| Delaware |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
NEG is credited to the customer's next bill at the retail rate indefinitely, but could be paid out at the energy supply rate if elected. All-in-all, though, net metering policy in Delaware is exemplary. |
| New Hampshire |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
According to our grading scale, New Hampshire does everything right when it comes to net metering. Heck, they even give customer-generators (that's you if you have rooftop solar) the option of carrying over kWh credits indefinitely or receiving a yearly payout for net excess generation at the utility's avoided cost rate (choose the first option, though). All that is great, but we're worried about what happens when NH hits the 100 MW aggregate installation cap that is part of its net metering law. Steady as she goes, New Hampshire, and prepare to not trim that mainsail, please. |
| Oregon |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
Oregon sails through with mostly flying colors, here. The state has long had a commitment to helping its citizens recognize the financial and environmental benefits of choosing rooftop solar power, and its grade here reflects that. To our knowledge, Oregon is also the only state that takes excess generation credits leftover at the end of a 12-month period and uses them to fund its low-income utility programs. That might mean individual customer generators whose systems overproduce will lose out on a few pennies per kWh, but it absolutely earns an A in our book. There's a touch of trouble in paradise, though. Some places in Oregon have hit their cap for the amount of solar the grid can handle. That's not a failure of the existing net metering policy so much as it is an opportunity for regulators and legislators to define what happens next in order to get the state to its goal of 50% renewable by 2040. |
| Washington DC |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
Washington DC has just about the most favorable net metering policy in the nation, allowing net metering credits to be rolled over indefinitely at full retail rates. So, if you're planning on a housing or facility upgrade which sucks up more energy in 2024 or beyond, you can use your banked solar energy credits to offset your usage increases. The District also allows for forward-thinking community solar arrangements we would love to see emulated all over the country. Awesome and inspiring work by DC legislators! |
| Arkansas |
A |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
On July 1st, 2020, the Arkansas public service commission established a two year hold on current 1 to 1 same as retail Net Excess Generation rates. Entergy Arkansas is requesting the compensation rate be reduced to 30% of retail, and is fighting against "grandfathering" new systems before the rates are changed to 10 years from 20 years. Customers may carry over any NEG credit remaining at their of their billing cycle indefinitely. For any excess generation credits that are 2 years old, the customer may elect the electric utility to purchase the excess generation credits at the electric utility’s estimated annual average avoided cost rate. |
| Maryland |
A |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
Maryland is experimenting with a virtual net metering program, which helps communities reap the benefits of off-site solar farms they own shares in. We wish more states in the country could take note and follow the lead of such a forward-framed legislature. |
| Minnesota |
A |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
Minnesota is a place that has been doing solar right for decades, including its excellent community solar gardens rules and net metering rules which cover all utilities - not just the biggest ones. Speaking of the biggest, Xcel Energy actually offers a little extra for every kWh of solar electricity, through its Solar*Rewards program, paying nearly 175% of the retail rate. We'd call that an A for sure. |
| New Jersey |
A |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
New Jersey serves as a model for other states to follow when it comes to onboarding small-scale solar energy producers to reap the benefits of the sun, in strong partnership with their utility companies. |
| New York |
A |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
In New York, NEG accrues until the end of an annual period. At the end of each annual billing cycle, residential PV is paid at the utility's avoided-cost rate for any unused NEG. Aside from this, the state has exemplary net metering policy, and is a strong place for solar homeowners to consider making the switch to clean energy. The state also allows community solar projects to proceed, enabling groups of people to benefit from shares of off-site solar farms on their monthly power bills. |
| Maine |
A |
A |
A |
C |
A |
A |
In 2017, under then-governor Paul LePage, Maine ended its longtime net metering rules in favor of a "buy-all, sell-all" scheme under which all electricity generated by a customer's solar array was purchased by the utility for sub-retail rates and credited to the owner's bill as a dollar-amount credit. In 2019, net metering was reinstated by LD 91 under new governor Janet Mills. Today, Maine's net metering rules stand as some of the most straightforward in the nation, covering all transmission and distribution utilities in the state and ensuring full retail credit for all solar energy produced, with additional rules for community solar. The only thing we don't like here is the rule that excess energy credits disappear after each 12-month billing cycle, but that's a small quibble in a state with a lot of good policy going on. |
| Pennsylvania |
A |
A |
A |
B |
B |
