North Carolina solar export compensation
What North Carolina pays for exported rooftop solar power, with the source and the date each figure was checked.
Record verified 2026-09-16 · 16 of 17 fields sourced
What does your utility pay?
Fixed export rate
Current residential options are Rider NMB (Net Metering Bridge) or Rider RSC (Residential Solar Choice); current DEC NMB and RSC sheets list NEEC 4.53¢/kWh effective September 1, 2026. Legacy Rider NM is closed to new residential participants.
Duke Energy Carolinas (NC) · North Carolina
NMB annual capacity for 2026 is 38,700 kW AC and NMB closes to new participants January 1, 2027. RSC uses TOU with Critical Peak Pricing; NMB does not require that TOU-CPP schedule.
Source: p-cd.duke-energy.com · duke-energy.com
Full Duke Energy Carolinas (NC) detail →North Carolina's Duke net-metering program has separate legacy and successor residential riders. The current Net Metering Bridge (NMB) credits monthly net excess energy at the utility's published Net Excess Energy Credit (NEEC) rate; the current DEC rider lists 4.53¢/kWh effective September 1, 2026, while Residential Solar Choice (RSC) is the alternative rider. NMB closes to new participants January 1, 2027, but eligible applicants retain the bridge rider for up to 15 calendar years.
Program details
| Compensation mechanism | Monthly netting under Rider NMB or Rider RSC, followed by a Net Excess Energy Credit (NEEC) for remaining net exports; legacy Rider NM uses the applicable rate-schedule energy rate and has a seasonal credit reset. |
|---|---|
| Export rate | No single statewide export rate exists. For the current DEC NMB and RSC riders, the published NEEC is 4.53¢/kWh; the rider describes it as the credit for remaining net excess energy, while RSC first nets energy by TOU period. |
| Rate effective | Current DEC NMB and RSC tariff sheets are effective for service rendered on and after September 1, 2026. The revised residential riders began October 1, 2023; legacy Rider NM remains available only to protected participants through December 31, 2026. |
| Credit rollover | Legacy Rider NM credits may offset charges in future months, subject to the seasonal forfeiture date. NMB and RSC credit remaining monthly net exports at NEEC rather than providing an indefinitely accumulating retail-credit bank. |
| Credit expiration | Legacy Rider NM unused credits are forfeited at the seasonal reset: June 1 for Duke Energy Carolinas and May 31 for Duke Energy Progress. NMB participants may remain on the rider for up to 15 calendar years from the interconnection-application submission date; the tariff does not describe that as an annual credit bank. |
| Annual true-up | Legacy Rider NM seasonal true-up/reset: June 1 for Duke Energy Carolinas and May 31 for Duke Energy Progress. NMB/RSC use monthly netting and NEEC treatment rather than the legacy seasonal retail-credit reset. |
| Residential system cap | 20 kW AC or less for residential customers, or the estimated maximum monthly demand of the residence, whichever is less, under the current DEC residential riders. |
| Commercial system cap | 1 MW AC or less for non-residential customers under the North Carolina net-metering eligibility summary; the exact tariff and rider can vary by utility and customer class. |
| Aggregate program cap | No statewide aggregate participation cap identified. DEC NMB has an annual capacity allocation of 7,250 kW AC in 2023, 31,900 kW AC in 2024, 35,100 kW AC in 2025, and 38,700 kW AC in 2026; it is reserved first-come, first-served. |
| Program status | Rider NMB is limited by annual capacity and closes to new participants on January 1, 2027; Rider RSC is the alternative current residential rider. This is not a statewide program closure. |
| Regulator | North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), with the NCUC Public Staff providing the public net-metering guidance and tariff links. |
| Docket | NCUC Docket No. E-100, Sub 180, Order Approving Revised Net Metering Tariffs; current DEC rider revisions also identify Docket No. E-7, Sub 1333, Order dated August 11, 2026. |
| Governing rule | N.C.G.S. § 62-126.4 and Session Law 2017-192 (HB 589), implemented through NCUC-approved net-metering riders and the North Carolina Interconnection Procedures. |
| Grandfathering | Residential legacy Rider NM participants who applied before October 1, 2023 may remain on Rider NM until January 1, 2027, when they transition to Rider NMB; NMB applicants before January 1, 2027 may remain on NMB for up to 15 calendar years from the application submission date. |
| Interconnection application | Request an interconnection application from the local electric utility, complete it, and obtain utility review and approval before connecting; NMB capacity is reserved upon submission of a valid interconnection application. |
| Interconnection timeline | No single statewide end-to-end timeline is published on the NCUC Public Staff net-metering page; the review varies with project size and equipment location and follows the applicable North Carolina interconnection procedure. |
| Pending change | Not yet verified |
Rates by utility
State rules set the framework. Individual utilities often pay something different, and where they do the utility tariff governs.
