Grid & off-grid

Net metering calculator, Wisconsin

Model your solar bill under whichever Wisconsin utility serves you, since Xcel, We Energies, MGE, and Alliant each set their own net metering terms.

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 Wisconsin's average peak sun hours. Adjust if you know your local figure.
Defaulted to Wisconsin's current average residential rate. Your utility's actual rate may differ.
Wisconsin typically credits exports around 70% of retail. Utilities may apply a buyback rate below retail once a customer exceeds their own usage offset.
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 Wisconsin 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. Confirm which of Wisconsin's four major utilities serves your address first, since each sets its own size cap and buyback rate. Select a season to model a specific month rather than only an annual average.

Step 2

Confirm your rate, tier, and export credit

A typical Wisconsin residential rate is filled in by default, along with a 70% export credit level as a rough midpoint across the state's different utility programs. Swap in your own tariff numbers and fixed monthly fee if you have a recent bill showing them.

Step 3

Compare the result to a full retail scenario

Run the net billing vs net metering comparison tool to see how much your specific utility's export credit rate costs you compared to Xcel's full retail-rate rollover. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's solar guide explains how net metering fits into the wider solar picture.

How net metering works in Wisconsin

Every utility offers net metering, but the terms differ sharply

Wisconsin requires all investor-owned and municipal utilities to offer net metering, but leaves the size limits, true-up timing, and buyback rate largely up to each individual utility. Xcel Energy runs what's generally considered the strongest program: up to 100 kW, monthly rollover at full retail value, with any year-end excess paid out at avoided cost. We Energies allows systems up to 300 kW but nets monthly at the avoided-cost rate rather than retail for anything unused within that month.

Madison Gas & Electric uses a "net seller" test

MGE determines your status based on your trailing 12 months: if you use more than you produce over that period, you're credited at the standard retail rate for your exports. If you're a net seller, meaning you produce more than you use, the excess instead earns MGE's separate Parallel Generation Buyback Rate, a lower wholesale-based figure. Alliant Energy (Wisconsin Power and Light) caps systems at 20 kW and credits excess at its own avoided-cost rate, which fluctuates but has typically run in the 3 to 7 cent range, a figure the avoided cost rate calculator can help you understand.

Wisconsin's rules don't apply to electric cooperatives

State net metering regulations only bind investor-owned and municipal utilities; Wisconsin's electric cooperatives are exempt from the statewide requirement. In practice, a large share of the state's roughly two dozen cooperatives voluntarily offer some form of net metering anyway, so confirm your specific cooperative's actual policy rather than assuming the statewide rules apply. A self-consumption battery is a safer bet than relying on export credit alone if your cooperative's policy turns out to be less generous than you expected.

Fixed monthly charges are rising in 2026 at some utilities

Alliant Energy's fixed monthly customer charge is scheduled to rise to $16 in 2026 and $17 in 2027 under a recently settled rate case. Since that charge applies regardless of how much of your usage solar offsets, a higher fixed fee slightly reduces how much of your total bill any net metering credit can realistically eliminate, and the tax credit and rebate estimator for Wisconsin can help weigh available incentives against that rising cost.

Interconnection and the off-grid comparison

Xcel, We Energies, and the municipal utilities each run their own interconnection process, so a standard application comes first; the grid interconnection cost estimator prices that step. With Xcel and We Energies both offering meaningful net metering value, a grid-tied system in Wisconsin still undercuts an off-grid build by a wide margin, and the grid tie vs off grid comparison tool puts a number on that gap.

Questions

Frequently asked

Every Wisconsin utility offers net metering, but terms vary sharply: Xcel offers monthly rollover at full retail, We Energies nets monthly at avoided cost, MGE uses a net-seller test, and Alliant caps at 20 kW with its own avoided-cost rate.

The average residential rate in Wisconsin was about 19.6 cents per kWh as of mid-2026, per EIA data, up sharply from around 17.5 cents a year earlier. Every Wisconsin utility must offer net metering, but the specific size limits, true-up timing, and buyback rate vary significantly by provider.

Xcel Energy is generally considered the strongest, offering monthly rollover at full retail value with only year-end excess dropping to avoided cost. We Energies, MGE, and Alliant Energy all use various combinations of lower monthly or annual avoided-cost rates for unused or excess generation, so the utility serving your address matters significantly.

No, Wisconsin's statewide net metering regulations exempt electric cooperatives. In practice, a large share of the state's roughly two dozen cooperatives voluntarily offer some version of net metering anyway, so confirm your specific cooperative's policy directly rather than assuming.

Related tools

Compare Wisconsin'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