Net metering and net billing: what your exported power is worth
Every rooftop system exports power at noon and imports it at dinner. The rule that prices those exports, net metering in its several modern forms, is worth more than another panel. It is also changing: generous one-for-one retail credit is being replaced in many places by lower export rates, which quietly rewrites every payback estimate made under the old rules.
The three structures you will actually meet
Full retail net metering credits each exported kilowatt-hour at the retail price, effectively running the meter backward. Net billing charges retail for imports and pays a lower export rate, so self-consumption becomes the valuable behavior. Buyback plans, common in competitive Texas retail territory, are contracts with named feed-in prices that can differ from both. The structures reward different system sizes and different habits.
| Structure | Export worth | Design response |
|---|---|---|
| Retail net metering | About the retail rate | Size near annual usage can make sense |
| Net billing | Below retail, sometimes far below | Size toward daytime usage; storage gains value |
| Buyback plan | The contract feed-in price | Read the plan like a tariff; it is half the product |
Why this changed
Utilities argue retail credit overpays solar owners for grid services and shifts fixed grid costs to non-solar customers; solar advocates argue exports are undervalued and rooftop solar defers grid spending. The policy fight continues state by state. For your roof, the philosophy matters less than the current rule and its next scheduled review. Build your math on the rule that exists, and stress-test it against the rule that might replace it.
How to use your export rule before you size anything
Find the rule before you fall for a system size. The example on this page exports 3,000 kWh a year: worth $900 at a 30-cent retail rate with one-for-one credit, and $120 at a 4-cent export rate. The panels, roof, and sunshine are identical. Only the policy moved, and it moved the annual value by $780 and the payback by years. Any quote that names a payback without naming your export rule is quoting a tariff it has not read.
Read your utility tariff for four things: the export price or credit structure, whether credits roll over or expire, any minimum bill or fixed charge that survives your production, and the date of the next scheduled review. Expiring credits reward sizing close to usage. Rollover rewards patience. A minimum bill sets a floor under your savings no panel count can remove. Save the current residential solar page or tariff sheet with your quote documents, because that document, not a neighbor's memory of an older program, prices your exports.
Then size and store against the rule you found. Retail credit can support sizing near annual usage. Net billing pushes value toward daytime self-consumption and gives storage a real job. A buyback contract should be read like a tariff in its own right, because the feed-in price is half the product. Stress-test the payback once more against the rule that might replace yours; export structures have changed repeatedly in several states, and a system that only works under the most generous reading is a fragile purchase.
Worked example
A system exports 3,000 kWh a year. At a 30-cent retail rate with one-for-one credit, that energy is worth $900. At a 4-cent export rate, it is worth $120. The panels, roof, and sunshine are identical; the policy moved the value by $780 a year and the payback by years. Anyone quoting payback without naming your export rule is quoting fiction.
The trap most people miss
A payback quote built on one-for-one retail credit in a net billing territory. Ask every installer one question: what exactly do I get paid for exported energy, and where is that written?
Checklist
- Find your utility's current residential solar or net metering page and save it.
- Ask whether excess is credited at retail, avoided cost, or a fixed export rate, and whether credits expire.
- Check for minimum bills or fixed charges that apply no matter how much you produce.
- Model your payback with the export rule first, the sunshine second.
Common questions
What is the difference between net metering and net billing?
Net metering credits exports at or near the retail rate, often with monthly rollover. Net billing pays a lower, often time-varying export price while charging full retail for imports. The hardware is the same; the value of surplus energy is not.
Do my credits expire?
Sometimes, depending on the utility and state. Some structures let credits roll within a year and true-up annually, others settle monthly. Expiring credits reward sizing to usage; rollover rewards patience. Your tariff sheet says which.
Where do I find my actual export rate?
On your utility current residential solar or net metering page and in its tariff sheet, and in DSIRE entries for your state and utility. Ask every installer to name the export value in their payback math and show where it is written. Program names and values change through legislation and rate cases, so the tariff in force when you sign is the only authoritative version.
What is a buyback plan, and how is it different?
A buyback plan is a retail contract with a named feed-in price for exported energy, common in competitive retail territory such as Texas. It can differ from both retail net metering and utility net billing, and plans vary by provider while some offer none. Read the plan like a tariff: the export price, its term, and its escalator decide what your surplus is worth.
Sources and verification
- DSIRE: Net metering and distributed generation policy entries by state and utility. Checked October 4, 2026.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): Policy and market research on net metering and net billing structures. Checked October 4, 2026.
Export rules are set by state regulators and individual utilities and change through rate cases. Your utility's current tariff is the only authoritative version; this page explains how to read it.