Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, South Carolina

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how South 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 South Carolina's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to South Carolina's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Power you use directly offsets your bill at the full rate. Solar Choice credits excess generation at a few cents per kWh, roughly 30% of a typical South Carolina rate.
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 South 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

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

How net metering works in South Carolina

New customers get Solar Choice tariffs, not 1:1 net metering

Under South Carolina's Energy Freedom Act (Act 62 of 2019), customers who applied before June 1, 2021 kept the earlier net metering terms, while customers applying since then are placed on Solar Choice tariffs, as the Office of Regulatory Staff explains. Dominion Energy South Carolina (formerly SCE&G) and Duke Energy each run their own Solar Choice tariff, which credits excess generation at a rate set well below retail, in the low single-digit cents per kWh in recent years and updated periodically. Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility, runs its own program under its own terms.

Solar Choice customers are generally placed on time-of-use rates

Solar Choice customers at Dominion Energy and Duke Energy are generally placed on a time-of-use rate plan, which can include demand charges on top of the standard rate structure, so confirm the plan details with your utility before you sign. This is added complexity compared to states where solar customers keep their standard rate plan.

The state regulator oversees the tariffs, but Santee Cooper and cooperatives set their own

The South Carolina Public Service Commission oversees the investor-owned utilities' Solar Choice tariffs under the Energy Freedom Act, which is why Dominion Energy and Duke Energy follow the structure above, while Santee Cooper and the electric cooperatives set their own terms. South Carolina's tax credit and rebate estimator applies regardless of which one covers you.

Electric cooperatives run yet another structure

South Carolina's electric cooperatives and Santee Cooper each run their own programs with their own export credits, so check your provider's current terms rather than assuming the investor-owned utilities' Solar Choice structure applies to you. You can check the knock-on effects with the tax credit and rebate estimator.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Dominion, Duke, and the co-ops each run their own interconnection process, and Solar Choice customers generally land on time-of-use rates, so the grid interconnection cost estimator is the place to price that step. Even with South Carolina's below-retail export credits, 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. Once you know what your utility will credit, the 25-year lifetime savings calculator in our Savings & Payback section can turn that credit rate into a payback period for your system.

Questions

Frequently asked

Customers who applied before June 1, 2021 kept the earlier net metering terms. Customers applying since then are on Solar Choice tariffs at Dominion Energy and Duke Energy, which credit excess generation at a rate well below the roughly 15.5 cent retail rate, in the low single-digit cents per kWh in recent years.

The average residential rate in South Carolina was about 15.5 cents per kWh as of July 2026, per EIA data. New solar customers at Dominion and Duke are credited for exports at a much lower Solar Choice rate, while Santee Cooper and the cooperatives set their own terms.

Solar Choice is the tariff structure that replaced full retail net metering for customers who applied on or after June 1, 2021 under the Energy Freedom Act. Dominion Energy and Duke Energy each have their own version, crediting excess generation at a rate set well below retail. Santee Cooper and the cooperatives run separate programs.

Solar Choice customers at Dominion Energy and Duke Energy are generally placed on time-of-use rate plans, which can include demand charges beyond the standard rate structure, so confirm the details with your utility. Santee Cooper and the cooperatives set their own plan requirements.

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