How Net Metering Works in Pennsylvania: A Complete Guide for Homeowners

If you are considering solar in Pennsylvania, net metering is one of the most important concepts to understand. It is the policy that allows you to use the utility grid as a virtual battery — storing excess solar energy during the day and pulling it back at night — and it can dramatically increase your solar savings.

Here is everything you need to know.

Net metering is a billing arrangement between solar homeowners and their utility company. When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home is using at a given moment, the excess power flows back into the utility grid. Your utility company tracks this and credits your account for the energy you contributed.

At the end of your billing period, you only pay for the net amount of electricity you consumed — meaning your usage minus your solar credits. If your credits exceed your usage, the balance rolls forward to the next month.

Yes. Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) Act requires all electric distribution companies — including PECO, PPL, West Penn Power, and others — to offer net metering to customers with solar systems up to 50 kW in size. Residential solar systems are almost always well under this limit.

This means your utility cannot refuse to offer you net metering if you have a qualifying solar installation.

PECO is the primary utility serving Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties. Here is how net metering works for PECO customers:

PECO installs a bidirectional (two-way) meter that measures both the electricity you consume from the grid and the electricity you send back to the grid.

PECO credits your account for excess solar generation at the full retail electricity rate — the same rate you pay when you buy electricity from them. This is the most favorable form of net metering and maximizes your savings.

Credits that exceed your monthly usage roll forward to the next billing period. You never lose credits from month to month during the year.

At the end of each 12-month period, PECO performs an annual true-up. Any remaining credits may be paid out at the avoided-cost rate (wholesale rate) or carried forward, depending on your specific rate plan.

PPL Electric serves much of central and eastern Pennsylvania including Berks County, Lehigh Valley, and surrounding areas. PPL's net metering program works similarly to PECO's:

• Credits at the full retail rate for excess generation
• Monthly rollover of unused credits
• Annual true-up at the end of the 12-month period

To get the most out of net metering, your solar system should be sized to match your annual electricity consumption — not just your summer or winter usage. Here is how our team approaches system sizing:

1. Analyze 12 months of utility bills to understand your full annual usage pattern
2. Design a system that produces approximately 100–110% of your annual consumption
3. Account for seasonal variation — you will overproduce in summer and underproduce in winter, and net metering smooths this out

A properly sized system means you are banking credits in high-production months (April–September) to cover your usage in low-production months (October–March).

Here is a realistic example for a PECO customer:

Without solar: $185/month average electric bill = $2,220/year

With solar + net metering:

• Summer months (May–August): $10–$15/month (just the connection fee)
• Spring/Fall months: $10–$30/month
• Winter months (Dec–Feb): $30–$60/month
• Annual total: $200–$400/year

Annual savings: $1,800–$2,000

Over 25 years, that is $45,000–$50,000 in savings — and that number grows every time your utility raises rates.

The Grid Guardian Team handles everything — system design, permits, utility interconnection, and net metering enrollment. You do not have to navigate any of this alone.

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