Net Metering by State

What your electric utility actually pays for exported solar power.

Cleco Power solar export rate

What Cleco Power pays for power exported from rooftop solar in Louisiana, with the source and the date it was checked.

Fixed export rate

$0.03854 per kWh for distributed-generation facilities with design capacity of 300 kW or less

Cleco Power · Louisiana

Effective March 1, 2026; adjusted annually based on newly calculated avoided costs

The current DG schedule gives full-retail treatment through December 31, 2034 to qualifying pre-2020 customers and avoided-cost treatment to post-2019 customers.

Source: cleco.com

Full Cleco Power detail →

Louisiana rules that apply to Cleco Power

The state framework sets the default. Where Cleco Power pays something different, the utility tariff governs and is what the card above reports.

Compensation mechanismTwo-channel distributed-generation billing: full retail rate for utility-supplied energy, zero rate for self-generated energy consumed on site, and an avoided-cost credit for energy sold to the utility.
Export rateAvoided-cost export rates effective in 2026 are $0.0386407/kWh for Entergy Louisiana (effective April 1, 2026), $0.03854/kWh for Cleco Power (filed schedule effective March 1, 2026), and SWEPCO's avoided-cost rate is 3.656 cents/kWh for April 2026 through March 2027 billing cycles.
Rate effectiveEntergy's avoided-cost attachment is effective April 1, 2026 and updates annually with April billing; Cleco's filed DG schedule is effective March 1, 2026 and adjusts annually; SWEPCO's filed rate applies to April 2026 through March 2027 billing cycles and is updated annually.
Credit rolloverExport credits carry forward to the next billing period under the current utility riders: Entergy carries additional bill credit to the following billing cycle, Cleco credits monthly excess in the next billing period, and SWEPCO carries any account credit balance to the next billing period.
Credit expirationThere is no annual credit-expiration date stated in the cited current riders. Entergy and Cleco require payment by check for the remaining credit balance when service ends; SWEPCO's rider states that account credit is carried to the next billing period.
Annual true-upNo statewide annual true-up date is stated in the LPSC rule or the cited utility riders. Billing and crediting occur in each billing period; final-service balances are paid out by Entergy and Cleco, while SWEPCO carries account balances to the next billing period.
Aggregate program capThe 0.5% statewide solar-user cap was eliminated by the LPSC's revised rule; the current rule does not establish an aggregate program-capacity cap.
Program statusThe former 0.5% cap is eliminated. The prior full-retail net-metering rider is closed to new business, while distributed-generation riders remain available under the revised avoided-cost framework.
GrandfatheringCustomers that submitted a complete interconnection request and completed installation by December 31, 2019 receive full-retail export credit through December 31, 2034; after that date their exports receive avoided-cost credit. The grandfathered status may continue for purchasers of the property under the current utility riders.
RegulatorLouisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC).
Governing ruleLPSC General Order 09-19-2019 (R-33929) Corrected, Distributed Generation Rule, especially the billing and avoided-cost provisions in Sections 4.1 and 6.2.
Pending changeNo pending statewide change was identified on the LPSC net-metering page as checked on September 16, 2026; the page continues to identify General Order dated September 19, 2019 as the revised rule and publishes 2026 avoided-cost-rate materials.

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