Does Alabama Power offer one for one net metering?

We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from Alabama Power. As a investor owned provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask Alabama Power for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.

What does Alabama Power pay for power sent back to the grid?

Alabama Power has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against Alabama Power’s own tariff before you commit.

Do I need a battery with Alabama Power?

Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Alabama Power does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in Alabama Power territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.

How do I find my Alabama Power bill?

Sign in at alabamapower.com. Open My Account, then Billing & Payments. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.

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Alabama Power

The southern two thirds of the state, including Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Tuscaloosa. A Southern Company utility, and the only investor owned electric utility of scale in Alabama. Its Rate PAE terms are the closest thing the state has to a net metering policy.

Type: Investor owned
Accounts: 1.5M

What they credit you

We confirm it for you

Not yet published here

Alabama Power is a investor owned provider, so its terms are set by its own board rather than by any state rule. We have not yet read Alabama Power’s own tariff, and we will not print a number we have not verified. Your installer confirms the current terms in writing before you sign. If they will not, walk away.

Alabama Power requirementRequired

Battery backup is mandatory
in Alabama Power territory.

Alabama Power has not published a one for one credit that we have been able to verify. Until it does, we assume exporting power to Alabama Power is worth well below what you pay to buy it back.

That does not make solar a bad idea in Alabama Power territory. It changes what you should build. When exports are worth a fraction of retail the credit stops being the return, and the job becomes using more of your own production inside the house, which usually means a larger array than a one for one utility would need.

Sizing is where that gets decided, so ask about it directly. Alabama Power sets its own limits. Ask Alabama Power what it allows before you accept that a bigger system is off the table.

A battery then does two separate jobs. It moves daytime production into the evening so you use it instead of selling it, and it keeps the house running when the grid goes down. That second job is not a bonus. Panels on their own shut off in an outage, by design, so a roof full of them powers nothing during a storm. That is the part we will not refer around.

So we treat it as a requirement, not an upgrade. We will not refer you for a panels-only system in Alabama Power territory, and you should be skeptical of anyone who quotes you one without raising storage first.

Our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement

What your installer should be telling you

Ask Alabama Power, in writing, for the current Rate PAE energy price and the capacity reservation charge per kW. In Alabama that monthly charge, not the export rate, is usually what decides whether a system pays for itself.

Applying to Alabama Power

What Alabama Power itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.

The programme is called Rate PAE, not net metering: Purchase of Alternative Energy, under Special Rules ordered by the Public Service Commission on 7 May 2013 in Docket 18005. If an installer says "Alabama net metering", ask them to name the tariff.
Alabama Power’s own solar page does not mention what it pays you: Its public Solar Energy page covers solar plants, a Smart Neighborhood microgrid and battery research. It does not state the rooftop export rate, the capacity reservation charge, or that net metering is unavailable. That silence is worth knowing before you take a verbal number from anyone.
The two way meter is at your expense: The Special Rules: all metering needed to measure two way flow "in excess of metering necessary for a similar consumer who does not operate electric generating equipment" is installed by the Company "at the expense of the Customer".
So is any change to their system that your system causes: "Any modification of or additions to the Company’s electric system made necessary at any time as a result of the Customer’s electric generating equipment operating in parallel ... shall be at the expense of the Customer."
And any testing they decide to do: The Company may test your generating equipment "at any time the Company deems necessary", and any resulting installation or modification is again at your expense.
Paying for equipment does not make it yours: "Any charges to and payments by the Customer for any equipment provided by the Company ... shall not convey title to the Customer for such facilities."
The numbers you have read online are not in the tariff: The roughly three cent export rate and the $5.41 per kW monthly capacity reservation charge are widely reported, and the charge was upheld in court in March 2026. Neither appears in the document Alabama Power publishes as Rate PAE. Get both in writing from Alabama Power before you sign anything.

From Alabama Power’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source

Alabama Power net metering questions

Does Alabama Power offer one for one net metering?: We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from Alabama Power. As a investor owned provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask Alabama Power for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.
What does Alabama Power pay for power sent back to the grid?: Alabama Power has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against Alabama Power’s own tariff before you commit.
Do I need a battery with Alabama Power?: Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Alabama Power does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in Alabama Power territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
How do I find my Alabama Power bill?: Sign in at alabamapower.com. Open My Account, then Billing & Payments. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.
What is the catch with Alabama Power?: Ask Alabama Power, in writing, for the current Rate PAE energy price and the capacity reservation charge per kW. In Alabama that monthly charge, not the export rate, is usually what decides whether a system pays for itself.

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