Customers who have solar or other renewable technologies – like wind and fuel cells – at their homes or businesses will be billed under the Solar Billing Plan (SBP) if they meet one of the following:
- Have a new installation and completed a Permission to Operate (PTO) application with PG&E after April 14, 2023.
- Are an existing Net Energy Metering customer whose 20-year legacy period has expired.
How It Works
Under the Solar Billing Plan all customers will be transitioned to the E-ELEC rate schedule and both electric delivery and electric generation charges/credits are settled on a monthly basis. At the end of each 12 month period from April to March, MCE will conduct its annual cash-out.
Monthly billing will include:
- Charges for electricity imported from the electric grid at retail time-of-use rates.
- Solar export credits at the applicable Energy Export Credit Value, which reflects the value of power to the grid at any given time (i.e., wholesale rate).
- Additional bill credits for those receiving service under special conditions.
- MCE Solar Bonus Credit equal to 10% of the total Energy Export Credits earned that billing period. All customers receive the MCE Solar Bonus Credit.
- Energy Export Bonus Credit (EEBC) for all residential solar customers who add a solar system from 2023 to 2027. Low-income customers will receive a slightly higher EEBC.
| Residential $/kWh | Low Income $/kWh | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $0.022 | $0.072 |
| 2025 | $0.013 | $0.054 |
| 2026 | $0.009 | $0.036 |
| 2027 | $0.004 | $0.018 |
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- CARE/FERA Solar Credit of $0.05/kwh for all income qualified customers
- MCE Solar Storage Credit for all customers who have a battery and enroll in the program. $10 per month for systems less than 20 kWh and $20 for systems greater than 20 kWh.
MCE’s Annual Cash-out
At the end of the annual cash-out period each spring, if you’ve produced more electricity than you’ve used, you’ll be eligible for a cash-out payment based on your surplus electricity.
- Cash-out payments are valued at the net surplus compensation rate, or the average wholesale rate during solar generating hours over the past 12 months.
- Active accounts with eligible balances over $200 will automatically receive a check at the mailing address they have on record (subject to a maximum of $5,000 per account).
- Eligible balances of $200 or less will receive a bill credit on a subsequent bill.
If you have any excess Energy Export Credits remaining at the time of cash-out, they will roll over to the next cycle for use in future billing cycles.