South Dakota solar export compensation
What South Dakota pays for exported rooftop solar power, with the source and the date each figure was checked.
Record verified 2026-09-16 · 8 of 17 fields sourced
What does your utility pay?
No single rate — formula based
No net-metering rate. Xcel says net metering is not available in South Dakota; qualifying facilities of 100 kW or less are paid under Section 9 of Xcel's South Dakota Electric Rate Book (Occasional Delivery Energy Service and Time of Delivery Energy Service tariffs), which the SD PUC revised effective January 1, 2026 in docket EL25-025.
Xcel Energy (South Dakota) · South Dakota
The SD PUC order in docket EL25-025 grants Xcel's Section 9 tariff revisions effective for service on and after January 1, 2026; the tariff sheets themselves are not reproduced in the order. Xcel's own South Dakota page states that net metering is not available there, but that page is JavaScript-rendered and cannot support a verbatim quote.
Source: puc.sd.gov
Full Xcel Energy (South Dakota) detail →South Dakota has no statewide net-metering rate: the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission says the state does not compensate solar generation at a net-metered rate. For utilities within PUC jurisdiction, small solar facilities are compensated through utility-specific avoided-cost or small-power-producer tariffs, not a single statewide retail-credit program. The PUC says facilities under 100 kW have filed purchase rates, while utilities and rural cooperatives maintain their own terms. Xcel says net metering is unavailable in South Dakota and directs systems under 100 kW to its Section 9 tariff. Otter Tail's current Section 12.01 tariff, effective April 1, 2026, lists $0.04571/kWh base avoided costs plus a $0.00300/kWh solar REC payment for qualifying facilities not exceeding 100 kW.
Program details
| Compensation mechanism | South Dakota uses utility-specific avoided-cost or small-power-producer purchase arrangements rather than statewide net metering. The PUC says regulated utilities must interconnect with and purchase power from small solar facilities, and the minimum is avoided cost. |
|---|---|
| Export rate | There is no single statewide export rate. The PUC says South Dakota does not compensate solar generation at a net metered rate; compensation is set in utility filings. For Otter Tail Section 12.01, the 2026 base avoided-cost energy credit is $0.04571 per kWh plus a $0.00300 per kWh solar renewable-energy-credit payment. |
| Rate effective | Otter Tail's Section 12.01 tariff is effective with bills rendered on and after April 1, 2026 in South Dakota. Xcel's approved tariff revisions are effective for services rendered on and after January 1, 2026. |
| Credit rollover | Not yet verified |
| Credit expiration | Not yet verified |
| Annual true-up | Not yet verified |
| Residential system cap | Not yet verified |
| Commercial system cap | Not yet verified |
| Aggregate program cap | Not yet verified |
| Program status | South Dakota does not compensate solar generation at a net metered rate; there is no statewide net-metering credit framework in the PUC's FAQ. |
| Regulator | South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. The PUC regulates small-generator interconnection practices and the price solar generators receive for excess generation for utilities within its jurisdiction. |
| Docket | Utility-specific current tariff approvals include Otter Tail Docket No. EL26-001 and Xcel Docket EL25-025. |
| Governing rule | SDCL 49-34A-108 requires each electric utility to file minimum purchase rates for renewable electricity from a small renewable power facility with capacity of 100 kilowatts or less; PUC rules also govern small-generator interconnection. |
| Grandfathering | Not yet verified |
| Interconnection application | Otter Tail requires the customer, before installation, to complete its interconnection process and the Interconnection Agreement for Small Generator Facility Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 or Tier 4 Interconnection under ARSD chapter 20:10:36. |
| Interconnection timeline | Not yet verified |
| 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.
| Xcel Energy (South Dakota) | No net-metering rate. Xcel says net metering is not available in South Dakota; qualifying facilities of 100 kW or less are paid under Section 9 of Xcel's South Dakota Electric Rate Book (Occasional Delivery Energy Service and Time of Delivery Energy Service tariffs), which the SD PUC revised effective January 1, 2026 in docket EL25-025. Xcel's approved tariff revisions are effective for services rendered on and after January 1, 2026. The SD PUC order in docket EL25-025 grants Xcel's Section 9 tariff revisions effective for service on and after January 1, 2026; the tariff sheets themselves are not reproduced in the order. Xcel's own South Dakota page states that net metering is not available there, but that page is JavaScript-rendered and cannot support a verbatim quote. |
|---|---|
| Otter Tail Power Company (South Dakota) | $0.04571 per kWh base avoided costs plus $0.00300 per kWh solar renewable energy credit for Section 12.01 qualifying facilities not exceeding 100 kW. Effective with bills rendered on and after April 1, 2026, in South Dakota. Section 12.01 says the customer is compensated monthly for all energy received from the small qualifying facility less the customer charge; the payment schedule is subject to annual review. Section 12.03 provides separate dependable-service seasonal avoided-cost payments. |
Sources read for this record
- puc.sd.gov/Publications/solarfaq.aspx
- puc.sd.gov/energy/rrrates.aspx
- sd.my.xcelenergy.com/s/renewable/net-metering
- otpco.com/media/3bnn4h0u/sd_1201.pdf
- otpco.com/media/j1zpssgf/sd_1203.pdf
- puc.sd.gov/commission/dockets/electric/2025/EL25-025/EL25-025TariffRev.pdf
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.
- Alaska — There is no single statewide dollar export rate: the applicable rate i
- Arizona — Set per utility, not statewide. APS: $0.05554/kWh. TEP: $0.0513/kWh, w
- Arkansas — There is no single statewide export number. Non-legacy exports are cre
- 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
- Delaware — There is no single statewide dollar-per-kWh export rate: the monthly e
- District of Columbia — Monthly excess generation is credited at the applicable full retail ra
- 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
- Idaho — Idaho Power Schedule 6 lists Export Credit Rate, per kWh: Summer On-Pe
- 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
- Iowa — There is no single statewide dollar rate. Under the current inflow-out
- Kansas — There is no single statewide dollar rate. For systems operating under
- Kentucky — There is no single statewide export rate. Current published utility ex
- Louisiana — Avoided-cost export rates effective in 2026 are $0.0386407/kWh for Ent
- Maine — There is no single statewide export price. The kWh Credit Program prov
- 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
- Mississippi — There is no single statewide export rate. Entergy Mississippi's Attach
- Missouri — Utility-specific avoided-fuel-cost/cogeneration rate, not a single sta
- Montana — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh export rate is stated in the review
- Nebraska — There is no single statewide dollar export rate in the reviewed source
- Nevada — Tier 4 exports are credited at 75% of the applicable retail rate; Nort
- New Hampshire — There is no single statewide dollar-per-kWh rate: for small customer-g
- New Jersey — One-for-one retail-rate credit against delivered electricity during th
- New Mexico — There is no single statewide fixed export number in the cited rule. Ex
- New York — No single statewide $/kWh rate. The Value Stack is calculated from uti
- North Carolina — No single statewide export rate exists. For the current DEC NMB and RS
- North Dakota — No single statewide dollar export rate is stated. For energy provided
- Ohio — No single statewide dollar rate. Under the standard utility tariff, ex
- Oklahoma — There is no single statewide dollar export rate. Net excess is credite
- 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
- Rhode Island — There is no single statewide dollar headline rate. Renewable net-meter
- 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
- Vermont — The statewide blended residential base credit is $0.2071/kWh effective
- 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
- West Virginia — Mon Power lists $0.09343 per kWh for Schedules A, B, C, CSH and Lighti
- Wisconsin — Utility-specific. 2026 examples are WEPCO CGS-NM residential/secondary
- Wyoming — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh export rate exists. Energy exported