Export policy compared
Net metering by state
Last updated
What your utility pays for the solar you send to the grid — the single most underrated number in a solar quote. This page sets out how all 50 states and D.C. compensate exported solar, alongside the retail rate each one is being compared against.
It matters because export rules, not sunshine, decide most of the spread between a good solar investment and a mediocre one. Under full retail net metering an exported kilowatt-hour is worth the same as one you use yourself. Under net billing or avoided-cost compensation it can be worth a third of that — which turns self-consumption, battery storage and rate-plan choice from optional extras into the whole argument. A sunny state that pays avoided cost can be a worse place to buy solar than a cloudy one that pays retail.
| State | Retail rate | How exported solar is compensated |
|---|---|---|
| AlabamaAL | 16.0¢ | Alabama has no statewide net metering mandate. Alabama Power compensates exports at a low avoided-cost rate and has applied extra fees to solar customers, so exported electricity is worth far less than retail. |
| AlaskaAK | 25.0¢ | Railbelt utilities offer net metering for small systems, typically crediting exports at a non-retail avoided-cost rate. Rules vary by utility and are worth confirming before installation. |
| ArizonaAZ | 16.0¢ | Arizona replaced retail net metering with net billing. Utilities such as APS and SRP credit exported solar at an export rate below retail that can step down annually, so self-consumption drives most savings. |
| ArkansasAR | 13.0¢ | Arkansas moved from 1:1 net metering to net billing for new customers under Act 278 of 2023, with exports credited near avoided cost. Systems grandfathered under older rules keep better terms. |
| CaliforniaCA | 31.0¢ | California operates under NEM 3.0 net billing: exports to PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E earn an avoided-cost value far below retail. Pairing solar with a battery to maximize self-consumption is now central to the economics. |
| ColoradoCO | 16.0¢ | Colorado retains retail-rate net metering for investor-owned utilities such as Xcel Energy, one of the stronger export policies in the country. Co-ops and municipal utilities set their own terms. |
| ConnecticutCT | 29.0¢ | Connecticut’s Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program lets homeowners choose a netting tariff (similar to net metering) or a buy-all/sell-all tariff with fixed compensation, both administered by Eversource and United Illuminating. |
| DelawareDE | 17.0¢ | Delaware requires retail-rate net metering from Delmarva Power and most other utilities, with monthly rollover of excess credits. |
| FloridaFL | 15.0¢ | Florida requires investor-owned utilities to offer retail-rate net metering, one of the better export policies in the Southeast. A 2022 attempt to phase it out was vetoed; monitor for future changes. |
| GeorgiaGA | 14.0¢ | Georgia has no broad net metering mandate. Georgia Power’s monthly netting program has a small capped enrollment; most customers get avoided-cost export credits well below retail. |
| HawaiiHI | 42.0¢ | Hawaii ended traditional net metering in 2015. Current options such as Smart Export and the Battery Bonus successor programs favor battery storage and limit or time-restrict grid exports. |
| IdahoID | 11.0¢ | Idaho has no statewide mandate. Idaho Power has shifted new customers to net billing with exports credited below retail and measured on shorter intervals; other utilities vary. |
| IllinoisIL | 16.0¢ | Illinois ended full retail net metering for new customers in 2025; exports are now credited at the supply portion of the rate, with a distributed-generation rebate available in ComEd and Ameren territory to offset the change. |
| IndianaIN | 15.0¢ | Indiana phased out retail net metering for new customers in 2022. Investor-owned utilities now credit exports at roughly 1.25× wholesale (an "excess distributed generation" rate), well below retail. |
| IowaIA | 14.0¢ | Iowa’s investor-owned utilities (MidAmerican, Alliant) offer net metering with retail-value credits under long-standing board rules. Co-ops and municipals set their own policies. |
| KansasKS | 14.0¢ | Kansas requires net metering from investor-owned utilities for residential systems, with exports typically credited monthly and settled at a lower seasonal rate. Evergy’s solar-specific rate design has shifted over time. |
