New York SIR interconnection is a PSC document, not a Con Edison folklore list. The Standardized Interconnection Requirements effective February 9, 2026 (Case 24-E-0621) tell you the steps, the clocks, and what a complete package is. If your EPC still runs “small jobs” on a 2016 memory, you will miss UL 1741 SB language, the 10-business-day completeness clock, and the 12-month inventory rule. File in the utility portal. Match the drawings to Appendix F.
This is the process walk. It is not a recap of the PSC’s August 17, 2026 order on interconnection costs and study timelines. That news lives at Athol’s August 2026 SIR order post. Use it for cost-estimate fights. Use this page to file.
New York SIR interconnection steps for 50 kW or less
Section I.B is the expedited track for systems 50 kW or less. Exception 1 lets inverter-based systems above 50 kW up to 300 kW use this expedited process if they are certified to the current UL 1741 including supplement B, with settings in the utility’s technical requirements, and the utility approves. The utility has 10 business days from the original application to decide completeness, expedited eligibility, and whether it is approved for interconnection if eligible. If not eligible, you proceed under Section I.C or ask DPS Staff for review.
Exception 2: non-inverter 50 kW or less may need more information (the items in Step 5 of the larger-system process) in the original application. Exception 3: underground secondary networks can take extra review; interconnection may not be allowed. Network jobs are not “residential simple.” Tell the designer the service type at intake.
Step 1: initial communication, from a question to a completed application.
Step 2: utility reviews the nature of the project, may discuss scope, provides the SIR and utility technical specs, and names a single point of contact.
Step 3: file the application package in the customer’s name (community DG has a sponsor rule from the 2015 CDG order cited in the SIR footnote). No application fee at or under 50 kW. A complete package is all Appendix F items, submitted electronically via IOAP. The utility has 10 business days to determine completeness, SIR technical compliance, and approval if all other requirements are met. If incomplete, they must list deficiencies. You have 30 business days to supply the missing items or the application is removed from the queue. Acceptance includes an executed New York State Standardized Interconnection Contract. The utility says whether it will witness testing. Inventory: if final acceptance (Step 6) is not completed within 12 months due to applicant inactivity, the utility may notify you (mail with delivery receipt or email) and remove the project if you do not respond within 30 business days with a status update.
Dedicated transformer costs can apply even at 25 kW or less net-metered if the utility determines they are needed for safety and adequacy. Appendix E assigns those actual costs. Do not promise a homeowner that sub-50 kW means zero utility cost.
Step 4: install to the accepted design. Substantive diagram changes need a revised diagram for acceptance. Inverter-based systems may interconnect up to two hours solely to confirm proper operation. Net-metering meter work: the SIR says the utility completes metering configuration modifications within 10 business days of notification that installation is complete and inspected, or a verification-test request, whichever is first.
Step 5: verification testing per Appendix F procedures. If the utility opted to witness, you notify them that installation and applicable inspections are done; testing within 10 business days at a mutually agreeable time. If they opted not to witness, you send written certification within 5 business days of the tests. Parallel operation may commence upon satisfactory tests if you keep meeting contractual and technical requirements.
Step 6: final acceptance. Within 5 business days of written successful-test notification, the utility issues a formal letter of acceptance for interconnection, or explains deficiencies after an on-site verification. That letter is PTO in SIR clothing. The building permit is not.
Above 50 kW up to 5 MW (Section I.C)
This is the CESIR world. Preliminary and supplemental screens, Coordinated Electric System Interconnection Review, construction payments, Appendix L schedules, and witness testing live here. Con Edison splits Small DG (≤50 kW AC) and Large DG (>50 kW to 5 MW) portals and charges a $750 application fee on the large side per Con Edison’s published FAQ language. Other IOUs use their own IOAP skins. Do not file a 200 kW roof in the small portal.
UL 1741 SB still matters. SIR encourages using the expedited I.B path for inverter-based 50-300 kW when certified and settings match. Ask the utility; do not assume.
Network exception in I.C: underground secondary networks need extra review. NYC network is a Con Edison specialty. Budget it.
Clocks in I.C are longer: completeness, screens, CESIR, payment deadlines in Section I-D, construction, Step 9 testing, Step 10/11 acceptance and cost reconciliation. If you miss a payment window, you can exit the queue. Read the current SIR PDF, not a 2018 slide deck.
Drawings Appendix F expects
A complete SIR package includes the standard application (utility portal form), site plan, system diagram (one-line for single-phase; three-line for three-phase including PCC wiring and existing utility service), equipment specifications, and other Appendix F items (consent forms, site control, verification procedures as required). Athol’s interconnection desk builds those diagrams to match the AHJ set. New York design keeps SIR and the local building permit from drifting. NYC DOB is a different animal; see the city page at NYC permit design.
NY-Sun applications need the same kW and equipment. They do not replace SIR. NY-Sun guide is the incentive page.
Storage and hybrid: SIR covers ESS 5 MW or less AC inverter nameplate, standalone or hybrid, with export capped at 5 MW. Hybrid applications are one SIR application, not two. Sequence of operation belongs on the diagram.
After the August 17, 2026 order, expect tariff language on cost estimates and timelines as utilities file for an October 1, 2026 effective date. That changes how you read a CESIR cost letter. It does not change Step 3’s demand for a complete Appendix F package this week.
SIR clocks EPCs actually miss
Ten business days is the utility’s completeness clock on a filed package, not your internal design clock. If you file an incomplete Appendix F set, they spend those ten days to tell you it is incomplete, then you have 30 business days to cure or you leave the queue. Filing early with a blank site plan does not “start the clock” in your favor. It starts a deficiency clock.
Twelve-month inventory: if you go silent after a contract is issued, the utility can notice you and pull the job. Keep a quarterly ping on paused 8 kW roofs. A homeowner who “will install next spring” still needs a status update in the portal.
Two-hour commissioning interconnect on inverter jobs is not PTO. It is a test window. Crews that leave the system exporting over a weekend on that window are outside SIR. Final acceptance (Step 6 letter) is the operating permission on the small track.
Network services: do not use the 50 kW happy path as a promise. Exception 3 exists because underground secondary networks break the simple story, especially in NYC. Tell design at intake. Budget extra review or a no.
50-300 kW UL 1741 SB expedited option: ask the utility in writing whether this job qualifies for I.B Exception 1 before you pay large-track fees. If they say no, you are in I.C. If they say yes, still file a complete Appendix F package. Eligibility is not a sketch.
CESIR payment windows in Section I-D are how large jobs die. Put them on the same calendar as equipment deposits. Missing a payment is not a drawing comment. It is an exit.
NY-Sun, SIR, and the AHJ need the same kW. Three portals, one inverter schedule. If NYSERDA, Con Edison, and DOB see three nameplates, you will fix it at the worst time. The New York SIR interconnection file is the electrical source of truth. Force the other two to follow it.
After October 1, 2026 tariff language from the August 17, 2026 order, read CESIR cost letters against the new rules. Do not wait to file Step 3 because you are studying that order. Completeness is still Appendix F.
Send the utility name, AC kW, network versus radial if you know it, and whether storage is in scope. We will put the job on New York SIR interconnection Section I.B or I.C before anyone uploads a three-line to the small portal.