Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Nevada

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how Nevada'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 Nevada's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Nevada's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Nevada typically credits exports around 75% of retail. Restored net metering in 2017 credits exports at roughly 75 percent of retail, stepping down as enrollment grows.
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 Nevada 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

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

How net metering works in Nevada

A tiered structure, set by Assembly Bill 405, sets your rate

Effective June 15, 2017, Nevada legislation known as AB 405 restored net metering for NV Energy customers under a tiered rate structure. Tier 1 started at 95% of the retail rate; each subsequent tier stepped down as combined installed capacity crossed 80-megawatt thresholds. Today's new solar customers land in Tier 4, credited at 75% of the retail rate.

Whatever tier you land in, you keep it for 20 years

Once you sign up for net metering at your specific tier, that rate is locked in for 20 years at the physical location where your system was installed. Since the tiers only ever step down as capacity fills, applying sooner rather than later locks in a better rate than waiting, though Tier 4 has been the applicable rate for most new customers for some time now. A newer change matters more for day-to-day bills: starting April 1, 2026, NV Energy began charging a separate daily demand fee based on each customer's highest 15-minute usage, and net metering credits can't offset it, which utility estimates put at roughly $12 to $20 more a month for solar customers even as volumetric rates dropped slightly to compensate. For the official wording, see the Tier 4.

NV Energy no longer caps total program capacity

Before August 2015, Nevada capped its net metering program at 235 megawatts total. That statewide cap has since been removed, so NV Energy customers today aren't competing against a hard ceiling on total enrolled capacity, only against the tiered rate structure that steps down over time; Nevada's tax credit and rebate estimator is worth checking regardless of which tier applies to you.

Not every Nevada utility runs the same program

NV Energy is the largest and most common provider, but Valley Electric Association (VEA) and some other Nevada utilities offer net billing instead of AB 405's tiered net metering. Confirming which structure your specific utility runs matters before assuming the NV Energy terms described here apply to you.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Connecting a system, regardless of tier, still requires standard interconnection review through your utility; the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what to expect there. And even at Tier 4's reduced 75% credit, staying grid-tied remains dramatically cheaper than going fully off-grid; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows how much cheaper.

Questions

Frequently asked

Nevada's AB 405 set up a tiered net metering structure for NV Energy customers, starting at 95% of retail and stepping down as capacity filled. New customers today land in Tier 4, credited at 75% of retail, locked in for 20 years once enrolled.

The average residential rate in Nevada was about 13 cents per kWh as of mid-2026, per EIA data, among the lowest in the country. NV Energy's net metering runs on a tiered structure under AB 405, with new customers currently landing in Tier 4 at 75% of retail.

Nevada's tiered structure started at Tier 1, 95% of retail rate, for the first customers to sign up after June 2017, then stepped down as combined installed capacity crossed 80-megawatt thresholds. Today's new customers land in Tier 4, credited at 75% of retail. Whichever tier you enroll under is locked in for 20 years.

No. NV Energy is the largest provider and runs AB 405's tiered net metering structure. Valley Electric Association (VEA) and some other Nevada utilities instead offer net billing, a different structure. Confirming which one applies to your specific utility matters before assuming the NV Energy terms apply.

Related tools

Compare Nevada's policy to other structures

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