A |
Net metering policy is strong in Pennsylvania, with net metering excess credited to your next bill, reconciled annually based on the ""price to compare"" (retail rate minus distributing charges). The state allows virtual net metering, which enables people with more than one residence in the same service territory to benefit from solar even if just installed on one of the properties. Virtual net metering could be stronger here by allowing those without solar to participate in community programs to own shares in off-site facilities further away to see the kWh credited on their power bills. |
| Vermont |
A |
A |
A |
C |
A |
A |
Vermont has a fine net metering standard that has been amended a number of times since its original version was codified in 1998. The state law covers all utility companies and provides rules for compensation that result in a fair monetization of all energy produced by a solar system of up to 500 kW. The compensation includes an extra cent per kWh for small systems under 15 kW, which covers nearly all home solar installations, but requires system owners to transfer ownership of their renewable energy credits (RECs) to the utility. |
| Virginia |
A |
A |
A |
C |
A |
A |
Virginia has exemplary net metering standards, perhaps with the exception that if your carryover credit for a given year is larger than the previous year, the extra credit difference is forfeited to the utility company. |
| Washington |
A |
A |
A |
C |
A |
A |
Despite its reputation for cloudy skies across much of the state, Washington has long had very solar-friendly policies, including its solar net metering law. The only thing missing here from a policy perspective is a switch to continuous rollover of kWh credits for solar (or a switch to directing funds for reclaimed credits to low-income benefit programs like neighboring Oregon does). We'd also prefer to see community solar rules that would spur widespread adoption, rather than keeping shared solar installations to a minimum, as the current rules do. |
| West Virginia |
A |
A |
A |
A |
C |
A |
West Virginia's current net metering rules are nearly as good as they can be, but the state has been engaged in a years-long process of amending those rules, which began in 2015 as directed under House Bill 2201.While it remains to be seen how West Virginia will change net metering rules, getting in under the current policy is likely in a homeowner's best interest. |
| Connecticut |
A |
B |
A |
B |
A |
A |
Connecticut's net metering grade is temporary, because the state's formerly excellent net metering rules are set to expire after 2021, leaving people who install home solar panels after that time to choose between selling all of their solar installation's generated electricity to the utility at a sub-retail rate, or choosing "net billing" which will earn them less-than-retail credits for excess monthly generation. |
| Massachusetts |
B |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
Massachusetts is a great example of what smart solar policy can do. It requires all investor-owned utilities (serving nearly the entire population of the state) to credit an amount close to retail prices for all excess solar generation, and also provides the SMART solar program that pays additional per-kWh amounts to recognize the true value of solar energy to the people of the state. We love that the credits are carried forward indefinitely and that the state allows for community solar and "neighborhood" metering of large installations that can be used by multiple homes and businesses. |
| Illinois |
A |
B |
A |
C |
A |
A |
In many ways, Illinois presents an ideal place to operate a home solar installation. We'd like to see the state require all electric co-ops follow the net metering rules, and we'd prefer that excess generation credits could be carried forward indefinitely, but the current rules, including those governing community solar, make the Land of Lincoln a great place for the vast majority of homeowners and renters to choose solar energy. |
| California |
B |
A |
A |
B |
A |
A |
California's Net Metering 2.0 allows almost everyone in the state to connect with their utility company and earn credits for excess generation based on the retail rate of electricity minus certain "non-bypassable charges." These charges represent small fractions of the final retail price of each kWh of electricity, but pay for important grid maintenance and low-income assistance programs, and so are doled out to customers based on their usage, whether or not that usage was met by solar panels. |
| New Mexico |
A |
A |
A |
A |
F |
A |
New Mexico takes what we'd call a "soft-touch" approach with its net metering rules. The state requires all utilities to participate in net metering, but gives them the option of allowing kWh credits for net excess generation or paying the avoided cost for NEG as a dollar-amount credit on the customer's next bill. Thankfully, in practice, customers of the state's three largest utilities enjoy the former option, earning full-retail credits that carry over indefinitely and putting their minds at ease when it comes to the financial returns of a solar system. We'd like to see some support for community solar, and there are people all around the state fighting for it, so we hope the Land of Enchantment will soon add virtual net metering and join the top-performers in our net metering rankings with a perfect score. |
| Colorado |
A |
B |
A |
B |
C |
A |
Electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are required to pay for any remaining NEG at the end of an annual period based on a "rate deemed appropriate” by the electric cooperative or municipal utility. That lax requirement has made it so electric cooperatives like Colorado Springs Utilities offer lower net metering rates than big providers like Xcel energy here. |
