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Utility interconnection

TNMP Interconnection Guide: The Letter of No Objection Path

TNMP solar interconnection step by step: why the application comes before installation, the Letter of No Objection, the DG meter fee, and the completion photo package.

Last updated August 3, 2026

Texas-New Mexico Power is the smallest of the four Texas TDUs, serving a scattered map — suburbs west of Fort Worth, a Gulf Coast band around Texas City and Angleton, and West Texas pockets. Its interconnection process is the most explicitly sequenced of the four, and it inverts the habit installers bring from other territories: TNMP approves the installation before you build it, not after.

The TNMP sequence, in order

TNMP publishes its process as a transparent step list, and it rewards following it literally:

  1. Application with the technical package — TNMP's DG interconnection application captures the generator details in full (manufacturer, type, ratings, phases, and the rest).
  2. TNMP submits the Interconnection Agreement to the customer, who signs and returns it.
  3. TNMP returns a Letter of No Objection — approving installation of the proposed DG system. This is the step that reorders everything: the paper approval to install comes from the utility before construction, so a TNMP job that starts with racking instead of paperwork is already out of sequence.
  4. Install, then Notification of Completion with pictures, per TNMP's DG Permission to Operate Guidelines — the photo package is a defined deliverable, not a courtesy.
  5. TNMP inspects and tests the installation at its option.
  6. TNMP installs its DG meter — with a $227 meter change fee charged to the customer.
  7. The customer is authorized to interconnect after the DG meter is installed, and TNMP revises the load profile to reflect DG status 30 to 45 days after the meter goes in — which is when export data starts flowing properly to the REP.

What this means operationally

Three habits make TNMP territory smooth:

  • Paperwork leads construction. Build the Letter of No Objection into your scheduling logic as a hard gate before install — crews don't roll without it. Selling teams should set homeowner expectations accordingly: in TNMP land, the quiet weeks come before the install, not after.
  • Treat the photo package as a submittal. TNMP's PTO guidelines specify the completion documentation; a standardized closeout photo set shot to that spec (disconnect, labeling, meter area, nameplates, as-built configuration) prevents the resubmit-and-wait loop.
  • Quote the meter fee and the reporting lag. The $227 DG meter fee lands on the customer, and the 30–45 day load-profile update explains the "where are my export credits?" call better than any apology after the fact. Put both in the proposal.

Like every Texas TDU, TNMP is wires-only: export compensation is the REP's business, and TNMP's job ends at safe interconnection and in/out metering. The compensation picture is in Texas Doesn't Have Net Metering.

Because TNMP's map is fragmented, plenty of installers touch it occasionally rather than daily — which is exactly when a process this sequence-sensitive gets fumbled by teams running Oncor muscle memory. TexPTO encodes TNMP's stage order per job — application, ICA, Letter of No Objection gate, completion package, meter, authorization — so an occasional TNMP job runs the TNMP way without anyone relearning it.

FAQ

Can we install before TNMP approves? TNMP's published process issues the Letter of No Objection approving installation before you build. Installing first risks rework against whatever review finds.

How long until the system can operate? Authorization comes after the completion package, TNMP's optional inspection, and the DG meter installation — the meter step is the practical finish line.

Why does the homeowner see no export credits right after energization? TNMP updates the load profile 30–45 days after the DG meter installation; REP-side crediting follows that.

Is there a fee? A $227 DG meter change fee to the customer per TNMP's published process.

Sources

  • TNMP, Interconnecting (full published step sequence, Letter of No Objection, photo requirements, meter fee, load-profile timing): https://tnmp.com/customers/interconnecting
  • TNMP, DG Interconnection Application: https://tnmp.com/sites/default/files/2020-02/tnmp-dg-interconnection-app-0220.pdf

General information, not legal advice. Verify current TNMP forms, guidelines, and fees before submitting.

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