Home / Net Metering Changes And Home Batteries

Net Metering Changes And Home Batteries

Net metering is the arrangement that credits you for extra solar power you send to the grid. When a utility or state lowers that credit, a battery can become more attractive because it keeps more of your own power at home. This guide explains the idea and uses two real examples.

The Basic Idea

• Full net metering: exported power earns a credit at or near the retail rate.
• Net billing or buyback: exports earn a lower rate, often tied to wholesale or avoided cost, and can vary by hour.
• Self consumption: power you use yourself avoids the retail rate entirely, so storing it for the evening can be worth more than exporting it.

Example: California

California moved new solar customers from net metering to a net billing tariff in April 2023. EnergySage explainer on California NEM 3.0 reports that, on average, the new export rates come out to about 25 percent of retail rates during the same hours, which it describes as a cut of about 75 percent in the value of net metering credits, and that systems that met the April 14, 2023 deadline were grandfathered into the old terms for 20 years. The same source says the payback for solar plus storage is now faster than for solar alone in that market. Exact figures vary by utility, hour, and month, so check the current tariff for your utility.

Example: Texas

Texas has no statewide net metering rules. According to the SolarReviews guide to Texas net metering, retail electric providers, municipal utilities, and electric cooperatives set their own solar buyback terms, and the plans fall into three types: uncapped credit plans, credit cap plans, and real time metering plans. Read your actual plan before you assume what exports are worth. For Texas specifics see Texas Solar Buyback Plans And Batteries.

What This Means For Your Decision

1. Find your current export rate and any planned changes. Your utility tariff page or bill will show it.
2. Compare it with what you pay for evening power. A big gap makes storage more useful for bill purposes.
3. Check whether your plan has rules for systems with storage, including limits on charging from the grid.
4. Ask installers to show their savings assumptions, and treat any projection as an estimate, not a promise.

If you already have panels, see adding a battery to existing solar. With no solar at all, read Battery Without Solar.