Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, South Dakota

Enter your exact usage, system size, and rate details to see how South Dakota'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 Dakota's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to South Dakota's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
South Dakota utilities credit excess generation at avoided cost, a few cents per kWh, well under a third of a typical retail 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 Dakota 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 Dakota'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 Dakota's current export credit rate costs you compared to full 1:1 retail crediting.

How net metering works in South Dakota

South Dakota has no statewide net metering law

South Dakota has no statewide law requiring utilities to net meter solar at the retail rate. Regulated utilities instead interconnect with small generators and buy their output at avoided cost, with the rates for systems under 100 kW filed with the Public Utilities Commission. In a 2024 filing, for example, Black Hills Energy reported a current avoided cost rate of $0.0248 per kWh.

What this means for a South Dakota solar system

Exported power isn't credited at your retail rate, but it isn't worthless either. Black Hills Energy's South Dakota solar program credits excess energy each monthly billing cycle at its avoided cost rate, and Montana-Dakota Utilities nets any excess in a monthly billing period at $0.0269 per kWh. Cooperatives and municipal utilities set their own terms, so most South Dakota solar owners size their systems around what they'll use directly.

Why self-consumption and battery storage matter more here

Since exported power earns only an avoided-cost credit, a small fraction of the roughly 15.4 cent retail rate, maximizing your own self-consumption rate is the central strategy in South Dakota. Pairing solar with a battery, so surplus daytime production charges storage instead of flowing to the grid at that low rate, is a common approach.

Always confirm directly with your specific utility

Because there's no statewide requirement, buyback terms are set by individual utilities and can change without a broader policy shift. Before finalizing a system size or design, check your utility's current credit for excess generation, and review South Dakota's tax credit and rebate estimator at the same time.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Connecting a system still requires your utility's standard interconnection approval, even without a net metering benefit attached, and the grid interconnection cost estimator covers what that process typically costs. Because exports earn only a low avoided-cost credit, comparing grid-tied against a fully off-grid system is worth doing carefully here, and the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool can help you weigh both paths.

Questions

Frequently asked

South Dakota has no statewide net metering law. Utilities instead credit excess solar at an avoided-cost rate: Black Hills Energy credits it each monthly billing cycle, and Montana-Dakota Utilities nets any monthly excess at $0.0269 per kWh. Most systems are designed around self-consumption.

The average residential rate in South Dakota was about 15.4 cents per kWh as of July 2026, per EIA data. South Dakota has no statewide net metering requirement, and exported solar earns only a small avoided-cost credit.

No. No state law requires utilities to net meter at the retail rate. Regulated utilities instead buy output from small generators at avoided cost, with rates for systems under 100 kW filed with the Public Utilities Commission, and cooperatives and municipal utilities set their own terms.

It can be, if the system is sized around self-consumption rather than exporting surplus. Exports earn only an avoided-cost credit, a small fraction of the retail rate, so capturing as much production for your own direct use as possible, sometimes paired with a battery, is the strategy that makes solar economics work in South Dakota.

Related tools

Compare South Dakota'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