inverter make/model must match the certified listing; substituting hardware in the field without amending the application is a classic deficiency.
AC disconnect. Oncor's application materials call for a lockable, visible-break AC disconnect accessible to the utility — the VLLD, below. Match placement and labeling to the one-line exactly.
As-built accuracy. The one-line, the nameplates on the wall, and the application need to agree. Photo documentation at commissioning saves a truck roll later.

VLLD: the Oncor-specific gotcha

The Visible Lockable Labeled Disconnect is the single most common driver of bounced eTRACK packages, and it is the one deficiency you cannot fix from a desk.

Oncor's spec, in four parts:

Dedicated. An AC disconnect between the inverter and the meter, separate from the inverter's internal disconnect.
Visible. Line of sight from the meter; Oncor's published spec generally cites a maximum of about 10 feet between the meter and the disconnect.
Lockable in the open position, accepting a standard padlock so a utility worker can lock it out.
Labeled as a PV system disconnect, with a permanent placard.

The failures repeat: a disconnect sited behind a fence, a gate, or an HVAC unit, so it isn't visible from the meter; an all-in-one manufacturer combiner that contains a disconnect but isn't separately lockable; a missing placard, or one printed on paper instead of UV-rated exterior label stock.

The fix is almost always physical — move or swap the disconnect, then resubmit. Design for it in the install layout, not after a reviewer finds it.

NEC labels Oncor checks

Oncor wants NEC-compliant labels on the installed equipment, not just on the drawing. The ones the photo package has to show:

690.13 — PV system disconnect placard, on the AC disconnect itself.
690.7(D) (2023 NEC; this was 690.53 in the 2017 and 2020 editions) — a permanent, readily visible label giving the system's highest maximum DC voltage, at the DC PV disconnecting means, the PV power conversion equipment, or the associated distribution equipment. Voltage only, no current values.
690.12 — rapid shutdown placard at the rapid-shutdown switch. Required on any rooftop system, and location matters: at the service equipment the PV connects to, or another readily visible location the AHJ approves, not out at the array.
705.12 — backfeed-breaker label inside the main panel, showing the breaker is back-fed by a PV source.
705.10 and 706 — additional ESS placards where a battery is present.

Two habits pay for themselves here. Pre-print the labels before the truck rolls; placards filled in on site with a Sharpie are a known rejection trigger. And if a permitting tool generates them, check that the DC voltage is a real number — a 690.7(D) label installed on a live disconnect reading [MAX PV VOLTAGE] is both a code violation and a guaranteed correction.

What gets a package bounced

A rejection isn't a stall. A rejection is a deficiency notice on a package that was submitted and signed — Oncor looked, and something in the file didn't hold up. Across the DFW projects we've seen, the triggers cluster:

VLLD placement or specification — not visible, not lockable, or too far from the meter. Roughly 30% of rejections.
Missing or unreadable photos — usually the placard close-ups or the main-panel backfeed shot. About 25%.
One-line diagram errors — wrong polarity convention, missing labels, or an inverter spec that doesn't match the declared system size. About 15%.
NEC label content — placeholder values, wrong code section cited, or missing voltage. About 10%.
Customer info mismatches — wrong ESI ID, or a name that doesn't match the REP bill. About 10%.
Everything else — battery specifics, ground-mount structural questions, equipment not on the approved list. About 10%.

Nearly all of it is avoidable with a pre-submittal checklist. Keep every project's photos in one folder named for the job, so a correction request costs hours instead of days — lost resubmittals are more common than anyone admits. And if you're running more than five systems a month, writing that checklist down is the highest-leverage hour you'll spend on operations.

Where Oncor jobs actually stall

Oncor's published estimate is around three to four weeks for a complete certified-system application, and the PUCT clock runs four weeks from a complete application — six weeks for equipment that isn't pre-certified, and out to two weeks past the finish of any required upgrades (16 TAC §25.211(m)). Field experience in DFW through 2025 tracked that: 2–4 weeks for clean packages, with summer peaks pushing past six. Check which track the job is on before you decide day 45 is the homeowner's fault. In order of frequency, the real causes: a tariff application submitted but never signed by the homeowner; an interconnection agreement issued and unsigned; a deficiency notice sitting unread in eTRACK; and equipment mismatches between application and install. All four are visible within 24 hours if someone is watching the portal — and invisible for weeks if no one is. TexPTO watches those states per job, so escalations happen on facts.