| Indiana |
A |
B |
A |
A |
F |
B |
Indiana is phasing out net metering. Installations after 1/1/2018 will see retail rate credits through 2032. After 2022, the state is switching to paying people at the utilities' marginal cost, plus 25%. New compensation regulations, when they take effect, will set rates at least 125% of the wholesale electricity rates Indiana utility companies pay. |
| Wyoming |
A |
A |
A |
B |
F |
B |
Wyoming has a fairly straightforward solar net metering law that very few people take advantage of. After all, there are very few people in Wyoming, and thankfully, that means there are very few reasons for utility companies to challenge the net metering rules here as they do in other states. |
| Rhode Island |
C |
A |
A |
A |
A |
B |
Rhode Island does most things right when it comes to net metering, but the one area where it stumbles is monthly credit for net excess generation. If your solar production exceeds your usage for a month, you'll get only the utility's "avoided cost" as credit for the excess, and then only earn credit for up to 25% more energy that you used. In summertime when the sun is high in the sky, most home solar installations produce more than the homeowner can use in the month, and in the winter produce much less. If you're a homeowner in Rhode Island, you'll have to make sure your system is sized appropriately or risk missing out on credits. |
| Florida |
A |
B |
A |
B |
F |
B |
Florida does an okay job with solar net metering, which is somewhat surprising considering the state's failings in other areas of solar policy. We'd prefer to see a law that covers all utilities rather than allowing the state's many electric cooperatives to come up with their own rooftop solar rules, and we'd also like to see a strong law that creates a community solar marketplace to benefit the state's many renters and folks who can't install solar panels on their roofs. |
| Iowa |
A |
B |
A |
B |
F |
B |
The current net metering policy in Iowa is a fine example of the form, and we'd be happy to leave it at that if not for one thing: 2020's S.F 583 will eventually (read, "by 2027 or when the renewable energy reaches 5% of the state's generation)" upend what has been a very stable policy, and allow Iowa's two big investor-owned utilities to change the ways they compensate customers for excess solar energy sent to the grid from home installations. Time will tell what kind of shenanigans that will lead to, so for now we'll keep Iowa at a "B" grade and stay vigilant. |
| South Carolina |
A |
B |
A |
B |
F |
B |
Customers who go solar after June 1st, 2021 will get "solar choice" net metering credits instead of full retail rate credits for solar power fed back to the utility. If you go solar before that date, you'll get full retail rates for NEM until 2029. If you've been on the fence about solar energy, now is a good time go ahead and install it here in South Carolina. The Dukes are trying to negotiate with solar advocates to develop a new paradigm which replaces net metering, including offering credits to solar owners for reducing peak loads at critical times along with a $30 minimum power bill. While the approach is inventive, we're past due for the rooftop solar market to gain better traction in an area that enjoys abundant sunshine throughout the year. |
| Nevada |
B |
A |
B |
C |
F |
B |
Nevada's AB 405 reinstated net metering at 75% of retail indefinitely. This guarantees the right to self-generate, prioritizing distributed electricity before other forms (no curtailment), and ends fixed fees (as well as prevents future ones). |
| Hawaii |
D |
A |
A |
C |
A |
C |
In many ways, Hawaii has some of the most carefully considered solar metering rules in the country, if not the world. The state's unique geographical and economic considerations, and the fact that it long-relied on burning fuel oil to generate electricity, led to extremely rapid growth in the solar industry in the first decade of the 2000s. Hawaii's first-in-the-nation 100% clean energy standard will result in further growth of solar and other renewables, and its metering policies reflect the complexity of taking an energy economy off fossil fuels and onto stable long-term renewable sources. Expect per-kWh credits to continue to decline here as solar adoption spreads, but expect also that retail prices will decrease over time as the state gets off the shipped-in fossil fuel roller coaster. |
| North Carolina |
A |
A |
F |
C |
F |
C |
North Carolina is a state that comes away with a solid "B" for its current net metering policies, but the reality on the ground could easily change. We dinged the state for allowing a demand charge, although in practice there are very few places where residential customers currently suffer with demand charges or additional fixed monthly costs. We also graded the state an F for community solar, although there are currently proposals working their way through that could prove quite beneficial, depending on what makes it to the marketplace. |
| Nebraska |
C |
A |
A |
B |
F |
C |
Nebraska's net billing law may cover all utilities in the state, but it provides very little protection to homeowners with solar. When your panels are producing the most electricity in the summer months is also when you're likely to get far less than retail rates in compensation for sending your extra energy onto the grid. This scheme effectively limits system size in Nebraska to no bigger than the size that will meet your monthly usage during the summer time. That's no good, Nebraska. |
| Alaska |
C |
A |
A |
C |
F |
C |
