Net metering, explained for a bill

Net metering is a billing rule, not a law of physics. The house uses solar first. Surplus can flow to the grid. The tariff decides what that surplus is worth.

Retail credit is not the default anymore

Some utilities still credit a kilowatt-hour with a kilowatt-hour. Many do not. In the states our installer partners serve, the rules diverge. New Illinois customers of ComEd and Ameren are on supply-only net metering. Michigan's newer DTE and Consumers Energy projects are generally inflow/outflow. Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, and Virginia each use their own rider. Connecticut's new residential projects at Eversource and United Illuminating use Residential Renewable Energy Solutions, a buy-all or netting tariff that replaced legacy net metering. California's new interconnections use a net billing tariff. Florida and Texas depend on the utility or, in much of Texas, the retail plan. Municipal utilities write their own schedules.

Our estimate values offset energy at the 2025 EIA state average so the math is checkable. If your exports are paid less, the estimate's high end is optimistic. The page says that. A proposal should say which price it used.

What to ask

What is the rate schedule name? What is the export price, and does it change by hour? Do credits expire monthly or annually? Which charges stay even if my usage falls? Put the answers next to a sample bill.

The longer explanation is the net metering page. City pages name the usual utility so you know which document to open.