Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Maryland

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how Maryland'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 Maryland's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Maryland's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Maryland typically credits exports around 100% of retail. Full retail 1:1 net metering up to 200 percent of a customer's peak demand.
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 Maryland 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

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

How net metering works in Maryland

Full retail crediting, but with a sunset date now on the books

Maryland requires BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power, and Potomac Edison to credit residential solar exports at the full retail rate, up to 2 MW or 200% of a customer's baseline annual usage. The statewide 3 gigawatt net metering capacity cap isn't new, it's been law for years, but on April 13, 2026 the Maryland General Assembly passed the SUNRISE Act (Senate Bill 843), which requires the Public Service Commission to have a successor compensation program ready by July 1, 2027. Full-value net metering keeps running until the state hits that 3 GW cap, so July 2027 is the deadline for the replacement to exist, not a guaranteed hard stop on that date.

Grandfathering protects systems connected before the cutoff

A system interconnected before the July 2027 sunset is grandfathered at today's near-retail export credit, which makes the specific timing of your interconnection meaningfully more important in Maryland right now than it would be in a state without a scheduled program end date. The SUNRISE Act (Senate Bill 843) publishes the current rules, so confirm the details there before you file anything.

A 2025 law already improved how excess credits are handled

Maryland historically ran an annual true-up each April, cashing out any leftover credit balance at a much lower wholesale rate and resetting the account to zero. The 2025 Net Metering Flexibility Act changed that: eligible customers can now opt into indefinite credit rollover at full retail value instead of the old April cash-out, an upgrade most properly-sized residential systems should elect if offered.

A small fixed charge still applies regardless of credits

Even with a fully offset kWh balance, Maryland customers still pay a small fixed monthly customer charge, roughly $9 on Pepco and $10 on BGE, which credits can't offset. It's a modest amount, but worth accounting for separately from your expected bill savings, alongside whatever Maryland's tax credit and rebate estimator shows for your specific system size.

Interconnection ahead of the 2027 deadline

With the SUNRISE transition deadline approaching, confirming your interconnection timeline with your installer matters more than usual, and the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what that process typically costs. With full retail crediting still available today, staying grid-tied remains far cheaper than a fully off-grid system, and the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows how much cheaper.

Questions

Frequently asked

Maryland credits residential solar exports at full retail, up to 2 MW or 200% of a customer's baseline annual usage. A home exporting 300 kWh a month earns about $65 in credit at that rate, though the SUNRISE Act requires a successor program ready by July 1, 2027, once the state's long-standing 3 GW cap is reached.

The average residential rate in Maryland is about 21.8 cents per kWh. Full retail 1:1 net metering up to 200 percent of a customer's baseline annual usage, though the SUNRISE Act requires a successor program ready by July 1, 2027, once the state's long-standing 3 GW cap is reached.

Not on a fixed date outright. The SUNRISE Act (Senate Bill 843), passed April 13, 2026, requires the Public Service Commission to have a successor compensation program ready by July 1, 2027. Full-value net metering continues until the state's existing 3 gigawatt capacity cap is reached, so that date is a deadline for the replacement, not a guaranteed cutoff. Systems interconnected before the transition are grandfathered at today's near-retail export credit.

Not by default anymore. The 2025 Net Metering Flexibility Act lets eligible customers opt into indefinite credit rollover at full retail value instead of the old annual April cash-out, which previously settled leftover credits at a much lower wholesale rate. Most properly-sized residential systems benefit from electing this option where offered.

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