Alaska credits its customers monthly at the non-firm power rate, currently $0.05843/kWh. That's less than 25% of the current average cost per kWh. All utilities are covered and there is no demand charge. |
| Missouri |
C |
A |
A |
C |
F |
C |
There are some things to like and other things that are not so great about Missouri net metering. First, we applaud the state for requiring all utilities, no matter how large or small, to offer a net billing plan with no increased monthly or fixed charges compared to standard residential plans. We'd much prefer the state require full retail rate net metering rather than giving the avoided cost for monthly net excess generation, and at minimum, we'd like to see leftover credits at the end of a 12-month period also earn credit rather than disappearing, but for now, Missouri residents should be able to deal with the protections the state offers. |
| Ohio |
C |
B |
A |
B |
F |
C |
Ohio as a state has an interesting history of back-and-forth between its Public Utilities Commission and the major utility companies it regulates. The PUC has come down on the side of solar owners, ruling that all electricity providers that sell energy through the distribution and transmission infrastructure of the state's large investor-owned utilities (IOUs) deserve compensation, whether they buy electricity from those IOUs or one of the retail energy providers that offer power through the state's deregulated energy market. They've also come down on the side of those big IOUs, ruling that energy from solar installations doesn't earn credit for the portion of the final energy price related to transmission and distribution charges. Oh, and in 2020, the head of the PUC resigned after the FBI raided his home based on charges he accepted bribes from the very utilities he was charged with regulating (which, by the way, he used to work as a consultant for). Oh, what a tangled web we weave. |
| Idaho |
C |
B |
A |
F |
C |
C |
If we were judging solely by the net metering rate plans currently offered by Idaho utility companies, the state might get an A for this survey. However, the reality on the ground is quite different from how it might seem at a casual glance. Idaho Power and the state's other major utility companies have been fighting to get new rules passed to allow them to pay pennies on the dollar for every kilowatt-hour of solar energy in excess of your needs, each and every hour of the day. Anyone whose solar installation was connected to the grid after December of 2019 will be subject to whatever rules the state Public Utilities Commission allows Idaho Power to go forward with. That kind of uncertainty deserves a "C" at best, and potentially much worse. |
| Montana |
C |
C |
A |
C |
F |
C |
Actual NEM policy varies from energy provider to energy provider here in Montana. So, the scores here are an average of what the policy looks like. In November 2020, the Montana Public Services Commission rejected attempts by the state's main utility company, NorthWestern Energy, to reduce the amount paid for solar energy and levy new fees based on peak demand of solar owners. The Commission also put in place rules that net metering in the state would be preserved until solar power reaches 5% of the state's total energy generation capacity. While other states, like Georgia have a 0.2% capacity limit, we'd like to see this 5% threshold raised up further to also include specific percentages coming from small-scale distributed generation like home solar panels, instead of utility solar farms. |
| Texas |
C |
C |
A |
C |
F |
C |
Texas is the most complicated state in the union when it comes to net metering. The state itself does not guarantee any protection for solar system owners, which is bad and deserves an F. However, several municipal electric utilities in places like Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio do offer net metering of one kind or another with various rules, which are a mixed bag and might earn a grade of C if they represented a single state. More confusingly, some of the retail electric providers that cover the majority of the populous under the state's deregulated energy market offer renewable feed-in programs that closely mimic net metering, and would earn a solid B+ if they were codified by a state government. Add this all together and we could just throw up our hands and say, "Looks like a C to us!" |
| North Dakota |
D |
B |
A |
C |
F |
D |
North Dakota provides credit for electricity fed back into the grid only at the utility company's avoided cost rate, which is much less than retail prices people pay for solar. Therefore, it's important that homeowners size their solar systems well and consider investing in onsite energy storage here so they aren't feeding valuable electrons back to the utility at a discount. |
| Wisconsin |
C |
A |
F |
C |
F |
D |
Credit for net metering varies widely across utilities all over Wisconsin, some offer monthly netting, others set customers up on an annualized true-up period. Regardless, all generation is credited at retail rates, unless your solar production outstrips your usage. For those excess credits, your utility in Wisconsin basically pays you whatever they want. Moreover, utilities here can and do impose special charges for being a supplier of solar energy to the grid. We'd expect to see stronger policy here which promotes a cleaner energy future for Wisconsin. |
| Utah |
D |
A |
F |
C |
C |
D |
Rocky Mountain Power successfully lobbied the Utah Public Services Commission in late 2020 to reduce the rate it pays solar owners for their power to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour from 9 cents, effectively making the financial benefit of owning solar panels here in Utah less bright. |
| Kentucky |
C |
F |
A |
D |
F |
D |
