The Short Answer
Pennsylvania has full retail net metering. Solar customers receive a 1:1 kWh credit for excess electricity exported to the grid across all major investor-owned utilities, including PECO, PPL, Met-Ed, Penelec, West Penn Power, and Duquesne Light.
Credits are applied monthly and carried through the billing year. Any remaining surplus at the annual settlement (May 31) is paid at the utility’s price-to-compare rate, which is lower than the retail electricity rate.
The Legal Foundation
Pennsylvania’s net metering requirement comes from the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) Act of 2004 and is implemented through PA Code Chapter 75. The regulation obligates every electric distribution company in the state to offer net metering to customer-generators producing power from renewable sources, solar included.
This matters more than it sounds. In states where net metering exists as a utility program rather than a legal requirement, terms can shift with a board vote. In Pennsylvania, changing the structure requires regulatory action through the PUC, a slower and more public process. The framework has been stable for two decades.
how net metering works in practice
How PA Net Metering Works
Monthly crediting at full retail
Through the billing year, the mechanics are the standard arrangement: your bidirectional meter tracks imports and exports, and you are billed on the net. Excess production in any month becomes a kWh credit carried into the next month at full retail value. Summer surplus carries into winter, which is the entire seasonal logic of solar in the Northeast.
The size limits (which you will not hit)
Residential customer-generators can net meter systems up to 50 kW. A typical Pennsylvania home installs a small fraction of that, so the cap is a non-issue for homeowners. Nonresidential systems can net meter up to 3 MW (5 MW for certain emergency-capable systems), which is relevant for commercial projects.
The annual true-up and the price-to-compare payout
Here is the detail that matters for system sizing. Pennsylvania’s net metering year ends May 31. Any surplus kWh still banked at that point is paid out by your utility at its price-to-compare rate, the supply-only rate covering generation and transmission.
The price to compare is meaningfully lower than the full retail rate, because it excludes distribution charges. Surplus you generate beyond your annual usage is therefore compensated at a discount relative to the credits you used against your own consumption.
The practical implication: PA rewards systems sized close to annual usage. Offsetting your own consumption earns full retail value. Pumping out a large annual surplus earns the wholesale-ish payout. Size to your usage, not beyond it.
how many solar panels you actually need
Net Metering by PA Utility
The statewide framework is uniform, but homeowners search by utility name, so here is the rundown.
PECO
Southeastern PA, including Philadelphia and the collar counties. Full retail net metering, monthly rollover, May 31 true-up with surplus paid at PECO’s price to compare. With PECO’s all-in rate around 20 cents per kWh and climbing, exported kWh in PECO territory carry some of the strongest credit value in the state.
PPL Electric
Central and eastern PA, from the Lehigh Valley through Lancaster and Harrisburg up to Scranton. This is the one PA utility with a change in motion. In a base rate case filed September 30, 2025, PPL proposed moving customer-generators off 1:1 retail crediting and onto hourly LMP-based (wholesale) export credits, which would reduce the value of exported energy by an estimated 40 to 60 percent. PPL also proposed that customer-generators pay non-refundable deposits toward any distribution upgrades needed to interconnect. The change is expected to take effect in mid-to-late 2026, though rate cases routinely slip. The important part for PPL-territory homeowners: systems interconnected before the change takes effect are expected to be grandfathered at current 1:1 rates, which is the pattern other states have followed. If you are in PPL territory and considering solar, the timeline matters.
Met-Ed and Penelec (FirstEnergy)
Met-Ed covers eastern PA around Reading and parts of the Lehigh Valley and Poconos. Penelec covers a wide swath of northern and western PA. Both follow the statewide rules as FirstEnergy operating companies.
Duquesne Light
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Same statewide structure.
Co-ops and municipal utilities
The one carve-out worth knowing: rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric systems are not bound by the PUC’s Chapter 75 rules. Many run their own net metering or buyback programs, but the terms are set locally and vary. If your power comes from a co-op, get the program terms in writing before you sign anything for solar.
