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Net metering where you live

Sample data

What your utility pays you for the power your panels send back to the grid is worth as much as a third of a solar system's lifetime value — and it is the number most likely to be wrong in a sales pitch, because it is set by 51 different commissions and changes on their schedules, not on anyone's marketing calendar. We have not yet verified every state, and we would rather tell you that than guess. Here is what the rule actually is, and how to check yours in ten minutes.

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Sample dataset: the values below are placeholders for this template, not real rules.

51 of 51 covered

How this works

  • WE HAVE NOT PUBLISHED A TARIFF FOR ANY STATE, AND THAT IS DELIBERATE. Net-metering rules are set by 51 separate public utility commissions, they change on their own schedules, and they commonly grandfather existing customers on terms different from new ones. A table of 51 answers we had not each read would be worse than no table, because it would be believed. When we have verified a state's current order, that state's row will carry it with the citation and the date.
  • What the rule is, in general terms. Traditional retail-rate net metering credits every kilowatt-hour you export at the same price you pay for one, so your meter effectively runs backwards. Net billing, which several states have moved to, credits exports at a lower wholesale or avoided-cost rate — which can halve the value of the same array without changing a single panel on the roof.
  • Why it decides so much. A typical residential system exports a large share of what it makes, because it generates most at midday when the house uses least. If exports are credited at retail, that power is worth what you pay. If they are credited at avoided cost, it may be worth a third of that. Same hardware, very different payback.
  • Grandfathering is the other half. Where a state has changed its rules, customers who interconnected under the old tariff are often kept on it for a set number of years. That means the honest question is not "what does my state do" but "what will apply to me, from my interconnection date, and for how long".
  • How to check yours, in about ten minutes: look your state up on DSIRE, which indexes the current policy and links the underlying order; then ask your own utility, in writing, what tariff a new residential solar customer interconnecting today would be placed on, what it credits exports at, and for how many years that is locked. Keep the answer.
  • Do not accept an installer's summary of this. It is the number with the biggest effect on their payback model and the one most likely to be out of date, and you can get the real answer yourself for free.
  • If your utility will not answer in writing, your state consumer-protection office and the commission itself both take questions.

Sources

Expert review
Not yet reviewed
Last verified
September 18, 2026

This tool does not yet publish a verified tariff for any state, and says so on every row. Net-metering rules are set by state commissions, change frequently and often grandfather existing customers on different terms. Confirm the current tariff with your own utility in writing before you sign anything, and do not rely on an installer's summary of it.

Common questions

Why is this table empty?

Because we have not read all 51 commissions' current orders, and publishing an unverified tariff would be worse than publishing nothing — you would act on it. Our rule across this site is real data or a blank, and this is a blank that says how to fill it in for yourself. Rows will be filled as we verify them, each with its own citation and date.

What is the difference between net metering and net billing?

Retail-rate net metering credits exported power at the same price you pay for power. Net billing credits it at a lower wholesale or avoided-cost rate. The panels do not change; the economics can roughly halve. Several states have moved from the first to the second, which is why an old payback model can be badly wrong.

What is grandfathering and why does it matter to me?

When a state changes its rules, customers already interconnected are often kept on the old terms for a set number of years. So the question that actually affects you is not what your state did historically but what tariff you would be placed on if you interconnect now, and how long that is locked for. Ask your utility exactly that, in writing.

My installer says my state has full net metering. Should I believe them?

Check it yourself. It is the single number with the largest effect on the payback model they showed you, and it is the one most likely to be stale. Ten minutes on DSIRE plus one written question to your utility settles it, and the answer is yours to keep rather than theirs to assert.

Does this affect a lease or PPA too?

Yes, and less visibly. With a lease or PPA the provider's economics depend on the export rate too, and the escalator you are offered is priced against it. It does not change what you pay each month, but it does change whether the deal in front of you is a good one.

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