Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, New Mexico

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how New Mexico'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 Mexico's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to New Mexico's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
New Mexico typically credits exports around 80% of retail. Avoided cost is significantly closer to retail than most net billing states, given high solar output.
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 Mexico 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 Mexico'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 Mexico's current export credit rate costs you compared to full 1:1 retail crediting.

How net metering works in New Mexico

Full retail crediting up to 100% of your usage, statewide

New Mexico requires its regulated investor-owned utilities, PNM, El Paso Electric, and Xcel Energy (Southwestern Public Service), along with participating rural cooperatives, to offer net metering. For small systems (10 kW AC or less under PNM's Small PV Program), exported power up to 100% of your monthly usage is credited at the full retail rate, with unused credits rolling forward indefinitely and never expiring on their own. If your utility credits exports at less than the retail rate, storing power can beat exporting it. The battery storage size calculator in our Battery & Storage section can help you size a battery for that.

Production beyond 100% of usage drops to avoided cost

If your system generates more than your own demand in a given period, that additional surplus is credited at the utility's lower avoided-cost rate rather than full retail. This distinction, and not just your total production, is what determines how much a larger system earns per kWh once it starts significantly overproducing relative to your usage. The tax credit and rebate estimator is the natural follow-up once this part is settled.

PNM is actively proposing changes as of mid-2026

As of July 2026, PNM, New Mexico's largest utility with over 50,000 solar customers, has proposed eliminating indefinite credit banking and altering how future solar customers are compensated, a matter under review at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. No new rule has been adopted as of now, and existing customers' terms haven't changed, but this is an active, evolving situation worth watching if you're weighing whether to install soon.

A separate REC purchase program exists but pays modestly

PNM customers can also sell the renewable energy certificates (RECs) their system generates back to the utility, currently around a quarter of a cent per kWh. For a typical home producing 10,000 kWh a year, that adds roughly $25 annually, a minor addition next to the net metering credit itself; New Mexico's tax credit and rebate estimator covers the incentives that move the needle.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Connecting a system still requires a standard interconnection application under New Mexico's Rule 570; the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what to expect there. And with full retail crediting still in place today, staying grid-tied remains far cheaper than going fully off-grid in New Mexico; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool shows exactly how much cheaper.

Questions

Frequently asked

New Mexico credits solar exports at the full retail rate, about 16 cents/kWh, up to 100% of your monthly usage; production beyond that threshold drops to a lower avoided-cost rate. A home exporting 300 kWh a month within its usage level earns about $48 in credit at the full retail rate.

The average residential rate in New Mexico was about 16 cents per kWh as of October 2026, per EIA data, below the national average. Full retail net metering applies up to 100% of usage; any surplus production beyond that is credited at avoided cost instead.

As of July 2026, PNM has proposed eliminating indefinite credit banking and altering compensation for future solar customers, drawing concern from more than 50,000 existing solar customers. No new rule has been formally adopted as of now, and current customer terms haven't changed, but the situation is actively evolving.

Production up to 100% of your monthly usage is credited at the full retail rate. Anything your system generates beyond that 100% threshold is credited at the utility's lower avoided-cost rate instead, which is why sizing a system to roughly match your usage, rather than deliberately overproducing, captures more value per kWh.

Related tools

Compare New Mexico'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