How Credits Show Up on Your PA Bill
Your bill will show kWh delivered (grid to you) and kWh received (you to grid), with the banked balance presented either as a running kWh figure or a credit line, depending on the utility’s bill format. The portal view is usually clearer than the paper bill.
If your first post-solar bill confuses you, that is normal, and there is a full walkthrough of every line item in our bill-reading guide.
Understanding your electric bill after going solar
Net Metering Plus SRECs: The PA Stack
Net metering is half of Pennsylvania’s solar value. The other half comes from the state’s broader solar incentive programs, including SRECs, and the two operate independently. Net metering compensates you for where your electricity goes. SRECs compensate you for the fact that it was generated at all: one tradable credit per megawatt-hour produced, sellable on PA’s open SREC market regardless of whether the energy was self-consumed or exported.
A PA system earns both simultaneously. That stacking is what the ROI math is built on and a major reason many homeowners see strong long-term returns from solar. For a deeper look at the numbers, see our guide to solar ROI in Pennsylvania.
Is PA Net Metering at Risk?
There is no single answer anymore, because it now depends on your utility. For most of Pennsylvania, including PECO territory where the bulk of southeastern PA solar is installed, the answer is no: PECO, the FirstEnergy companies (Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power), and Duquesne Light all maintain 1:1 retail net metering with nothing filed to change it.
The exceptions are real, though, and worth naming plainly. PPL has an active proposal (filed September 30, 2025) to move its customer-generators to hourly LMP export credits, expected mid-to-late 2026. UGI has already received approval for a similar reclassification, which a solar developer is appealing in state court. Citizens and Wellsboro Electric have comparable changes pending. These are utility-specific rate-case outcomes, not a statewide repeal, but they signal that the 1:1 retail structure is no longer something to take for granted indefinitely.
The practical takeaway is the same one that holds nationally: when states or utilities restructure net metering, existing interconnected customers are typically grandfathered under the rules in place when their system went live. In PPL territory especially, that makes the installation timeline a real factor. Locking in today’s rules is the only guarantee anyone can offer, and right now it is a meaningful one.
Model It Against Your Actual PECO or PPL Bill
A Sunwise consultation takes your 12 months of usage and shows you exactly how net metering plays out for your home: monthly imports, exports, banked credits, and where the annual true-up lands. Real PA rules, your real numbers.
Pennsylvania Net Metering FAQs
Is net metering available in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Pennsylvania law requires all investor-owned electric utilities to offer net metering at the full retail rate. PECO, PPL, Met-Ed, Penelec, West Penn Power, and Duquesne Light customers are all eligible. The requirement comes from the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act and PA Code Chapter 75.
What is the system size limit for net metering in Pennsylvania?
Higher efficiency means more electricity per square foot of panel area. But total electricity production depends on the entire system, not just panel efficiency. A lower-efficiency panel on a larger, unshaded, south-facing roof can produce more total electricity than a higher-efficiency panel on a smaller or partially shaded roof. System design matters as much as panel specs.
What happens to excess net metering credits in PA at the end of the year?
Credits roll over month to month through the year. At the end of the annual period (ending May 31), any remaining surplus kWh is paid out by the utility at its price-to-compare rate, which covers generation and transmission. The payout rate is below full retail, which is why systems are best sized close to annual usage rather than far above it.
Does PECO offer net metering?
PECO offers full retail rate net metering to residential solar customers, with credits applied monthly and annual surplus compensated at the price-to-compare rate after the May 31 true-up. PPL, Met-Ed, Penelec, West Penn Power, and Duquesne Light follow the same statewide framework.
Do rural electric cooperatives in PA have to offer net metering?
Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are not bound by the same PA PUC net metering rules as investor-owned utilities. Many offer their own net metering or buyback programs, but terms vary. Members of co-ops should confirm their specific program before signing a solar contract.
