Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, North Carolina

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how North Carolina'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 North Carolina's statewide average. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to North Carolina's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
North Carolina typically credits exports around 70% of retail. Duke Energy's bridge rate credits exports below retail on a time-of-use schedule.
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 North Carolina 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

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

How net metering works in North Carolina

House Bill 589 set today's three-tier transition in motion

Under House Bill 589 (2017), the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved a new Duke Energy solar compensation structure in March 2023, replacing full retail net metering with a phased transition. Customers who applied before July 1, 2023 kept Legacy Net Metering, full 1:1 retail crediting, through December 31, 2026, after which they automatically shift to the Net Metering Bridge rate for up to 15 more years from their original application date.

New customers choose between two paths, with a closing deadline

Customers applying since July 2023 choose between the Net Metering Bridge Rider (NMB), a transitional option that avoids mandatory time-of-use pricing, or Residential Solar Choice (RSC), which requires time-of-use billing including Critical Peak Pricing. The NMB option is capacity-limited to new applicants on December 31, 2026; anyone who secures a spot before that date keeps it locked for 15 years from their interconnection date.

After 2027, time-of-use pricing becomes mandatory

Once NMB closes, Residential Solar Choice becomes the only path for new solar customers, and its time-of-use rate structure can push electricity costs above 40 cents/kWh during Critical Peak Pricing events. Systems 15 kW or larger also face an additional grid access fee, currently $1.50 to $2.05 per kW per month depending on which Duke Energy subsidiary serves you.

Excess credits are cashed out annually at avoided cost

Within a billing cycle, credits accumulate and roll forward month to month. Each April, though, Duke Energy purchases any remaining excess generation at the utility's avoided-cost rate, about 3.4 cents/kWh as of 2026, a significant reduction from the roughly 11 to 13 cent retail rate those credits were originally worth; North Carolina's tax credit and rebate estimator is worth checking against that gap.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

No matter which of Duke Energy's compensation paths you land on, the interconnection review still comes first, and the grid interconnection cost estimator prices that step. North Carolina ranks third nationally for installed solar capacity, with several compensation paths still open, so a grid-tied system still undercuts an off-grid build by a wide margin; the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool puts a number on that gap.

Questions

Frequently asked

Systems applied before July 2023 keep Legacy Net Metering (full retail) through December 2026. New customers choose the Net Metering Bridge Rider (closes to new applicants Dec 31, 2026) or Residential Solar Choice, which requires time-of-use billing.

The average residential rate in North Carolina was about 15 cents per kWh as of mid-2026, per EIA data, below the national average. Systems applied before July 2023 keep full retail Legacy Net Metering through December 2026; new customers choose between two newer rate structures.

December 31, 2026. Homeowners who submit and get their interconnection request approved before that date can lock in the Net Metering Bridge Rider (NMB) for 15 years, avoiding mandatory time-of-use pricing. After that date, Residential Solar Choice becomes the only option for new customers, which requires time-of-use billing with Critical Peak Pricing.

Customers who applied before July 1, 2023 keep full 1:1 retail Legacy Net Metering through December 31, 2026. After that date, they automatically transition to the Net Metering Bridge rate for up to 15 more years before eventually moving to Residential Solar Choice or whatever tariff is then in effect.

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