Tucson Electric Power
Tucson and surrounding Pima County.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 450K
What they credit you
We confirm it for you
Not yet published hereTEP 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 TEP’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.
Battery backup is mandatory
in TEP territory.
TEP has not published a one for one credit that we have been able to verify. Until it does, we assume exporting power to TEP is worth well below what you pay to buy it back.
That does not make solar a bad idea in TEP 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. TEP sets its own limits. Ask TEP 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 TEP 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
Get the current export rate from TEP in writing before you sign. Its own website will give you a rate that expired in September 2025.
Applying to TEP
What TEP itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- TEP’s own current-rate page is a year out of date
- As of September 2026 the page headed "What is the current RCP?" still answers "An energy export rate of $0.0570 per kWh will remain in effect from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025." Do not take a figure from it, and do not accept one from an installer who did.
- Where the real number lives
- TEP’s own page sends you to its Statement of Charges for the rate actually in force. Ask TEP, in writing, for the export rate for the tranche your application will fall into.
- The structure, which TEP does state clearly
- The Commission approved the Resource Comparison Proxy for residential customers who requested interconnection from 20 September 2018. The rate is based on average market costs for solar over a recent five year period.
- Ten years, then whatever is current
- Customers are compensated at the RCP in place when they requested interconnection for up to ten years. TEP notes that because prices have fallen, this has let earlier customers keep better rates than new ones get.
- It can fall 10% a year
- TEP states the rate is usually adjusted annually and "will not be allowed to fall more than 10 percent annually". A floor on the speed of the decline is not a floor on the decline.
- Where it appears on the bill
- Under "Excess Generation Credit" in the Power Supply Charges section.
From TEP’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
TEP net metering questions
- Does TEP offer one for one net metering?
- We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from TEP. 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 TEP for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.
- What does TEP pay for power sent back to the grid?
- TEP has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against TEP’s own tariff before you commit.
- Do I need a battery with TEP?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because TEP 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 TEP territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my TEP bill?
- Sign in at tep.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 TEP?
- Get the current export rate from TEP in writing before you sign. Its own website will give you a rate that expired in September 2025.
Installers serving TEP customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in TEP 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.