Solar Billing Plan - FAQs

The Solar Billing Plan is a new program for customers who install 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.

The Solar Billing Plan (SBP) works by billing customers not just based on the energy you consume, but also the credits you earn for surplus solar energy you produce.

The price of electricity you consume varies, depending on your rate plan. The value of the Energy Export Credits (EECs) you earn varies hourly. When your monthly bill arrives, your total will be your energy charges after your available EECs have been applied. SBP doesn’t track your total solar production – only the surplus solar you’ve exported back to SCE.

SBP works on an annual cycle, called your “Relevant Period.” During each Relevant Period, any EECs left over after your monthly bill is totaled will automatically rollover into the next month.

As the end of your Relevant Period, you receive a settlement statement (more on this below) to “settle” your final balance for the next Relevant Period.

Energy Export Credits (EEC) are credits you receive for any surplus energy your system generates and exports to SCE. These credits are applied to your monthly bill (not including certain set fees) to reduce your bill total. The value of these credits varies hourly. Any unused credits accrue and roll over from month to month for the duration of your Relevant Period.

There are several ways you can minimize the electricity you receive from SCE to supplement your solar generating system. The best thing you can do is be mindful of the time of day and weather – your system won’t be generating when it’s dark out, and it will produce less when there’s cloud cover. Even small changes can make a difference to your bill. We’ve listed a few recommendations below to help you make the most of your solar-produced power:

• Consider investing in a battery storage system to keep more of your self-generated energy for use at night.
• Shift major appliance and equipment use (like a pool pump or washer-dryer) to off-peak daytime hours (8 a.m. - 4 p.m.) when your solar generating system is active.
• Try not to use too many appliances simultaneously during the day, so your system can keep up.
• Periodically have your solar panels professionally cleaned.

Remember that if you make changes or investments like buying electric vehicles or installing a pool, your energy consumption will increase. If your system was not sized with these investments in mind, you’ll either need to upgrade your solar generating system or use more energy from SCE.

The Solar Billing Plan tracks your charges and credits over an annual cycle, which is called your “Relevant Period.” At the end of each Relevant Period, you will receive the final bill in the cycle: your settlement bill. To “settle” your Relevant Period, any unused Energy Export Credits (EECs) are applied to eligible charges in the current month and, if applicable, previous months. After that, remaining EECs will offset any Energy Export Credit Charge Adjustment, and the rest are forfeited.

Once your eligible charges and EECs have been settled, you may or may not be eligible for Net Surplus Compensation (NSC). If you generated more kilowatt-hours (kWh) than you used during the Relevant Period, and your year-to-date NSC is greater than zero, you’ll be credited the wholesale NSC rate per kWh.

Your settlement bill marks the end of your annual Relevant Period, and your account resets to zero for the next Relevant Period.

Solar Billing Plan customers are still eligible to receive service through Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). You will receive your monthly bill from SCE, which incorporates your CCA charges and credits, and includes set fees, but are not eligible for Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) through SCE. We recommend you contact your CCA for more information on how your generation credits and charges are administered.

As of April 15, 2023, the Net Energy Metering (NEM) 2.0 program is closed to new applicants (except for Virtual NEM and NEM Aggregation projects). Applications submitted after April 15, 2023 will be processed under Solar Billing Plan for Residential or Solar Billing Plan for Business. 

The application for Solar Billing Plan remains the same as NEM 2.0, and requires the following documents with your Interconnection Request (including all signatures and attachments) to ensure there are no major deficiencies:

Residential Customers:   

• A complete application 
• A valid single-line diagram (SLD) - all equipment shown in the SLD must match the application
• Additional consumer protection documents (when applicable):
  • A properly executed purchase contract  
  • A California Contractors License Board Solar Energy System Disclosure Document  
  • A signed California Solar Consumer Protection Guide  
  • An e-signature verification document (for record keeping purposes)
• For oversized projects (where the system’s production exceeds the customer’s 12-month historical usage), a System Size Justification:
  • Residential customers with system sized up to 30 kW may provide the Customer System Size Acknowledgement (CSSA) form 
  • All customers may provide SCE’s Load Justification form 

