Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Delaware

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how Delaware's net metering policy affects your solar bill, with precise controls for season, tiered rates, and fixed fees.

Your numbers

1 Project details Optional
Shown on your exported report. Leave blank to skip.
2 Your usage and system
Find this on a recent utility bill, usually labeled kWh used.
Use your quoted or planned system size. Panel count times panel wattage divided by 1,000 gives a rough figure.
Solar production swings seasonally; pick a specific month type to see how your bill shifts.
Most utilities charge a flat customer or connection fee regardless of usage.
3 Your location and rate
Defaulted to Delaware's statewide average. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Delaware's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Delaware typically credits exports around 100% of retail. Full retail 1:1 net metering, no system size cap beyond 110 percent of historical usage.
Some utilities charge progressively higher per-kWh rates as monthly usage climbs into higher tiers.
Accounts for inverter loss, wiring loss, dust, and temperature derate combined.
Informational only. A monthly cycle means unused export credit does not carry to the next bill; annual and rolling cycles do.

How it works

Three steps to your Delaware solar bill estimate

Step 1

Enter your usage, system size, and season

Pull your monthly kWh from a recent bill and enter your planned or quoted system size in kW. If you only know your panel count, multiply it by each panel's wattage and divide by 1,000 to get a kW figure first. Select a season to model a specific month rather than only an annual average.

Step 2

Confirm your rate, tier, and export credit

Delaware's typical residential rate and export credit level are filled in by default. Swap in your utility's actual tariff numbers, tier bracket, and fixed monthly fee if you have a recent bill or interconnection agreement showing them.

Step 3

Compare the result to a full retail scenario

Run the net billing vs net metering comparison tool to see exactly how much Delaware's current export credit rate costs you compared to full 1:1 retail crediting.

How net metering works in Delaware

Full retail crediting, the same way at every utility

The Delaware Public Service Commission's net metering rules work identically across all electric providers, Delmarva Power, Delaware Electric Cooperative, and the state's municipal utilities represented by DEMEC. Every one of them credits excess solar generation at the full retail rate, and systems can be sized up to 110% of a customer's trailing 12-month usage, capped at 25 kW for residential accounts.

Credits don't roll over indefinitely, and you pick your reset month

Delaware runs a 12-month true-up rather than an indefinite rolling credit. You choose your own true-up month at enrollment, and can change that choice once later on; conventional advice favors picking March or April so any leftover winter usage gets one more sunny season to offset before the reset. Any credits still unused at your chosen true-up date expire, with no rollover and no cash payout, so sizing a system too far above your own usage wastes potential value.

The participation cap is gone as of mid-2026

A 2022 law, Senate Bill 298, had raised the threshold at which a utility may stop offering net metering from 5% to 8% of its peak demand. Senate Bill 239 went further, eliminating that cap entirely, and the Governor signed it into law on June 10, 2026, so Delaware utilities can no longer cite a statutory participation limit as a reason to stop accepting new net metering customers.

Fixed monthly charges still apply in cash, not credits

Even with a full kWh credit balance, monthly fixed charges like the basic meter connection fee typically still have to be paid in cash rather than offset by banked solar credits, a detail worth budgeting for separately, though Delaware's tax credit and rebate estimator can help offset the larger upfront cost.

Interconnection and the off-grid alternative

All three utility types in Delaware still require a standard interconnection review before a system can operate; the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what to expect there. And with full retail crediting already in place statewide, the case for going fully off-grid in Delaware is weaker than in reduced-credit states; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows how much more an off-grid system would cost by comparison.

Questions

Frequently asked

Delaware credits excess solar generation at the full retail rate across all providers, with systems sized up to 110% of trailing 12-month usage. Delaware runs a 12-month true-up you can time yourself; unused credits expire at that point with no rollover or cash payout.

The average residential rate in Delaware is about 19.4 cents per kWh. Full retail net metering applies statewide across investor-owned, cooperative, and municipal utilities alike.

They expire with no rollover and no cash payout. Delaware runs a 12-month true-up rather than an indefinite rolling credit, and you choose your own true-up month at enrollment (changeable once later). Sizing a system to closely match your annual usage avoids leaving value on the table at reset.

A 2022 law had raised the threshold at which a utility may stop offering net metering from 5% to 8% of peak demand. Senate Bill 239, signed into law on June 10, 2026, removed that cap entirely, so there's no longer a statutory enrollment limit for Delaware utilities to cite.

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Compare Delaware's policy to other structures

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