Net Metering by State

What your electric utility actually pays for exported solar power.

Virginia solar export compensation

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

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

What does your utility pay?

No single rate — formula based

Legacy annual net metering at retail-value offsets; net excess generation under a requested PPA is paid at the PJM DOMZONE day-ahead annual simple-average LMP. Approved future NEM 2.0 value: $0.05829/kWh.

Dominion Energy Virginia · Virginia

Effective Current terms-and-conditions filing effective 2026-02-05; NEM 2.0 approved 2026-04-30 but not current as of 2026-09-16.

Current customers are protected; Dominion NEM 2.0 is approved for new customers after the future effective date established through revised tariffs.

Source: dominionenergy.com · scc.virginia.gov

Full Dominion Energy Virginia detail →

Virginia retains annual net metering, but the compensation for net excess generation depends on the utility and the applicable tariff. Appalachian Power's Rider N.M.S. II is effective November 27, 2025 and pays avoided-cost credits for net excess generation, while Dominion's NEM 2.0 was approved on April 30, 2026 but the current tariff still shows the legacy 12-month net-metering/PJM-LMP structure as of September 16, 2026.

Program details

Compensation mechanismUtility-specific annual net metering: generation offsets consumption over a 12-month net-metering period; net excess generation fed to the grid is compensated under the utility's approved avoided-cost/PJM-LMP mechanism. APCo Rider N.M.S. II uses avoided-cost credits; Dominion's approved NEM 2.0 uses a 30-minute export-credit design, but it is not yet the current Dominion tariff.
Export rateNo single statewide rate exists. APCo Rider N.M.S. II lists total avoided-cost credits of $0.0566/kWh for residential secondary, $0.0581/kWh for commercial/industrial secondary, $0.0552/kWh for primary, $0.0553/kWh for sub-transmission, and $0.0546/kWh for transmission. Dominion's current tariff uses the PJM DOMZONE day-ahead annual simple-average LMP under a power-purchase agreement; Dominion NEM 2.0's approved net-excess-generation compensation value is $0.05829/kWh for the future tariff.
Rate effectiveAPCo Rider N.M.S. II: November 27, 2025. Dominion NEM 2.0: approved April 30, 2026; the Commission ordered revised tariff language, but the current Dominion terms-and-conditions filing remains effective February 5, 2026 and retains the legacy structure as of the verification date.
Credit rolloverBilling-period excess credits carry forward and are applied against later positive usage within the 12-month net-metering period. At the end of the period, only allowable excess generation may carry into the next period under the applicable tariff; APCo's current rider states excess generation is not transferable.
Credit expirationUnused credits are reconciled at the end of each 12-month net-metering period. Excess generation beyond the amount permitted to carry forward is forfeited under the APCo customer materials; Dominion's current tariff pays remaining excess only through a requested power-purchase agreement and otherwise provides no compensation from the Company.
Annual true-upEach successive 12-month net-metering period, beginning with the first meter reading after final interconnection; the annual reconciliation occurs at the customer's net-metering anniversary/period end.
Residential system capThe utility materials identify a maximum residential generator size of 25 kW AC. Separately, Virginia Code limits post-July 1, 2020 Phase I facilities to no more than 100% of expected annual consumption (APCo) and Phase II facilities to no more than 150% (Dominion).
Commercial system capThe utility materials identify a maximum commercial generator size of 3 MW AC. Virginia Code also limits the post-July 1, 2020 annual-output sizing percentage by utility phase: 100% of expected annual consumption for Phase I and 150% for Phase II.
Aggregate program cap6.0% of the participating investor-owned electric distribution company's adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year: 5.0% available to all customers and 1.0% reserved for low-income utility customers.
Program statusThe 6% aggregate cap remains in the governing regulation; the APCo final order says the cap shall continue. A statewide used-cap percentage or remaining-capacity figure was not published in the documents reviewed, so open/full/closed cannot be asserted as a statewide status.
RegulatorVirginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), including its Division of Public Utility Regulation.
DocketAPCo: SCC Case No. PUR-2024-00161, final order August 29, 2025. Dominion: SCC Case No. PUR-2025-00079, final order April 30, 2026, under the broader PUR-2024-00047 future-net-metering proceeding.
Governing ruleVa. Code § 56-594 and 20 VAC 5-315, Regulations Governing Net Energy Metering; the tariff-level APCo and Dominion terms implement those provisions.
GrandfatheringExisting customer-generators are protected from a successor final-order tariff; APCo's Rider N.M.S. II order preserves existing Rider N.M.S. customers and qualifying pre-effective-date applications under the prior tariff for up to 25 years. Dominion's order says current customers may stay on the current tariff or switch to NEM 2.0.
Interconnection applicationSubmit the utility's net-metering interconnection notification/application before construction or installation, obtain utility approval, then resubmit the completed form after installation for final approval and meter exchange. Dominion accepts an online notification form or paper/email submission; APCo directs applicants to PowerClerk and its NMIN package.
Interconnection timelineResidential: the utility has 30 days to determine whether requirements are met, and the customer may interconnect after 31 days absent a waiver. Nonresidential: 60 days for review and 61 days before interconnection absent a waiver.
Pending changeDominion NEM 2.0 is approved but not yet reflected as effective in the current Dominion terms-and-conditions filing as of 2026-09-16. The approved design uses a 30-minute netting interval and a $0.05829/kWh net-excess-generation compensation value; the order requires revised tariff language within 90 days of publication.

Rates by utility

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

Dominion Energy VirginiaLegacy annual net metering at retail-value offsets; net excess generation under a requested PPA is paid at the PJM DOMZONE day-ahead annual simple-average LMP. Approved future NEM 2.0 value: $0.05829/kWh.
Current terms-and-conditions filing effective 2026-02-05; NEM 2.0 approved 2026-04-30 but not current as of 2026-09-16.
Current customers are protected; Dominion NEM 2.0 is approved for new customers after the future effective date established through revised tariffs.
Appalachian Power (Virginia)Rider N.M.S. II total avoided-cost credit: $0.0566/kWh residential secondary; $0.0581/kWh commercial/industrial secondary; $0.0552/kWh primary; $0.0553/kWh sub-transmission; $0.0546/kWh transmission.
2025-11-27
Annual 12-month netting remains; generation not fed back to the grid offsets usage at the applicable retail rate, while net excess generation fed to the grid receives the avoided-cost credit. Existing Rider N.M.S. customers and qualifying pre-effective-date applications are grandfathered.

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