 Non-Residential Customers: 

• A complete application 
• A valid single-line diagram (SLD) - all equipment shown in the SLD must match the application 
• For oversized projects (where the system’s production exceeds the customer’s 12-month historical usage), SCE’s Load Justification form must be provided 

Additional documents not listed above may still be required by SCE after the application is deemed valid. As an example, energy storage projects with an AC Disconnect may be required to provide a Plot Plan document prior to SCE issuing a Permission to Operate (PTO). Also, although it is not required to submit the final inspection job card and a signed interconnection agreement with the Interconnection Request, the applicant must submit those items before we issue PTO.  

If your NEM 2.0 application was submitted by the April 14 deadline and is deemed valid by SCE, your project will retain NEM 2.0 eligibility for up to three years. Any remaining documentation required for PTO will need to be provided or corrected within the 3-year timeline.

As SCE continues to receive a record volume of NEM applications, processing times continue to increase. The current review time may take up to 30 business days.

NEM applications submitted by the April 14 deadline will continue through the review process. We will review applications on a first come, first served basis and we will determine whether the minimum documentation requirements were met. We will notify you whether your application has been deemed valid or if any major deficiencies were found. All applications deemed valid will be eligible to proceed under the NEM 2.0 program.

You can view our Solar Application Processing Data for the latest date in queue of Solar Applications in process.

Your NEM account will continue to bill under your current NEM program until your 20-year eligibility period expires, or until your account loses eligibility to remain on the NEM program, whichever is earlier. When that occurs, your account will automatically move to the new Solar Billing Plan or the successor rate plan available at the time of transition.

On the Solar Billing Plan, customers will be compensated for energy exported to the grid based on a calculated hourly electricity price. These hourly prices will be derived from the latest CPUC approved Avoided Cost Calculator and will vary by month, weekday, and weekends. These prices will usually be lower than the rate that customers pay for electrical service. 

Under the current NEM rules, account changes, such as moving in or out of a residence with an NEM system or transferring the account to someone else’s name, do not affect the NEM eligibility period of the original system.

No. The Solar Billing Plan will not change the current interconnection process and related fees. It will also not introduce any new interconnection fees.  

If you are an existing NEM customer and you expand your current system by more than 10% of the original system capacity or 1 kW, whichever is larger, you may forfeit the remainder of your 20-year NEM eligibility period. In this scenario, you may need to transition your system to the new Solar Billing Plan. However, adding an eligible new Energy Storage System (ESS) as an expansion to your system will not affect the remainder of your 20-year NEM eligibility period.

Yes, you can install an eligible ESS to your system under the Solar Billing Plan.

The Solar Billing Plan does not apply to the Virtual NEM and NEM Aggregation programs.

• Existing Virtual NEM and NEM Aggregation customers will remain on their current rate plan and will retain the 20-year eligibility period.
• Customers that submit a valid Interconnection Request (IR) under Virtual NEM or NEM Aggregation programs after April 14, 2023, will have a 9-year eligibility period.

According to the findings from the Commission’s December 15, 2022, Decision, residential and small commercial customers in SCE’s service area installing a new solar system under the Solar Billing Plan can expect to recover their investment in approximately 9 years.  Residential customers adding energy storage to their solar system can expect to recover their investment in approximately 6.6 years, while small commercial customers adding energy storage to their solar system can expect to recover their investment in approximately 7.5 years.

Under the SBP, customers can oversize their solar systems up to 50% of their total annual usage, but are required to attest that they will reach that usage level within the year after they receive Permission to Operate (PTO). As noted above, the credits will be based on the net generation channel multiplied by the applicable Energy Export Credit (EEC) rate each billing period. At the end of the relevant period (12 months starting with the first bill after PTO), the sum of all energy charges are calculated (A) and the sum of all energy export credits are calculated (B). If the value of the energy export credits (B) is greater than the sum of all energy charges (A), the excess energy export credits are forfeited and an adjustment will be made on the annual settlement bill.