Arizona Public Service
Eleven of Arizona’s fifteen counties, including much of metropolitan Phoenix, Flagstaff, Prescott and Yuma. The largest utility in the state and the one whose export rate the Corporation Commission sets each year. Neighbouring Phoenix suburbs can be on APS or on SRP, and the two pay very differently.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 1.4M
What they credit you
5.554 cents, locked ten years, falling for whoever is next
Published termsAPS buys exported power under tariff RCP at the tranche rate in force when you apply. For interconnections from 1 September 2026 that is $0.05554 per kWh, held for ten years. The 2017 tranche was $0.12900.
- Month to month
- Credits carry forward on the bill; anything over $25 left after the December bill is paid by cheque.
Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Battery backup is mandatory
in APS territory.
APS 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 APS 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. Arizona sets no simple kilowatt limit: APS’s own rider requires only that the system be on site, behind the billing meter, and serving the customer’s load, with any size then subject to the state interconnection requirements. APS sets its own limits. Ask APS 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 APS 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
The tranche rate may be cut by up to 10% each September, and only the rate is locked, not the retail price you pay. Confirm the tranche your application will land in before you sign, and confirm what solar-specific charges are on the bill after the June 2026 court decision.
Applying to APS
What APS itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- What a new system is paid today
- Tariff RCP puts the Tranche 2026 rate, for interconnections from 1 September 2026 through 31 August 2027, at $0.05554 per kWh. That is the number, from APS’s own filed tariff.
- The same tariff shows what it used to be
- Tranche 2017 was $0.12900. Then 0.11610, 0.10450, 0.09405, 0.08465, 0.07619, 0.06857, 0.06171, and now 0.05554. Nine tranches, each lower than the last, all printed on one page of the tariff.
- Your rate is locked for ten years, and only ten
- "Each Customer’s initial RCP rate will be applicable for 10 years from the time of their interconnection." After that, "the bill credit will be based on the purchase rate in effect at that time, and may change from year to year."
- Waiting a year costs you the difference
- The rate is set by the tranche in effect when you submit the interconnection application, provided you finish within 180 days. The tariff allows 270 days where a third party or APS caused the delay. Miss the window and you fall into the next, lower tranche.
- Exports are metered instantaneously
- "The Company will meter this Export Energy on an instantaneous basis." Power sent out at noon is bought at 5.554 cents; power drawn back at eight in the evening is sold to you at the retail rate. They are two separate transactions, not a net.
- Leftover credit is paid out in January
- After the December bill, credits above $25 are paid by cheque automatically. Anything at or below $25 carries into the following year.
- There is no simple size cap
- The generator must use solar photovoltaic panels, be interconnected to the distribution grid, and be "on-site, installed behind the billing meter, and must serve the residential Customer’s load". Systems of any size are then subject to the state interconnection requirements.
- The extra solar charge was struck down in June 2026
- The Arizona Court of Appeals vacated the grid access charge APS levied on rooftop solar customers, holding the Commission denied due process because the public notice gave no sign a solar-specific fee was under consideration. APS has proposed roughly $6 a month in its current rate case. Ask what is on your bill and under what authority.
From APS’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
APS net metering questions
- Does APS offer one for one net metering?
- No. APS buys exported power under tariff RCP at the tranche rate in force when you apply. For interconnections from 1 September 2026 that is $0.05554 per kWh, held for ten years. The 2017 tranche was $0.12900.
- What does APS pay for power sent back to the grid?
- 5.554 cents, locked ten years, falling for whoever is next. Credits carry forward on the bill; anything over $25 left after the December bill is paid by cheque.
- Do I need a battery with APS?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because APS 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 APS territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my APS bill?
- Sign in at aps.com. Open My Account, then Bill & Payment. Open View 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 APS?
- The tranche rate may be cut by up to 10% each September, and only the rate is locked, not the retail price you pay. Confirm the tranche your application will land in before you sign, and confirm what solar-specific charges are on the bill after the June 2026 court decision.
Installers serving APS customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in APS 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.