Understanding the Entergy New Orleans exception
The state credit expired, and net metering followed
Louisiana previously offered one of the more generous state solar tax credits in the country, but that program has since expired and was not renewed. Mandatory net metering effectively ended too, following the Louisiana Public Service Commission's own September 2019 order, meaning utilities are no longer required by state law to offer full retail credit for exported solar power on new installations. Homeowners who submitted an interconnection request and completed installation by December 31, 2019 were grandfathered onto full retail net metering for 15 years, through December 31, 2034, so a meaningful share of existing Louisiana solar owners still have several years left on the old, better terms. Most homeowners installing solar today, though, are working with a meaningfully different incentive picture than what older guides describe. Check your federal ITC calculator status for what's actually available at the federal level in 2026.
Net billing at avoided cost is now the norm
Entergy Louisiana, SWEPCO, and most other utilities in the state now offer net billing instead of true net metering. Under this two-channel structure, you pay the full retail rate for every kilowatt-hour you buy from the grid, but you're credited only at the avoided cost rate, commonly around 2 to 4 cents per kWh, for any excess power you export. That's roughly a quarter of the retail rate, which makes maximizing self-consumption, and potentially pairing your system with a battery, considerably more valuable than it would be under full retail net metering. Check the rebate stacking tool if you're combining this with other incentives.
Entergy New Orleans customers get a meaningfully better deal
City of New Orleans net metering remains mandated for Entergy New Orleans customers specifically, guaranteeing the full retail rate for every kilowatt-hour exported to the grid. This is a genuinely different and better arrangement than what the rest of the state receives, so if you're inside Entergy New Orleans's service territory, your solar economics look considerably stronger than a comparable system just outside the city. Your rebate total changes what a loan costs each month, and the combined loan and rebate timing tool shows that payment once you enter both figures.
The property tax exemption applies regardless of utility
Under Louisiana Revised Statute 47:1706, solar equipment attached to an owner-occupied residential building is declared personal property and fully exempt from ad valorem taxation, so assessors don't factor its value into your home's assessment. At the state's low average property tax rate of about 0.5%, this typically saves a home somewhere between $75 and $100 a year, and it applies for the life of the system no matter which utility serves you. Compare your overall picture against a neighboring state using the Arkansas incentive estimator.