| KentuckyKY | 13.0¢ | Kentucky moved from retail net metering to net billing: utilities file their own export rates with the PSC, and several major utilities now credit exports well below retail for new customers. |
| LouisianaLA | 12.0¢ | Louisiana ended retail net metering for new customers; exports are credited near avoided cost. Self-consumption, not exports, drives savings for new systems. |
| MaineME | 27.0¢ | Maine’s net energy billing credits exports at close to retail value with 12-month rollover, one of the stronger policies in New England. Program details have been debated legislatively — confirm current terms. |
| MarylandMD | 18.0¢ | Maryland requires retail-rate net metering statewide with annual true-up, among the stronger export policies on the East Coast. |
| MassachusettsMA | 30.0¢ | Massachusetts offers retail-rate net metering for typical residential systems, with credits that carry forward month to month. |
| MichiganMI | 19.0¢ | Michigan replaced net metering with a distributed generation program: exports are credited at the power-supply component of the rate (retail minus distribution charges). Utility caps on program size have been a recurring issue. |
| MinnesotaMN | 15.0¢ | Minnesota requires retail-rate net metering for systems under 40 kW at investor-owned utilities, one of the older and stronger policies in the country. |
| MississippiMS | 14.0¢ | Mississippi uses net billing: exports are credited at avoided cost plus a small adder (with an extra benefit for low-income customers), well below the retail rate. |
| MissouriMO | 13.0¢ | Missouri requires net metering up to 100 kW, but monthly excess generation is credited at avoided cost rather than retail, so oversizing is penalized. |
| MontanaMT | 12.0¢ | Montana requires net metering from NorthWestern Energy for systems up to 50 kW with retail-value credits and annual netting; co-ops set their own rules. |
| NebraskaNE | 12.0¢ | Nebraska requires net metering for systems up to 25 kW, with monthly excess credited at avoided cost. All utilities are public power districts, and specifics vary. |
| NevadaNV | 15.0¢ | Nevada credits exports at 75% of the retail rate under its restored net metering law (rate tier fixed at time of interconnection), applied by NV Energy. |
| New HampshireNH | 28.0¢ | New Hampshire uses a net billing tariff: exports are credited at the full energy and transmission portion of the rate but not all distribution charges — close to, but below, retail. |
| New JerseyNJ | 19.0¢ | New Jersey requires full retail net metering with annual true-up at avoided cost — one of the strongest export policies in the country. |
| New MexicoNM | 15.0¢ | New Mexico requires net metering for systems up to 80 MW; residential exports are generally credited at or near retail with monthly netting, depending on the utility tariff. |
| New YorkNY | 25.0¢ | New York offers residential net metering with a modest monthly Customer Benefit Contribution charge, under the VDER framework. Exports are effectively near retail value for typical homes. |
| North CarolinaNC | 13.0¢ | North Carolina’s Duke Energy utilities replaced legacy net metering with a net billing structure including time-of-use elements; exports are credited below retail for new customers. |
| North DakotaND | 11.0¢ | North Dakota requires net metering up to 100 kW for regulated utilities, with excess credited at avoided cost. Co-ops set their own policies. |
| OhioOH | 16.0¢ | Ohio requires net metering, but excess generation is credited at the generation (supply) component of the rate rather than the full retail rate. |
| OklahomaOK | 12.0¢ | Oklahoma utilities offer net metering but are not required to purchase monthly excess at retail; exports are typically settled near avoided cost. |
| OregonOR | 14.0¢ | Oregon requires retail-rate net metering from Portland General Electric and Pacific Power with annual true-up; credits granted to low-income programs at year end. |
| PennsylvaniaPA | 18.0¢ | Pennsylvania requires full retail net metering with annual compensation for excess at the price-to-compare rate. |
| Rhode IslandRI | 28.0¢ | Rhode Island offers retail net metering through Rhode Island Energy, or alternatively the Renewable Energy Growth program, which pays a fixed performance rate per kWh for 20 years. |
| South CarolinaSC | 14.0¢ | South Carolina’s "solar choice" tariffs replaced legacy net metering: exports are credited below retail with time-of-use elements at Duke and Dominion. |
| South DakotaSD | 13.0¢ | South Dakota has no statewide net metering law. Export compensation, if any, is at utility discretion and typically near avoided cost. |