If an application has been in eTRACK more than two weeks with no response at all, email the DG team for a status check. A nudge at two weeks is early enough to catch a stalled file without being premature.

Batteries add steps

Storage on the job means eTRACK asks for more:

A separate battery interconnection form — Oncor distinguishes battery-only from PV plus battery.
Additional placards per NEC 706, and NEC 480 for lead-acid systems, which are rare in residential.
Sometimes a more detailed utility study, where the battery's AC output exceeds the home's service capacity.

Battery projects routinely add two to three weeks to the review. Price that into the schedule you give the homeowner.

Don't energize early

Energizing waits for both the AHJ final and the PTO letter. Operating before the agreement is signed and PTO is issued violates Oncor's tariff and PUCT rules, and Oncor warns it can mean fines and disconnection. There's no gray zone here — the commissioning steps that need grid parallel operation wait for the letter. Background: our PTO guide.

FAQ

How long does Oncor interconnection take? PUCT rules put interconnection at four weeks from Oncor's receipt of a complete application for pre-certified equipment, six weeks otherwise, and Oncor's own published estimate is around three to four weeks. Complete applications with prompt signatures typically run faster; incomplete ones can take much longer for reasons on the applicant's side.

Does Oncor charge for residential interconnection? Certified residential-scale renewable systems generally carry no study fee; larger systems (Oncor runs a separate 500 kW+ track) involve fees and possible upgrade costs.

Does Oncor pay for exported solar? No — Oncor is wires only. Export compensation comes from the homeowner's REP buyback plan. See Texas Doesn't Have Net Metering.

Who do I contact at Oncor about a stuck application? Oncor's DG team: dg@oncor.com or 1.866.728.3674, weekdays 7–7 CT. Reference the eTRACK application number and the submission date — the desk pulls a file by reference number much faster than by service address.

Sources

PUCT Substantive Rule 16 TAC §25.211, Interconnection of On-Site Distributed Generation: https://www.puc.texas.gov/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/electric/25.211/25.211ei.aspx
Oncor, Renewables/Solar FAQ: https://www.oncor.com/content/oncorwww/us/en/home/faqs/faq-renewables-solar-and-more.html
Oncor, For Installers: https://www.oncor.com/content/oncorwww/us/en/home/smart-energy/renewables-solar-and-more/for-installers.html
Oncor, Thinking About Solar (residential/small commercial): https://www.oncor.com/content/oncorwww/us/en/home/smart-energy/renewables-solar-and-more/residential-small-commercial-thinking-about-solar.html
Oncor Interconnection Application for Certified Systems: https://www.oncor.com/content/dam/oncorwww/documents/smart-energy/energy-system-developers/Oncor%20Interconnection%20Application%20for%20Certified%20Systems.pdf.coredownload.pdf
Oncor Application for Certified Systems 500 kW or Greater (fees/study track): https://www.oncor.com/content/dam/oncorwww/documents/smart-energy/energy-system-developers/Oncor%20Interconnection%20Application%20for%20Certified%20Systems%20500%20kW%20or%20Greate....pdf.coredownload.pdf
Oncor, Residential/Small Commercial Project Requirements (rev. May 1, 2025): https://www.oncor.com/content/dam/oncorwww/documents/for-installers/New-Residential-Requirements-2025.pdf.coredownload.pdf
TDLR, Electricians Compliance Guide (adopted NEC edition): https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/electricians/compliance-guide.htm

General information, not legal or code advice. Texas enforces the 2023 NEC statewide (TDLR, effective September 1, 2023) — confirm the edition and any local amendments your AHJ has adopted, and confirm current process and forms with Oncor.