SWEPCO
Western Arkansas, including Fort Smith and Texarkana. An American Electric Power company operating in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas under three different frameworks.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 130K
What they credit you
Avoided cost, since Act 278
Published termsExports are credited under net energy billing at a rate the utility sets from avoided costs rather than the retail rate. Systems filed by 30 September 2024 keep one-to-one crediting to 1 June 2040.
- Month to month
- Per the utility’s net energy billing tariff.
Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Battery backup is mandatory
in SWEPCO territory.
SWEPCO does not credit the power you send back at the rate it charges you to take it.
That does not make solar a bad idea in SWEPCO 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. Arkansas now sets the export credit from avoided costs rather than the retail rate, so a system built past your own daytime usage is selling at wholesale. The exception is a system grandfathered before October 2024, which is credited one for one until 2040. SWEPCO sets its own limits. Ask SWEPCO 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 SWEPCO 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 for the current avoided cost credit in cents per kWh, and confirm in writing which side of the 30 September 2024 line your application falls on.
Applying to SWEPCO
What SWEPCO itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- 30 September 2024 was the line
- Systems whose paperwork was in by that date keep one-to-one net metering until 1 June 2040. Everyone after it is on net energy billing at avoided cost.
- That grandfathering runs sixteen years and it transfers with the house
- If you are buying an Arkansas house with solar already on it, ask for the interconnection date in writing. Before October 2024 it is worth substantially more than a system connected today.
- Net energy billing means the utility sets the credit
- Act 278 lets utilities set bill credits from avoided costs, the expense they would incur generating or buying the power themselves, rather than from what they charge you.
- Ask for the number, not the name of the programme
- "Net energy billing" tells you the mechanism, not the value. Get the current avoided cost figure in cents per kWh in writing before you sign.
From SWEPCO’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
SWEPCO net metering questions
- Does SWEPCO offer one for one net metering?
- No. Exports are credited under net energy billing at a rate the utility sets from avoided costs rather than the retail rate. Systems filed by 30 September 2024 keep one-to-one crediting to 1 June 2040.
- What does SWEPCO pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Avoided cost, since Act 278. Per the utility’s net energy billing tariff.
- Do I need a battery with SWEPCO?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because SWEPCO 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 SWEPCO territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my SWEPCO bill?
- Sign in at swepco.com. Open My Account, then Billing. 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 SWEPCO?
- Ask for the current avoided cost credit in cents per kWh, and confirm in writing which side of the 30 September 2024 line your application falls on.
Installers serving SWEPCO customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in SWEPCO territory, ordered by reviews, years trading and BBB grade. None of them pays us for placement. Pick the one you want and we will call you to arrange it.
Ordering combines three things we read from primary sources: Google review count and rating, years trading taken from the company’s Better Business Bureau profile rather than its own marketing, and its BBB letter grade. BBB accreditation is shown but never scored, because it is a paid membership rather than a mark of quality.
Check any contractor license yourself at the state register. Do that before you sign anything, with any company, including ours.