Net Metering by State

What your electric utility actually pays for exported solar power.

We Energies solar export rate

What We Energies pays for power exported from rooftop solar in Wisconsin, with the source and the date it was checked.

Fixed export rate

$0.03636/kWh flat rate for residential and secondary customers

We Energies · Wisconsin

Effective 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.

Source: we-energies.com

Full We Energies detail →

Wisconsin rules that apply to We Energies

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

Compensation mechanismMonthly 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 rateUtility-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 effectiveWEPCO 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 rolloverNet 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 expirationNo 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-upThere 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.
Aggregate program capNo 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 statusCurrent 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.
GrandfatheringGrandfathering 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.
RegulatorPublic Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW).
Governing ruleWis. 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.
Pending changePSCW 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.

Other Wisconsin utilities

Keep reading