| Duke Energy Carolinas | Current residential options are Rider NMB (Net Metering Bridge) or Rider RSC (Residential Solar Choice); current DEC NMB and RSC sheets list NEEC 4.53¢/kWh effective September 1, 2026. Legacy Rider NM is closed to new residential participants. NMB/RSC: September 1, 2026 tariff sheets; legacy NM protection through December 31, 2026. NMB annual capacity for 2026 is 38,700 kW AC and NMB closes to new participants January 1, 2027. RSC uses TOU with Critical Peak Pricing; NMB does not require that TOU-CPP schedule. |
|---|---|
| Duke Energy Progress | Legacy Rider NM credits excess kilowatt-hours using the applicable rate schedule and resets unused credits on May 31; current residential customers transition to Rider NMB. No separate current DEP NMB tariff sheet was located in the fetched official materials, so no DEP-specific current NEEC number is asserted. Legacy Rider NM tariff fetched effective for bills rendered January 1, 2026; legacy residential protection ends December 31, 2026. DEP-specific current NMB rate requires confirmation from the applicable DEP tariff sheet; the statewide NCUC guidance confirms the NMB/RSC structure and the DEP legacy reset date. |
Sources read for this record
Keep reading
- Every state we track
- How these figures are sourced and dated
- Alabama — Rate PAE 2026 payment options are time-of-day: 5.17¢/kWh weekday 10 a.
- Arizona — Set per utility, not statewide. APS: $0.05554/kWh. TEP: $0.0513/kWh, w
- California — No single statewide export rate. Compensation is set by the CPUC Avoid
- Colorado — No single statewide dollar export rate. Under ordinary net metering, m
- Connecticut — Netting export rate is a formula, not a single statewide dollar figure
- Florida — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh export rate. Monthly net exports ar
- Georgia — 3.2188¢/kWh solar avoided cost for 2026, plus 4¢/kWh adder for RNR-Ins
- Hawaii — Hawaiian Electric Smart Renewable Energy Export rates for 2024-2026, i
- Illinois — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh rate. For new residential and small
- Indiana — Utility-specific EDG rates, not one statewide rate; the verified utili
- Louisiana — Avoided-cost export rates effective in 2026 are $0.0386407/kWh for Ent
- Maryland — No single statewide export price: for the annual-accrual option, net e
- Massachusetts — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh rate. For ordinary qualifying solar
- Michigan — Utility- and rate-schedule-specific, not one statewide flat rate. DTE'
- Minnesota — There is no single statewide dollar export rate. Xcel's latest posted
- Missouri — Utility-specific avoided-fuel-cost/cogeneration rate, not a single sta
- Nevada — Tier 4 exports are credited at 75% of the applicable retail rate; Nort
- New Jersey — One-for-one retail-rate credit against delivered electricity during th
- New York — No single statewide $/kWh rate. The Value Stack is calculated from uti
- Ohio — No single statewide dollar rate. Under the standard utility tariff, ex
- Oregon — Full retail rate for each rate component on the bill that uses kWh as
- Pennsylvania — No single statewide dollar rate: full retail kWh rate for monthly offs
- South Carolina — No single statewide export rate exists. Santee Cooper's DG-25 rider li
- Tennessee — NESolar Connect publishes seasonal base rates of $0.07363/kWh summer,
- Texas — No statewide rate. Published municipal examples include Austin Energy
- Utah — Schedule 137: 4.855 cents/kWh for exports in June through September; 4
- Virginia — No single statewide rate exists. APCo Rider N.M.S. II lists total avoi
- Washington — Applicable retail energy rate / kWh credit under the customer's utilit
- Wisconsin — Utility-specific. 2026 examples are WEPCO CGS-NM residential/secondary