Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Kansas

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how Kansas'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 Kansas's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Kansas's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Kansas typically credits exports around 55% of retail. Net metering available but credited at a blended rate below full retail for larger systems.
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 Kansas 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

Kansas'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 Kansas's current export credit rate costs you compared to full 1:1 retail crediting.

How net metering works in Kansas

The Kansas Net Metering and Easy Connection Act sets the framework

Kansas requires its two investor-owned utilities, Evergy and Empire District (Liberty Utilities), to offer net metering on a first-come, first-served basis under a 2009 law amended in 2014 and again by 2024's House Bill 2527. A statewide capacity cap tied to each utility's prior-year peak demand has been stepping up gradually, working toward 5% by 2027, and Kansas's tax credit and rebate estimator is worth checking regardless of where that cap currently sits.

Monthly netting, with a lower rate for surplus exports

Within a billing period, usage and export are netted using a bidirectional meter, so power you use as it's generated offsets your bill directly. Any exports beyond your own usage in a given month are credited at the utility's system average, or wholesale, cost instead, reported around 2.4 cents/kWh against a 15.1 cent retail rate, a meaningful gap that rewards sizing a system to your own consumption rather than overproducing. You can check the knock-on effects with the tax credit and rebate estimator. At 2.4 cents against that 15.1 cent retail rate, exports earn about 16 percent of retail, so pick the 30 percent option in the export credit dropdown, worth about 4.5 cents, as the closest match; the 55 percent typical rate option would overstate the credit by almost 6 cents.

A special solar fee was struck down by the state's highest court

In 2019, Evergy tried to add a monthly fee specifically for solar customers on top of standard charges. The Kansas Supreme Court struck it down in early 2020 as unlawful price discrimination, so no separate solar-only fee currently applies to net metering customers statewide, per the Kansas Corporation Commission's own summary.

Why matching your system to your own usage matters here

Since only within-month usage gets the full retail-equivalent netting benefit, while surplus exports drop to the much lower wholesale rate, keeping your self-consumption rate high performs better financially in Kansas than building a system to maximize total output. The grid tie with battery backup comparison tool can show what adding storage does to that math, kWh for kWh.

Interconnection and the off-grid alternative

Both Evergy and Empire District run their own interconnection review before a system can be energized. And with monthly netting already covering same-period usage, staying grid-tied remains far cheaper than a fully off-grid system; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows the full cost gap.

Questions Net metering is only part of what you can claim. The federal tax credit calculator in our Rebates & Incentives section estimates the tax credit and rebates available for your state.

Frequently asked

Evergy and Empire District net usage and export at the retail rate within the same month using a bidirectional meter, roughly 13.6 cents/kWh. Any export beyond your own monthly usage drops to a lower wholesale system average cost, around 2.4 cents/kWh.

The average residential rate in Kansas is about 13.6 cents per kWh. Evergy and Empire District net usage and export within the month at retail rate; surplus beyond usage drops to a lower wholesale rate.

Both, depending on timing. Usage and export are netted at retail value within the same month using a bidirectional meter. Any export beyond your own usage in that month is credited at the utility's wholesale system average cost instead, reported around 2.4 cents/kWh against a roughly 13.6 cent retail rate.

No. Evergy attempted to add a monthly fee specifically for solar customers in 2019, but the Kansas Supreme Court struck it down in early 2020 as unlawful price discrimination. No separate solar-only fee currently applies to net metering customers statewide.

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