Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, New Hampshire

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how New Hampshire'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 New Hampshire's statewide average. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to New Hampshire's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
New Hampshire typically credits exports around 100% of retail. Full retail net metering locked in through 2041 under NH PUC Docket DE 16-576.
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 New Hampshire 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

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

How net metering works in New Hampshire

NEM 2.0 isn't a full retail 1:1 credit

Despite sometimes being described that way, New Hampshire's current program, NEM 2.0, credits exports using a specific formula: 100% of the supply component of your rate, plus 100% of transmission, plus only 25% of the distribution component, as the NH Department of Energy explains. Because the formula excludes non-bypassable charges like the system benefits and stranded cost components entirely, this typically works out to somewhere around 60 to 70% of the full retail rate in practice, well short of a true one-for-one credit, despite sometimes being described as close to full retail.

The formula itself is locked through 2041, even if rates change

Under PUC Docket DE 16-576, this crediting formula is locked in place through January 1, 2041. The underlying supply, transmission, and distribution rates will still fluctuate over time as costs change, but the percentage-based formula applied to those rates won't be altered by regulators during that window, giving New Hampshire solar owners unusual long-term policy certainty.

A monthly true-up is less generous than an annual one

New Hampshire settles accounts on a monthly basis rather than annually. Since a monthly true-up gives credits less time to accumulate and offset a high-usage month later in the year, this structure can reduce a system's effective value by an estimated 10 to 15% compared to states using an annual cycle, even with an identical credit rate.

Group net metering lets a system's credits be shared

Since 2013, New Hampshire law has permitted "group net metering," where a net-metered system's host can share its surplus generation credits with other utility account holders who don't have their own renewable system. This arrangement, regulated under Puc 909, is uncommon nationally and can be useful for shared-property or community-oriented solar projects; New Hampshire's tax credit and rebate estimator applies whether you're hosting or joining as a group member.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Residential and small commercial systems are capped at 100 kW AC and must connect behind your existing meter; the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what that process typically costs. And with New Hampshire's high electricity rates and a still-favorable credit structure, staying grid-tied remains far cheaper than a fully off-grid system; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows how much cheaper.

Questions

Frequently asked

New Hampshire uses NEM 2.0, which credits solar exports at roughly 60 to 70% of the 27.3 cent retail rate, not a true 1:1 credit, using a formula of 100% supply, 100% transmission, and 25% distribution, with non-bypassable charges like system benefits and stranded cost excluded entirely. A home exporting 300 kWh a month earns roughly $50 to $58 in credit at that blended rate.

The average residential rate in New Hampshire is about 27.3 cents per kWh. The NEM 2.0 credit formula, roughly 60 to 70% of retail once non-bypassable charges are excluded, is locked in through 2041 under NH PUC Docket DE 16-576.

Not even close, despite how it's sometimes described. NEM 2.0 credits exports using a specific formula, 100% of the supply component, 100% of transmission, and only 25% of distribution, with non-bypassable charges like system benefits and stranded cost recovery excluded entirely. In practice this typically works out to roughly 60 to 70% of the full retail rate, not a true one-for-one credit. This formula itself is locked through January 1, 2041 under PUC Docket DE 16-576.

Established in 2013, group net metering allows a net-metered system's owner (the \"host\") to share surplus generation credits with other utility account holders who don't have their own renewable system, known as group members. This arrangement is regulated under Puc 909 and is uncommon among states nationally.

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Compare New Hampshire's policy to other structures

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