Texas Utility Guide

Solar Buyback Policies in Texas

April 3, 2026

There are over 85 utilities in Texas from Retail Choice areas, Municipal, Cooperative, and Investor Owned Utilities. With no state net metering law, the utilities offer a wide variety of solar buyback policies.

Top Takeaways:

1. In Retail Choice areas, select a Retail Energy Provider with a solar buyback rate. Palmetto offers a Retail Energy Plan and Battery Bonus Plan.
2. Most TX utilities offer an export credit for excess solar.
3. Austin Energy provides a Value of Solar rate for Total Solar Production.

Deregulation & Retail Energy Providers

The majority of Texans live in Retail Choice areas where they can choose their Retail Energy Provider (REP). The REP provides the generation pricing terms of supplying the electricity and the physical utility bill while the wires company (called Transmission & Distribution Utilities TDUs) delivers the electricity through the wires and infrastructure.

TDUs with Retail Choice include:

• Oncor
• Centerpoint
• AEP North & Central
• TNMP
• Lubbock Power & Light - A municipal utility turned TDU in 2024

Palmetto highly encourages retail choice customers to consider Palmetto's Retail Energy Plan or Battery Bonus Plan with a solar buyback rate, which are also accessible in your app.

Insider Tip: The Battery Bonus Plan is the same as the Retail Energy Plan with additional bill credits.

Even if you do not select Palmetto's Retail Energy Plan, we encourage you to shop around for a REP with a solar buyback rate to ensure you receive credit for excess solar sent to the grid.

Pairing Battery Energy Storage with your Palmetto solar system is a smart way to use more solar electricity in your home reducing the amount electricity you need to purchase from the grid at the retail rate in addition to providing backup power during an outage.

Municipal, Cooperatives, & Regulated Investor Owned Utilities

Select your utility to learn more.

Austin Energy

Austin Energy's Value of Solar Rate (VOS) is the most unique solar policy in the United States. It's similar to Feed-In-Tariffs used in Australia and Europe.

Austin Energy installs a solar production meter to measure Total Solar Generation.

Value of Solar Rate

100% of Solar Production is multiplied by the VOS rate for a utility bill credit. The VOS rate is currently 9.91 cents per kWh.

Total Home Consumption -- both directly from solar or the grid -- is charged the tiered, residential utility rate that you pay today.

How Does Value of Solar Work?

• Production: Austin Energy meters your solar production and credits 100% of that production at the Value of Solar rate (currently 9.91 cents/kWh).
• Consumption: Austin Energy charges solar customers for all their energy consumption. Whether energy comes from your solar system or the grid, you will see Total kWh Consumed on your utility bill charged the retail utility rate. The average residential rate per kWh in 2025 in Austin is 12 cents per kWh.
• Solar Credit: Austin Energy applies your Solar Bill Credit to your electric bill charges. Excess Solar Bill Credit carries over month-to-month and is non-transferable. Your Solar Bill Credit only applies to your electric charges. It does not apply to any other utility services, such as water, solid waste, street services, etc.

Do Leased Solar Systems qualify for the rebate?

No, leases do not receive Austin's rebate. Austin Energy does not provide rebates to projects under Lease Agreements.

While Palmetto customers are not eligible for the rebate, and DO NOT have to take the solar quiz, we encourage you to review the Solar Education Course.

Sample Solar Utility Bill

View two sample bill explainers from Austin Energy in pdf and interactive.

How do I calculate my Lease savings with the VOS rate?

You will save the difference between the VOS rate and your Lease cost per kWh.

Here's how to calculate it:

1. Locate your Palmetto Lease agreement and find your Starting Lease Payment and Estimated Annual Production the first year.
2. Multiply your Starting Lease Payment by 12 months and divide by the Estimated Annual Solar Production.
   • For example, $75 * 12 months divided by 10,000 kWh annual production the first year = 9 cents per kWh.
3. You will save the difference of the VOS rate and your Lease cost per kWh.
   • Continuing the example: 9.91 cent VOS - 9 cent Lease Cost = 0.9 cents per kWh. On 10,000 kWh of electricity production that's a savings of $910 the first year!

Coserv

Export Credit Policy

Under Coserv's Distributed Generation (DG) Buyback Rate, there is no netting of production with grid consumption. Instead export credits are provided for all solar production not stored in a battery or immediately consumed in the home.

All solar energy delivered to the grid will be credited the wholesale avoided cost of energy, which is approximately 8 cents per kWh. All energy you consume from the grid will be charged the same retail rate Coserv charges you today.

$25 Monthly Customer Charge

All residential customers pay a $10 per month Customer Charge. Coserv's DG customers will pay an additional $15 per month Customer Charge ($25 total). Excess credits can offset all electric charges including the Customer Charge.

El Paso Electric TX

Monthly Net Metering

Under El Paso's Texas Distributed Generation Policy,each month excess solar production will 'net,' or subtract, with consumption 1-to-1 at the same retail rate per kWh the utility charges you.

Any excess production above what was consumed that month (monthly rollover) will be credited per the Purchased Power Rates in Rate Schedule 48, which is approximately 1.5 to 3 cents per kWh.

Minimum Monthly Bill

You will always have a monthly electric bill to cover base customer charges. El Paso Electric has a $30.25 minimum monthly bill for Distributed Generation customers regardless of how much your solar system produces.

System Sizing

To maximize solar savings, Palmetto recommends installing a solar system sized to produce no more than 90% of your historical electric consumption unless you plan to increase your consumption in the near future. For example, purchasing an EV or heat pump. Selecting a slightly smaller system size compared to your usage will limit the amount of solar generation receiving low monthly rollover credits or lost through the minimum bill.

Entergy TX

Export Credit Policy

In Entergy Texas, despite their solar policy being called net metering, there is actually no netting of production with grid consumption. Instead export credits are provided for all solar production not stored in a battery or immediately consumed in the home.

Under Entergy's Rate Schedule SQF, all solar energy delivered to the grid will be credited the average annual avoided cost of energy, which is approximately 3.4-4 cents per kWh.

2025 Avoided Cost Rates

How does an Export Credit work?

• First, solar production powers loads in the home avoiding the need to purchase electricity at the utility's retail rate
• Electricity consumed from the grid (e.g. night and cloudy days) will continue to be charged the utility's retail rate
• Excess solar production not used inside the home is exported to the grid. The utility provides a bill credit at the current Avoided Cost of Energy rate.
• Battery storage systems, if installed with your solar system, will first store excess solar production for use later in the home avoiding purchases from the utility at the retail rate. Battery storage should be considered with solar in Entergy given how low the export credits are.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Export Credit Policy

Under PEC's Distributed Generation Policy, there is no netting of production with grid consumption. Instead export credits are provided for all solar production not stored in a battery or immediately consumed in the home.

All solar energy delivered to the grid will be credited the Sustainable Power Credit, which is currently 8.26 cents per kWh. This is just 2 cents per kWh lower than the retail rate the utility charges you for consumption.

You will always have a monthly electric bill to cover the Service Available Charge regardless of how much solar the system generates.

PEC's 2025 Rate Breakdown

How does an Export Credit work?

• First, solar production powers loads in the home avoiding the need to purchase electricity at the utility's retail rate
• Electricity consumed from the grid (e.g. night and cloudy days) will continue to be charged the utility's retail rate
• Excess solar production not used inside the home is exported to the grid. The utility provides a bill credit at the current Sustainable Power Credit rate.
• Battery storage systems, if installed with your solar system, will first store excess solar production for use later in the home avoiding purchases from the utility at the retail rate.