Net Metering by State

What your electric utility actually pays for exported solar power.

New Jersey solar export compensation

What New Jersey pays for exported rooftop solar power, with the source and the date each figure was checked.

Record verified 2026-09-16 · 18 of 17 fields sourced

What does your utility pay?

No single rate — formula based

Retail-rate net metering; annual surplus paid at avoided cost of wholesale power

PSE&G · New Jersey

Effective Current utility guidance read September 16, 2026; annualized period begins with net-meter activation unless changed once by customer

PSE&G describes monthly one-for-one net consumption, a 12-month contract year, anniversary true-up, and PJM-based market-price valuation excluding delivery and system charges for residual credits.

Source: nj.pseg.com

Full PSE&G detail →

New Jersey uses retail-rate net metering for Class I renewable-energy systems: each exported kWh offsets a kWh of imports at the applicable retail billing rate during the customer’s 12-month annualized period. Any credits left at the annual true-up are paid at the supplier or basic-generation-service provider’s avoided cost of wholesale power, rather than carried indefinitely. The regime applies through the four investor-owned electric distribution companies—PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric; municipal utilities and cooperatives are outside NJBPU jurisdiction.

Program details

Compensation mechanismRetail-rate net metering for Class I renewable-energy systems, with annual surplus compensation at avoided cost of wholesale power; applies to new residential, commercial, and public-entity customer-generators served by participating EDCs.
Export rateOne-for-one retail-rate credit against delivered electricity during the annualized period; net excess remaining at true-up is paid at the supplier/BGS provider's avoided cost of wholesale power, which varies with wholesale market prices and customer/voltage category.
Rate effectiveRetail-rate netting applies during each monthly billing period within the customer-selected 12-month annualized period; the avoided-cost cash-out applies at the end of that annualized period.
Credit rolloverUnused kWh credits carry forward from month to month within the 12-month annualized period at their kWh value and offset later delivered kWh; they are not carried forward past the annual true-up as kWh credits.
Credit expirationBanked kWh credits are cleared at the end of each annualized period and converted to a monetary credit at avoided cost of wholesale power on the following bill.
Annual true-upThe customer selects a 12-month annualized period; absent a selection, it begins on the first day of a monthly billing period designated by the utility, commonly the month net metering is activated. The anniversary month is the annual true-up month.
Residential system capNo fixed statewide kW cap identified; the facility must be sized not to exceed the customer's electricity supplied over the annualized period, subject to the applicable EDC interconnection review.
Commercial system capNo fixed statewide kW cap identified; the facility must be sized not to exceed the customer's electricity supplied over the annualized period, subject to the applicable EDC interconnection review.
Aggregate program capThe Clean Energy Act permits the Board to stop offering net metering to new customers when statewide net-metering generation exceeds 5.8% of the prior year's total annual kWh sales by each supplier/BGS provider; this is a threshold, not a fixed MW enrollment cap.
Program statusNJBPU Staff reported that the 5.8% threshold was exceeded during Energy Year 2024 (ended May 31, 2024), but the Board has not been identified as having terminated retail net metering for new customers; a successor-policy stakeholder proceeding is underway.
RegulatorNew Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), Trenton
DocketQO24090723 — In the Matter of Net Metering for Class I Renewable Energy Systems
Governing ruleN.J.S.A. 48:3-87(e) and N.J.A.C. 14:8-4 (Net Metering for Class I Renewable Energy Systems); interconnection procedures are in N.J.A.C. 14:8-5.
GrandfatheringExisting net-metered customers are protected from a future NJBPU-authorized cessation because the Clean Energy Act permits stopping net metering only for customers who are not already net metered. The cited NJBPU materials establish no fixed grandfathering sunset or duration and QO24090723 remains a successor-policy stakeholder proceeding, not an adopted transition rule.
Interconnection applicationApply to the serving EDC through its interconnection process (now standardized through the Common Interconnection Application Process rules); Level 1 is for certified inverter-based facilities up to 25 kW DC, Level 2 for certified facilities up to 2 MW DC that do not qualify for Level 1, and Level 3 for other facilities. The applicant submits the EDC application/agreement and required technical documents, obtains interconnection approval and local code approval, then receives authorization to operate and a bidirectional/net meter where required.
Interconnection timelineUnder the NJBPU interconnection rules, the EDC must notify the applicant within 3 business days whether a Level 1 or Level 2 application is complete; after completeness, Level 1 review determination is due within 10 business days and Level 2 determination within 15 business days. Level 3 timing is study-dependent; after approval, a required new revenue meter must be installed within 10 business days.
Pending changeNJBPU docket QO24090723 is an open stakeholder proceeding on a possible successor net-metering policy for new customers; the February 5, 2025 technical-conference notice says Staff is developing a shortlist of successor-policy options, but it does not announce an effective replacement date. Separately, the SuSI ADI portal is open to new registrations; the May 21, 2026 ADI order reduced the residential SREC-II incentive from $85/MWh to $77/MWh for registrations received on or after July 27, 2026, and opened EY2027 capacity allocations June 1, 2026.

Rates by utility

State rules set the framework. Individual utilities often pay something different, and where they do the utility tariff governs.

Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G)Retail-rate net metering; annual surplus paid at avoided cost of wholesale power
Current utility guidance read September 16, 2026; annualized period begins with net-meter activation unless changed once by customer
PSE&G describes monthly one-for-one net consumption, a 12-month contract year, anniversary true-up, and PJM-based market-price valuation excluding delivery and system charges for residual credits.
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L)Retail-rate net metering; annual surplus paid at avoided cost of wholesale power
Current utility guidance read September 16, 2026; annual true-up occurs on the account's net-metering anniversary
JCP&L states that each received kWh offsets delivered energy one-for-one, excess is banked for the next billing cycle, and remaining banked kWh are paid out annually at the avoided cost of wholesale power.
Atlantic City Electric (ACE)Retail-rate net energy metering; annual surplus paid at avoided cost of wholesale power
Tariff PDF effective July 1, 2025; statewide NEM rules govern current credit treatment
ACE's filed New Jersey tariff includes Rider NEM and its continuation sheets; credit treatment is governed by the NJBPU NEM rules and the statewide avoided-cost true-up provision.
Rockland Electric (RECO)Retail-rate net metering; annual surplus paid at avoided cost of wholesale power
Current New Jersey guidance read September 16, 2026; customer-selected 12-month annualized period
RECO's New Jersey customer guidance states that remaining kWh credits are reconciled after the annualized period and paid at the BGS provider's avoided cost of wholesale power.

Sources read for this record

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