How Does the Solar Billing Plan Work?
The Solar Billing Plan determines how SCE bills you for the electricity you use and credits you for extra solar energy sent back to the electric grid. This page explains the credits you may earn, electricity usage charges, monthly fees and your annual settlement bill.
What Happens to the Energy My Solar System Produces?
Your home or business uses your solar power first.
Using electricity while your panels are producing energy can help reduce how much electricity you need from the grid.
💡Running larger appliances such as a dishwasher, dryer or pool pump during sunny daytime hours is one of the easiest ways to use more of your solar energy.
What Affects My Monthly Solar Bill?
Your monthly bill depends on regular monthly charges, how much electricity you use from the grid, when you use it, how much energy your system sends back and when it is sent back.
Every solar customer pays regular monthly charges, including taxes, fees and a Base Services Charge that covers the cost of connecting you to the electric grid and supports state programs to assist income-qualified customers.
Your bill covers the cost of generating the electricity you use and delivering it to your home.
When you use electricity affects how much you pay. Solar Billing Plan customers are on the TOU-D-PRIME rate plan. On this rate plan, prices are highest on summer weekdays from 4-9 p.m., when demand for energy is highest.
For customers with a battery, storing extra energy from your solar panels and using it when prices are highest is one of the most effective ways to lower your bill.
You earn credits when you send energy back to the grid. This credit will appear on your bill as an Energy Export Credit. When you export during high demand hours, like summer evenings, you earn more credits than when you export midday or in winter months.
Your solar bill will look different from a standard electric bill. SCE’s solar bill guide shows you where to find how much electricity your home used from the grid, how much extra energy your solar system sent back and how much you received in Energy Export Credits.
Explore the Guide to Your Solar Bill.
How Are My Energy Export Credits Calculated?
On your bill you may see an Energy Export Credit broken down by delivery and generation. The credit amount you receive changes based on how much energy you send to the grid and how much the grid needs it. Credits are measured in kilowatt-hours. The California Public Utilities Commission determines how these values are calculated.
Credits may be higher:
- From 4-9 p.m. when people return home from work and begin running household appliances.
- During summer months (June-September), when more electricity is used to cool down homes and businesses.
Credits may be lower:
- From 6 a.m.-4 p.m. when solar energy is widely available.
- During winter months (October-May), when less electricity is used overall.
For new Solar Billing Plan customers, rates are locked in for nine years based on the year you began using solar. For customers moving into a house that already has solar, the current year’s prices are your actual prices. After that, prices may change.
Here is a quick glance at average values by time and season.
| Summer Average Solar Credit Values | ||
| Daytime | Evening | Overnight |
2023 | $0.05 kWh | $0.23 kWh | $0.07 kWh |
2024 | $0.05 kWh | $0.23 kWh | $0.07 kWh |
2025 | $0.06 kWh | $0.21 kWh | $0.12 kWh |
2026 | $0.06 kWh | $0.21 kWh | $0.12 kWh |
| Winter Average Solar Credit Values | ||
| Daytime | Evening | Overnight |
2023 | $0.03 kWh | $0.05 kWh | $0.04 kWh |
2024 | $0.03 kWh | $0.05 kWh | $0.04 kWh |
2025 | $0.03 kWh | $0.09 kWh | $0.10 kWh |
2026 | $0.03 kWh | $0.10 kWh | $0.10 kWh |
Learn more about Energy Export Credits.
Energy Export Bonus Credit
Eligible Solar Billing Plan residential customers who enroll before 2028 also receive an additional credit of about $0.04 per kWh. The credit is about $0.09 per kWh for income-qualified customers.
Pair your solar with battery storage
What is an Annual Settlement Bill?
Once a year, you will receive a settlement bill.
SCE reviews how much electricity your home used from the grid, how much energy your system sent back and whether any credits need to be adjusted.
You will receive this bill the same month your system started service. For example, if your system started service in March, you would receive your settlement bill each March.
What Is Reviewed for Your Settlement Bill?
Throughout the year, you earn Energy Export Credits when your solar panels send extra energy to the grid. These credits are applied to your monthly bills to help offset eligible charges.
For your settlement bill, SCE reviews your solar account for the full year and compares the following:
- How much electricity your home used from the grid
- How much energy your solar panels sent back to the grid
- How many Energy Export Credits you received
If your panels sent back more energy than your home used, some of the credits you received during the year may need to be adjusted.
For example:
- Your home used 900 kWh of electricity from the grid during the year.
- Your solar panels sent 1,000 kWh back to the grid.
Your credits helped offset the cost of the 900 kWh your home used from the grid that year. The credits for the extra 100 kWh are then adjusted in your settlement bill.
Energy Export Credits are meant to help offset eligible electricity charges. They are not meant to erase your bill completely or create income from extra energy. Because of this, some of the extra credits you received during the year will be reduced. Since those credits were already applied to your monthly bills, the adjustment will show up as a balance on your annual settlement. On your bill, this may appear as an “EEC Adjustment.”
If you generate more electricity than you use throughout the year, you may be eligible to receive Net Surplus Compensation for your excess generation.
The compensation is treated as a financial transaction, not a standard bill credit. Eligible extra energy earns a payment or credit at the Net Surplus Compensation Rate after your annual settlement is completed. This may be issued as a check or rollover credit, depending on your selection and eligibility.
The compensation rate can change over time. Any compensation you receive may not fully offset your annual settlement credit adjustments.
Keeping track of your solar energy production and usage throughout the year can help you better understand what to expect in your settlement bill.
Consider battery storage. Using stored energy when your system may not be producing as much can help you use more of your solar energy to power your home.
Your annual settlement will show up on the last bill of your relevant period, and may look something like this:
Log in to My Account now and start tracking your monthly solar statements.