Alabama
Net metering in Alabama, provider by provider.
Every provider in the state, and every figure below read from the published tariff or interconnection document rather than a comparison site. Some credit you the full retail rate for the power you send back. Most do not, and that difference is the whole reason this page exists.
Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41607 kilowatt hours. A 1,143 kilowatt hour month against 1,462 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 319 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $187.45 to $0.00 at 16.40 cents per kilowatt hour.
Alabama average household use, 1,143 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 16.40¢ per kWh. Your utility still bills a fixed monthly customer charge that no system offsets, so this is the energy part of the bill, which is the part that goes away.
Solar buyback rates in Alabama, utility by utility
Alabama has no net metering statute. Alabama Power buys exported power under Rate PAE, and its Rate Rider RGB adds a Capacity Reservation Charge of $5.41 a month per kW of a residential system’s nameplate capacity.
Alabama net metering rules
No net metering, and a monthly charge for having solar.
- Who it binds
- Nothing requires a retail rate credit anywhere in Alabama. The Public Service Commission approved Alabama Power’s Rate PAE; cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms.
- What happens to a surplus
- No statute sets it. Alabama Power’s Rate PAE, approved by the Public Service Commission, lets credits that exceed charges be carried forward and paid by check on request. Cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms, so ask yours in writing.
- How big a system you may build
- Set by Alabama Power’s Special Rules and interconnection requirements rather than by statute.
Alabama PSC Docket 18005, order dated 7 May 2013 (Special Rules for Rate PAE) — checked 2026-10-07
What actually happens after you pick
Most sites in this business hand your number to a sales team and disappear. We do the preparation first, so the company that turns up already knows your situation.
You see your real terms
Your provider page shows what that specific utility credits you, when it trues up, and where the catch is. Sourced and dated, not a sales page.
You choose the company
Companies serving your territory in Alabama, with the reviews, years trading and BBB grade we found for each. You pick. Not a call center, not an auction.
We set the whole thing up
We call you, go through your bill and your last twelve months of use, work out what your utility owes you, and get the program paperwork in order.
They arrive prepared
The company you chose turns up to a job that is already understood, with your figures in hand. No cold pitch on your doorstep.
Solar installers in Alabama
Every company we list for at least one Alabama utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Alabama: the questions people ask
- Does Alabama have net metering?
- Alabama has no net metering statute. Alabama Power buys exported power under Rate PAE, and its Rate Rider RGB adds a Capacity Reservation Charge of $5.41 a month per kW of a residential system’s nameplate capacity.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Alabama?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 2 providers we list in Alabama credit the power you export: 2 at a rate below retail. Each one’s own page gives its figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in Alabama in 2026?
- It depends mostly on what your utility pays for the power you export, because the 30% federal credit ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025. Alabama homes use about 1,143 kWh a month at an average of 16.4 cents per kWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Where exports are credited at the full retail rate, each kilowatt hour your panels send back is worth about that much; where they are credited below retail, size the system to what you use while the sun is up. Check your own utility on this page before you get a quote for solar panels.
- Is there a solar tax credit in Alabama in 2026?
- Not a federal one. The 30% federal credit, IRC Section 25D, ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025, and a deposit paid in 2025 does not preserve it. Anyone still quoting it is working from an old script. Any incentive left in Alabama comes from the state or your utility, and what your utility pays for exported power is now most of the financial case.
- Which providers does the Alabama rule cover?
- Nothing requires a retail rate credit anywhere in Alabama. The Public Service Commission approved Alabama Power’s Rate PAE; cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Alabama?
- No statute sets it. Alabama Power’s Rate PAE, approved by the Public Service Commission, lets credits that exceed charges be carried forward and paid by check on request. Cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms, so ask yours in writing.
- How big a solar system can you install in Alabama?
- Set by Alabama Power’s Special Rules and interconnection requirements rather than by statute.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Alabama?
- We have read the published terms of 2 providers in Alabama: Alabama Power, TVA distributors in north Alabama. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: Alabama PSC Docket 18005, order dated 7 May 2013 (Special Rules for Rate PAE), checked 2026-10-07.
Not sure which one you are on?
It is the name at the top of your bill. Find it on the schedule and we will show you what it pays.
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