Wisconsin solar export compensation
What Wisconsin 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?
Fixed export rate
$0.03636/kWh flat rate for residential and secondary customers
We Energies · Wisconsin
CGS-NM, less than 300 kW; excess is credited at avoided energy cost and the rate is seasonal/time-of-use where applicable.
Source: we-energies.com
Full We Energies detail →Wisconsin has no single statewide export price: PSCW-approved utility tariffs provide monthly net-energy billing, with utility-specific treatment of net excess generation. We Energies, Alliant Energy/Wisconsin Power & Light, Wisconsin Public Service, and Madison Gas & Electric publish different avoided-cost or buyback rates and eligibility thresholds. PSCW is continuing its parallel-generation/net-metering investigation in docket 5-EI-157.
Program details
| Compensation mechanism | Monthly net-energy billing: the customer is billed on the difference between energy consumed and energy produced during the billing period; net excess is credited under the utility tariff. |
|---|---|
| Export rate | Utility-specific. 2026 examples are WEPCO CGS-NM residential/secondary flat rate $0.03636/kWh, Alliant/WP&L PgS-3 average $0.04254/kWh, and WPS PG-4 $0.03584/kWh; MGE uses its customer energy rate for Net Purchasers and its separate Parallel Generation Buyback Rates for Net Sellers. |
| Rate effective | WEPCO and WPS rates are effective for service on and after January 1, 2026; Alliant identifies its $0.04254 average as of January 1, 2026; MGE's current buyback schedule is effective June 1, 2026. |
| Credit rollover | Net excess is handled in the monthly billing period; utility tariffs may carry an accumulated credit until the tariff's payment threshold is met. WPS pays when a monthly credit balance exceeds $100, while MGE permits a check for a net account credit greater than $100. |
| Credit expiration | No single statewide expiration rule was identified: PSCW says the COGS size threshold is utility-specific and the net-metering terms are in each utility's tariff; individual tariffs control payment or cash-out treatment. |
| Annual true-up | There is no statewide annual true-up date in the cited PSCW materials. MGE determines Net Seller status at the beginning of each month using the preceding 12 months, and permits a credit check no more frequently than once every 12 months. |
| Residential system cap | Utility-specific. WPS PG-4 is available for renewable customer-owned generation rated at 20 kW or less; MGE Pg-2 is available at 100 kW-AC or less; Alliant PgS-3 is for 20 kW AC or less. |
| Commercial system cap | Utility-specific rather than a single statewide commercial cap: Alliant PgS-1 covers systems greater than 20 kW AC and not over 5,000 kW AC; MGE Pg-2 covers 100 kW-AC or less; PSC 119 categories apply to DG facilities through 15 MW for interconnection. |
| Aggregate program cap | No statewide aggregate net-metering capacity cap was identified in the PSCW materials reviewed; PSCW states that the COGS size threshold is utility-specific and listed in each utility's tariff. |
| Program status | Current utility tariffs remain the operative enrollment rules as of the verification date; PSCW's continuing investigation is evaluating net-metering rate design and related issues rather than publishing one statewide cap. |
| Regulator | Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW). |
| Docket | PSCW docket 5-EI-157, Investigation of Parallel Generation Purchase Rates; the 2024 notice specifically addresses issues related to net metering. |
| Governing rule | Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 119 governs distributed-generation interconnection statewide; PSC 119.01 implements Wis. Stat. 196.496 and applies to DG facilities of 15 MW or less. |
| Grandfathering | Grandfathering is tariff-specific, not a single statewide rule. WPS's current PG-4 tariff preserves a historical full-retail provision only for qualifying customers through December 31, 2021 and says changes to size or type make the customer new; MGE uses an application/interconnection-date net-metering date for its customer energy rate. |
| Interconnection application | Review PSC chapter 119, contact the serving utility for its application and agreement forms, obtain the applicable PSC forms, and submit the completed forms directly to the utility. |
| Interconnection timeline | PSC 119 requires completeness notice within 10 working days; after completeness, application review is within 10 working days. Engineering-review deadlines are 10, 15, 20, or 40 working days for Categories 1 through 4, respectively; commissioning approval and agreement deadlines also apply. |
| Pending change | PSCW docket 5-EI-157 remains the continuing investigation into parallel-generation purchase rates and net metering. The 2024 PSCW memorandum says MGE and WP&L proposed closing net metering to new customers in their 2023 rate cases and seeks further study of rate designs and incentive structures. |
Rates by utility
State rules set the framework. Individual utilities often pay something different, and where they do the utility tariff governs.
| We Energies / Wisconsin Electric Power Company | $0.03636/kWh flat rate for residential and secondary customers 2026-01-01 CGS-NM, less than 300 kW; excess is credited at avoided energy cost and the rate is seasonal/time-of-use where applicable. |
|---|---|
| Alliant Energy / Wisconsin Power & Light | $0.04254/kWh average as of 2026-01-01 for PgS-3 net overgeneration 2026-01-01 PgS-3 applies to systems 20 kW AC or less; net overgeneration at the end of the billing cycle is cashed out at the tariff pricing-period rate. |
| Wisconsin Public Service | $0.03584/kWh avoided energy cost for PG-4 net excess 2026-01-01 PG-4 is net energy billing for renewable customer-owned generation rated at 20 kW or less; payment is made when a monthly credit balance exceeds $100. |
| Madison Gas & Electric | Net Purchaser: Customer's Energy Rate; Net Seller: MGE Parallel Generation Buyback Rates. 2026-06-01 Pg-2 is net metering for renewable systems 100 kW-AC or less; Net Seller status is determined monthly using the preceding 12 months. |
Sources read for this record
- psc.wi.gov/Pages/ForConsumers/MoreResources/CustomerOwnedGeneration.aspx
- apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFview/viewdoc.aspx?docid=494461
- docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/psc/119/Title
- we-energies.com/pdfs/etariffs/wisconsin/cgs-nm.pdf
- alliantenergy.com/ways-to-save/customer-interconnection/wisconsin
- wisconsinpublicservice.com/company/wi_tariffs/PG4.pdf
- mge.com/MGE/media/MGE-Library/documents/rates-electric/e11-2-0-SchedulePg-2-12
- mge.com/MGE/media/MGE-Library/documents/rates-electric/electric-rates-05292026
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
- North Carolina — No single statewide export rate exists. For the current DEC NMB and RS
- 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