Kentucky used to have a fine net metering law, but all that changed in 2019 with the passing of state Senate Bill 100. For now, nothing has changed, and LG&E and KU's net metering tariffs remain the same as before SB 100 passed. However, solar owners who installed panels after January 1, 2020 will be subject to the new rules, which include a "buy-all, sell-all" provision, under which all the generation that comes from a solar energy system will be purchased by the utility for a sub-retail rate set by the state Public Services Commission. This means solar owners in Kentucky will not be able to use any of the solar energy they create, which is not net metering under any definition. |
| Arizona |
D |
B |
C |
C |
F |
D |
Arizona abolished true net metering in 2016. Now, they offer statewide "net billing", a rate for electricity exported to the grid of about $.10/kWh compared to the going retail rate of $.15. You also can't bank excess credits after a month. |
| Mississippi |
D |
B |
A |
F |
F |
D |
Mississippi only allows the solar electricity you use onsite to be credited at full retail rates, so they are being generous enough to offer you full credit for the electricity you are using yourself! Any power you send back into the grid is credited at a much lower utility "wholesale rate" of about 3 cents, plus a 2.5 cents per-kWh solar adder. |
| Louisiana |
D |
F |
A |
C |
F |
D |
LSU's "Future of Solar in Louisiana" study, commissioned by the Southwestern Electric Power Company, is laden with appeals backed up by "engineering study" to "let the market decide" what policies and incentives are best for taxpayers, utilities, and solar installers. In our view, that's hogwash. More needs to be done to level the playing field and provide clean energy equity here. With a sunset of the 50% solar tax credit, alongside full retail net metering fading away, the time is now to re-up on a firm commitment to behind-the-meter solar incentives. |
| Oklahoma |
D |
F |
A |
C |
F |
D |
After the state's largest utility Oklahoma Gas & Electric, showed in its own study that net metering customers were subsidizing other residential customers because they were less expensive to serve, they failed to get the approval they requested to impose solar demand charges on net metered customers. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has more recently compelled utilities here to at least offer the avoided cost rate for net metered customers, when before 2019 there were no requirements for any credit to be given at all. |
| Tennessee |
D |
F |
A |
C |
F |
D |
With the new "Dispersed Power Program" in effect, solar customers can only sell their electricity to their utility at the much lower avoided cost rate. If you're considering solar in Tennessee, it's important to size your system well and explore on site energy storage so you aren't shipping off valuable energy at a discount on a regular basis. |
| Kansas |
D |
B |
F |
C |
F |
D |
Utilities in Kansas pay sub-retail rates for electricity fed back into the grid, and excess generation netting takes place monthly. That makes it difficult for solar owners to equitably profit from solar energy here in Kansas. Evergy continues to collect demand charges from solar owners here as well, even after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled this practice illegal. |
| South Dakota |
F |
F |
A |
F |
F |
F |
South Dakota has no statewide net metering rules. Instead, solar owners can sign up with their utility company under a power purchase agreement, which means the utility gets to decide what, if anything, it wants to pay you for excess generation. The solar system owner must pay for the metering equipment to monitor the energy sent to the grid. |
| Alabama |
D |
F |
F |
D |
F |
F |
Alabama is not the place to be if you want solar panels on your home. The state has established rules that allow Alabama Power to credit solar owners with tiny portions of the value their solar energy provides. What's worse is they calculate those credits in real time, meaning if your solar panels are ever generating more electricity than you're using (which happens every day), you're getting the shaft. And now for the real kicker: Alabama Power will charge you several dollars every month for each kilowatt of installed solar you have on your roof. These two terrible rules eliminate almost all of the financial benefits of installing home solar panels, all while Alabama Power continues to build utility-scale solar installations, the energy from which they will happily charge you full retail prices for. |
| Michigan |
D |
F |
F |
D |
F |
F |
Michigan may soon see instantaneous netting of solar electricity. That's not good for you as a solar homeowner. So when you buy electricity to power on your AC unit, you'll be paying $.15/kWh, but if you send the same amount of solar power back to the company at a different time of the day, you'll get credited at a lesser rate. Moreover, even if you offset 90% of your energy usage with solar, due to solar charges utility companies like DTE impose, your electric bill may only be cut by 60%. |
| Georgia |
D |
F |
F |
F |
F |
F |
Georgia has very little in the way of net metering rules. The PUC recently required the state's big utility, Georgia Power, to offer net metering at retail rates for a total of 5MW of installed systems, but that number only amounts to something like 750 households across the state. Many municipal utilities allow solar installations to interconnect, but levy fixed fees of $10-$20 per month on solar owners and credit excess electricity at close to wholesale prices. Finally, when distributed generation represents just 0.2% of peak electricity demand, utilities in Georgia won't be required to offer any compensation for net excess generation. |
