A New California Solar Program Is Here
The Solar Billing Plan (SBP) is a new program for customers who apply for interconnection of an eligible renewable generating system, such as solar or wind, after April 14, 2023. The Solar Billing Plan succeeds the Net Energy Metering (NEM) 2.0 program.
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How The Solar Billing Plan Works
For customers considering solar and other renewable generation1 at their homes, the Solar Billing Plan is designed to help modernize solar rates to promote grid reliability, incentivize solar and battery storage, and help control electricity costs for all Californians. Each month, billing will include charges for energy used from the electric grid, as well as credits for energy exported to the grid.
Charges
Residential customers who enroll in Solar Billing Plan will be transitioned to the TOU-D-Prime rate and will be charged the full retail rate for all energy that they consume. For more information on the TOU-D-Prime rate, visit Time-Of-Use Residential Rate Plans.
Energy Export Credit (EEC)
On the Solar Billing Plan, Energy Export Credits will be applied to the amount of electricity a customer exports to the grid and will reflect the electricity’s value to the electric grid during each hour of the day. Energy Export Credits will be calculated by taking the kilowatt hours generated by the customer’s generating system that are exported hourly to the grid multiplied by the Energy Export Credit prices. These EEC prices will vary hourly throughout the day. Customers who enroll in the Solar Billing Plan in the next five years will have fixed EEC prices for the first nine years of operation. This nine-year period is referred to as the lock-in period.
Energy Export Bonus Credit
To encourage early adoption of the Solar Billing Plan, residential customers who enroll in the first five years are also eligible to receive an additional credit. Those enrolling in the first year of the program will receive an additional $0.04 per kWh for residential customers and $0.09 per kWh for low-income customers. Currently, three groups of customers are considered low-income:
- Residential customers who are enrolled in the CARE and FERA programs.
- Residential owners of single-family homes in Disadvantaged Communities, or
- Residential customers living in Tribal Communities.
On April 15, 2023, NEM 2.0 closed to new customers and a new Solar Billing Plan went into effect.
The new Solar Billing Plan has no immediate change or impact on existing NEM accounts. NEM accounts will continue to bill under the current NEM program until the 20-year period2 expires, or until the account loses eligibility to remain on the NEM program, whichever is earlier. When that occurs, the account will automatically move to the new Solar Billing Plan or the successor rate plan available at the time of transition.
IMPORTANT: Currently, the Solar Billing Plan does not apply to Virtual NEM, including Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH), Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH), or NEM Aggregation programs.
- Existing Virtual NEM and NEM Aggregation customers will remain on their current rate plan and will be eligible to remain on that rate plan for a minimum of 20 years. Customers who submit a valid Interconnection Request under Virtual NEM or NEM Aggregation programs after April 14, 2023, will be eligible to remain on the NEM 2.0 rate for a minimum of 9 years. Allocation changes do not impact the eligibility period.3
For more information, see the Solar Billing Plan FAQs.
NEM 1.0 closed to new customers in 2017.
The new Solar Billing Plan has no immediate change or impact on existing NEM accounts. NEM accounts will continue to bill under the current NEM program until the 20-year period expires, or until the account loses eligibility to remain on the NEM program, whichever is earlier. When that occurs, the account will automatically move to the new Solar Billing Plan or the successor rate plan available at the time of transition.
IMPORTANT: The Solar Billing Plan does not apply to the Virtual NEM programs, including Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) or NEM Aggregation programs.
- Existing Virtual NEM and NEM Aggregation customers will remain on their current rate plan and will be eligible to remain on that rate plan for a minimum of 20 years. Customers who submit a valid Interconnection Request under Virtual NEM or NEM Aggregation programs after April 14, 2023, will be eligible to remain on the NEM 2.0 rate for a minimum of 9 years. Allocation changes do not impact the eligibility period.3
For more information, see the Solar Billing Plan FAQs.
Understanding Your Solar Bill
Learn how to read and understand your solar billing plan statements.
Getting Started
There are several things to consider once you make the decision to install your own renewable generator. Learn more about the steps for going solar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you want every detail or are seeking specific info, we’ve compiled common questions about the Solar Billing Plan so you can find the answers you need easily and quickly.
Solar Glossary
Want to learn to speak solar? We’ve compiled some common terms and definitions that are good to know as you go solar.