Texas solar export compensation
What Texas 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?
Fixed export rate
$0.0991/kWh for systems under 1 MW-AC; $0.0724/kWh for systems 1 MW-AC and over (Value of Solar). The separate Solar Standard Offer Rider publishes no fixed rate - the tariff sets it by formula as the straight average of the prior year's Value of Solar.
Austin Energy · Texas
Austin Energy credits 100% of metered solar production under Value of Solar, with excess credit carried month to month. The Solar Standard Offer is a separate export-payment rider requiring an approved application and interconnection agreement.
Source: austinenergy.com
Full Austin Energy detail →Texas has no statewide retail-rate net-metering requirement. In competitive areas, export compensation is a contract term offered by the retail electric provider (REP), and the PUCT says buyback rates are usually below the retail purchase price. Transmission and distribution utilities such as Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, and TNMP handle interconnection, not retail electricity sales or a statewide buyback rate. Municipal utilities set their own programs: Austin Energy credits solar production at its Value-of-Solar rate, while CPS Energy applies seasonal net-excess-generation credits.
Program details
| Compensation mechanism | No statewide requirement; compensation is utility- or REP-specific. Competitive-market customers must choose a REP plan with buyback terms, while municipal utilities set their own programs. |
|---|---|
| Export rate | No statewide rate. Published municipal examples include Austin Energy Value of Solar at $0.0991/kWh for systems under 1 MW-AC and $0.0724/kWh for systems 1 MW-AC and over. Austin's separate Solar Standard Offer Rider does not publish a fixed rate - the tariff sets it by formula as the straight average of the energy, transmission and ancillary services components over the most recent five historical years, with the transmission component excluded for systems at or above 1 MW. CPS Energy's net-excess-generation credit is $0.0165/kWh October-May and $0.0202/kWh June-September. |
| Rate effective | Austin Value of Solar rates are effective March 1, 2023 and subject to change; the Solar Standard Offer Rider sets its rate by formula rather than a published figure. CPS's published billing example states the seasonal NEG rates shown for its billing program. |
| Credit rollover | No statewide rule. Austin Energy says excess Value-of-Solar bill credit carries month to month and is non-transferable. CPS Energy says a net-excess-generation credit applies to the next month's bill and any carryover balance applies in the following month. |
| Credit expiration | No statewide expiration rule; credits are utility- or REP-specific. Austin Energy's Value-of-Solar tariff says unused credits carry forward but are forfeited when service terminates; CPS Energy's published billing facts say a carryover balance applies in the following month, without stating an additional statewide or annual expiration. |
| Annual true-up | No statewide annual true-up or settlement date. PUCT says buyback rules depend on the customer's electric provider; Austin Energy's Value-of-Solar tariff bills and credits monthly, and CPS Energy applies excess-generation credits to the next month's bill. |
| Residential system cap | No statewide residential system-size cap for compensation exists because Texas has no statewide net-metering mandate; eligibility is provider-specific. As a municipal example, Austin Energy's Value-of-Solar tariff applies to on-site systems below 10,000 kW AC, while PUCT §§25.211 and 25.212 address interconnection rather than a statewide compensation cap. |
| Commercial system cap | No statewide commercial system-size cap for compensation exists because Texas has no statewide net-metering mandate; eligibility is provider-specific. Austin Energy's published Value-of-Solar tariff applies to systems below 10,000 kW AC, and its Solar Standard Offer Rider uses the same below-10,000-kW AC eligibility limit. |
| Aggregate program cap | No statewide aggregate program-capacity limit is established for net-metering compensation; Texas has no statewide net-metering program. PUCT rules establish distributed-generation interconnection and technical requirements, while buyback rules are set by the customer's provider. |
| Program status | No statewide net-metering program has an open, full, capped, or closed status; Texas has no statewide net-metering mandate. Individual retail electric providers and municipal utilities set their own buyback or credit-program terms. |
| Regulator | Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) regulates retail electric providers in competitive areas and the poles-and-wires companies, but excludes city-owned utilities and electric cooperatives from that utility regulation. |
| Docket | PUCT Project No. 54233, Technical Requirements and Interconnection Processes for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), is the controlling current PUCT rulemaking proceeding for the statewide DG interconnection rules; it is not a statewide compensation or net-metering proceeding. |
| Governing rule | PUCT Substantive Rules §25.211 (interconnection of on-site distributed generation) and §25.212 (technical requirements); these establish interconnection requirements, not a statewide retail compensation rate. |
| Grandfathering | No statewide net-metering grandfathering rule exists because Texas has no statewide net-metering mandate. Any protection for customers under older, more generous export terms is contract- or utility-specific; the PUCT directs customers to check the electric provider's rules and buyback contract. |
| Interconnection application | The customer or installer registers the system with the local poles-and-wires utility and follows that utility's interconnection application and agreement process. Austin requires an approved service application and signed interconnection agreement for its Solar Standard Offer; CPS requires a DG application and supporting site/design materials, with studies depending on system size and purpose. |
| Interconnection timeline | No single statewide timeline is published for all utilities. CPS Energy states that optional pre-application review typically takes 15 business days, screening review 25 business days (up to 60), and standard technical review 90 business days after a complete application and fee (extendable to 120 or more for complex cases). |
| Pending change | Austin Energy's Value-of-Solar FAQ lists the 2027 rate as TBD and says the rate is recalculated every three years; the Solar Standard Offer tariff says its payment rates update every three years beginning in March 2026. |
Rates by utility
State rules set the framework. Individual utilities often pay something different, and where they do the utility tariff governs.
| Austin Energy | $0.0991/kWh for systems under 1 MW-AC; $0.0724/kWh for systems 1 MW-AC and over (Value of Solar). The separate Solar Standard Offer Rider publishes no fixed rate - the tariff sets it by formula as the straight average of the prior year's Value of Solar. Value of Solar effective March 1, 2023; FY2026 tariff dated November 1, 2025 Austin Energy credits 100% of metered solar production under Value of Solar, with excess credit carried month to month. The Solar Standard Offer is a separate export-payment rider requiring an approved application and interconnection agreement. |
|---|---|
| CPS Energy (San Antonio) | $0.0165/kWh October-May and $0.0202/kWh June-September for net excess generation Seasonal rates stated in CPS Energy Solar Billing Facts document read 2026-09-16 CPS applies excess-generation credit to the next month's bill, not exceeding the total electric bill; any carryover credit balance applies in the following month. CPS is municipally owned and sets its own program terms. |
Sources read for this record
Keep reading
- Every state we track
- How these figures are sourced and dated
- 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
- Florida — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh export rate. Monthly net exports ar
- 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
- Massachusetts — No single statewide dollar-per-kWh rate. For ordinary qualifying solar
- 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