| TennesseeTN | 13.0¢ | Tennessee has no net metering. TVA-served utilities (nearly the whole state) buy exports, if at all, at low wholesale-linked rates under TVA programs. |
| TexasTX | 16.0¢ | Texas has no statewide net metering. In deregulated areas, solar buyback plans from retail providers range from near-retail credits to nothing — plan choice is a major economic variable. Municipal utilities and co-ops (Austin Energy, CPS) run their own programs. |
| UtahUT | 12.0¢ | Utah’s Rocky Mountain Power credits exports at a net billing export rate well below retail, set through rate proceedings. Municipal utilities vary. |
| VermontVT | 21.0¢ | Vermont has a statewide net metering program with credits near retail, modified by siting and REC adjustors that can add or subtract a few cents per kWh. |
| VirginiaVA | 14.0¢ | Virginia requires retail-rate net metering for residential systems up to 25 kW at its investor-owned utilities, with rules periodically revisited by the SCC. |
| WashingtonWA | 12.0¢ | Washington requires retail-rate net metering with annual true-up (credits zeroed each spring) for systems up to 100 kW at most utilities. |
| Washington, D.C.DC | 18.0¢ | The District requires full retail net metering with credits that roll over indefinitely. |
| West VirginiaWV | 14.0¢ | West Virginia utilities offer net metering with credits near retail for residential systems up to 25 kW; the policy has faced periodic review at the PSC. |
| WisconsinWI | 17.0¢ | Wisconsin has no single statewide standard; each utility files its own net metering or buyback tariff, with many crediting monthly excess below retail. |
| WyomingWY | 12.0¢ | Wyoming requires net metering for systems up to 25 kW with annual excess credited at avoided cost. |
Export policy summaries reviewed September 2026. Retail rates are blended residential assumptions, not your tariff. Net metering rules change through legislation and rate cases, often apply differently to each utility in a state, and frequently grandfather existing solar customers on terms new ones cannot get — confirm current terms with your own utility before relying on any of this.
Frequently asked questions
What is net metering?
Net metering credits you for solar electricity you send to the grid instead of using on site. Under full retail net metering, every exported kilowatt-hour offsets one you later import, so your meter effectively runs backwards. Many states have replaced that with net billing or avoided-cost compensation, where an exported kilowatt-hour is credited at well below the retail price — which means using solar as you generate it matters far more than it used to.
Which states still have full retail net metering?
Fewer every year. The table on this page gives each state’s current arrangement in its own terms, because "has net metering" is rarely a yes or no — a state can mandate it for some utilities and not others, cap it by system size, grandfather existing customers on better terms, or credit exports at retail but only until an annual true-up. Read your own utility’s tariff before you rely on any summary, including this one.
Why do export rates matter more than sunshine?
Because they set what every kilowatt-hour you do not use on site is worth. A home in a sunny state whose utility pays avoided cost can save less than a home in a cloudier state with full retail net metering and expensive electricity. Retail rates vary by more than a factor of two across the states in this table — from about 11.0¢ in Idaho to 42.0¢ in Hawaii — and export policy decides how much of that spread you actually capture.
How does What Solar Costs value exported electricity?
Our estimates assume 68% of production is used on site at the full retail rate, and the remaining 32% is exported at 45% of retail. That is one conservative national assumption applied to every state, not a reading of each state’s tariff — it is deliberately cautious so that a favourable export policy shows up as upside rather than being baked in. See our methodology for every assumption.
Did the end of the federal tax credit change net metering?
No — they are unrelated policies. But it raised the stakes. With the 30% federal residential credit (Section 25D) gone for systems installed after December 31, 2025, there is no longer a large upfront subsidy to absorb a weak export rate. What your utility pays for exports is now one of the two or three things that decide whether a purchased system pays for itself.