California solar utility guide
PG&E solar billing and net metering
Newer solar customers are generally billed under the Solar Billing Plan. Imported electricity and exported solar are valued separately, and export-credit values vary by time.
Service territory: Northern and Central California | Policy source checked 2026-10-07
Author profile: Marcus Vance. Verify the linked tariff before relying on a savings estimate.
Relevant document effective 2026-03-01. Expiration has not been established for this account; confirm the current source document.
What has actually been checked?
Review attempt: 2026-10-11. Status: partial.
Official Solar Billing Plan page confirms Electric Home enrollment, time-dependent credits, monthly billing and annual true-up.
Not verified: Current numeric E-ELEC rates, export vintages, CCA supply, non-bypassable and base charges were not imported. Prior rate-table edition claims are not newly verified.
Source-checked billing details
Residential rate-table edition, not the start date of every solar account. Policy source checked 2026-10-07; next review due 2026-11-06. This is not a numeric account-tariff import.
Eligibility: Confirm Solar Billing Plan versus legacy NEM, interconnection date, E-ELEC schedule and the generation provider.
Schedule: Use the E-ELEC rate table and account-specific hourly export-credit schedule; export value is not a constant retail rate.
- The current residential rate-table index lists an edition beginning March 1, 2026.
- Solar Billing Plan and legacy net-metering accounts require different export treatment.
Worked billing example and limitations
Illustrative sensitivity: exporting 1,000 kWh at $0.04 instead of $0.20 changes credit value from $200 to $40. These two prices are assumptions, not PG&E tariff rates.
Current planning model
Solar Billing Plan with time-varying export credits
Do not convert this label into a single permanent cents-per-kWh assumption. Open the official source below and verify the tariff that applies to the account and interconnection date.
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What to verify before using a savings calculator
- CHECK 1
Confirm whether the account is on legacy NEM or the Solar Billing Plan.
- CHECK 2
Use the current time-of-use import schedule and hourly export-credit values.
- CHECK 3
Include the applicable monthly base services charge and non-bypassable charges.
- CHECK 4
Model evening self-consumption separately when evaluating a battery.
Turn PG&E billing rules into a better solar estimate
Start with your last 12 months of kWh usage, then compare the quote's production against that load. Next, separate energy used in the home from energy exported to Pacific Gas and Electric. Export value should follow the account's tariff, service date, and rate schedule, not a generic retail-rate assumption.
Verify against the primary source
Utility rules change. Wattcrunch records the review date and links to the source rather than presenting this page as a substitute for the tariff.
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