Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Manitoba

Model your solar bill under Manitoba Hydro's net billing structure, where your usage is credited at retail but your exports are paid a separate, lower excess energy price.

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 Manitoba's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Manitoba's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Manitoba typically credits exports around 100% of retail. Manitoba Hydro net metering credits exports 1:1 against consumption.
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 Manitoba 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. Since Manitoba Hydro's excess energy price changes every March, double-check the current figure before locking in your export rate below. Select a season to model a specific month rather than only an annual average.

Step 2

Confirm your rate, tier, and export credit

A typical Manitoba Hydro residential rate and the current excess energy export price are filled in by default. Swap in your own 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 how much Manitoba's current excess energy price costs you compared to full 1:1 retail crediting.

How net metering works in Manitoba

Manitoba runs net billing, not traditional net metering

Manitoba Hydro compensates solar customers through a net billing structure rather than 1:1 net metering. You're billed your standard retail rate for the power you use, and separately paid a distinct excess energy price for whatever surplus you export, currently $0.07173/kWh through March 31, 2027, updated annually. That's a different structure from a state where exports offset usage at the same rate.

The export rate is a fraction of what you pay for power

At 7.173 cents/kWh against a residential retail rate of 9.970 cents/kWh, Manitoba's export rate currently runs at about 72% of retail, well above where it sat a year earlier. For a typical 10 kW system, that translates to roughly $210 to $375 a year in export earnings depending on how much gets exported, with self-consumption still worth more per kWh than any export credit, which a self-consumption battery can help capture even more of.

Efficiency Manitoba's rebate improves the payback

Efficiency Manitoba offers a rebate of $0.50 per watt of installed capacity, up to $5,000, for qualifying residential solar installations. Since self-consumption still does more of the economic work than the export credit, this upfront rebate plays a real role in Manitoba's solar payback math, and the tax credit and rebate estimator for Manitoba can total it up with any other incentives you qualify for. If any term on this page is unfamiliar, the buy-all sell-all entry in our Glossary explains it in plain English.

System size caps top out at 100 kW

Manitoba Hydro's net billing program covers systems up to 100 kW nameplate capacity, sufficient for the overwhelming majority of residential and even many commercial rooftop installations. The net billing vs net metering comparison tool can help you see how much this structure differs from a full retail-crediting program. Once you have that number, the tax credit and rebate estimator for Manitoba shows what it means for the rest of the system.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Connecting a system through Manitoba Hydro requires a standard interconnection application, and the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what to budget for. With self-consumption still doing most of the economic work under net billing, sizing a system carefully matters, and the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows why staying grid-tied still beats going fully off-grid.

Questions

Frequently asked

Manitoba Hydro runs net billing, not 1:1 net metering. You pay retail for usage and separately earn a lower excess energy price for exports, currently $0.07173/kWh through March 31, 2027, updated annually, roughly 72% of the retail rate.

Manitoba Hydro's residential retail rate is $0.09970/kWh, higher than the current excess energy export price of $0.07173/kWh. Manitoba runs net billing rather than 1:1 net metering, with exports credited at a separate, lower rate than usage.

Manitoba Hydro uses net billing, a different structure from 1:1 net metering. You're billed retail for your usage and separately paid a distinct excess energy price, currently $0.07173/kWh through March 31, 2027 and updated annually, which currently runs at about 72% of the retail rate.

Yes. Efficiency Manitoba offers $0.50 per watt of installed capacity, up to $5,000, for qualifying residential systems. Since self-consumption still does more of the economic work than the export credit, this upfront rebate plays a real role in Manitoba's solar payback.

Related tools

Compare Manitoba's policy to other structures

Grid tie vs off grid comparison Net billing vs net metering Buy all sell all vs net metering Avoided cost rate calculator Grid export cap calculator Grid interconnection cost estimator Grid tie with battery backup comparison All grid and off-grid tools