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Net Metering Program
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Lee County Electric Cooperative net metering in Florida

Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Broward.

Type
Cooperative
Accounts
240K

What they credit you

Retail monthly, wholesale yearly

Published terms

LCEC runs one for one net metering with credits rolling month to month at the retail rate, which is the good part.

Month to month
Credits roll forward through the year.
Once a year
Every January the leftover balance is bought out at the avoided wholesale rate calculated for the prior year. LCEC’s guidelines put that rate at $0.02875 per kWh for calendar 2025, against a retail rate of 11.29 to 12.82 cents, so the buy-out is about a quarter of what the same kilowatt hour costs you. Anything under $300 comes back as a bill credit rather than a payment, and above that LCEC sends a check. The rate for calendar 2026, which sets the January 2027 payout, is not published: LCEC has not reissued the guidelines since the 2025 edition.

Published terms · checked 2026-08-23 · source

Installers serving LCEC customers

Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.

Not sure which to choose?

These are real companies operating in LCEC territory. EPC Solar and Bold Energy are listed first because they are the companies we introduce first. Volt Home is listed last. That order is our choice, not a score. The other companies are 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.

What this looks like on a LCEC bill

An average Florida household, against a system sized to cover its year. The energy charge is the part that goes to zero. The fixed monthly charge underneath it is the part that never does, and it is the number that decides whether a system pays for itself.

Meter readingkWh
Energy charge$130.71
$130.71
Minimum monthly bill$20.00
Still due$20.00
DirectionReading…

Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41618 kilowatt hours. A 1,104 kilowatt hour month against 1,412 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 308 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $130.71 to $0.00 at 11.84 cents per kilowatt hour. A fixed monthly charge of $20.00 still applies and is not offset.

Florida average household use, 1,104 kWh a month, at this provider’s own published residential rate. The fixed charge is its minimum bill: it lands at zero kilowatt hours, so nothing you generate removes it. LCEC, Electric Tariff Volume 3, Rate Schedule RS, Sheets 8.000 and 8.100, effective 1 January 2026.

What your installer should be telling you

Effectively the same shape as the investor owned utilities. Size the system so you are not carrying a large balance into January, because that is the month it converts to wholesale.

What LCEC bills you anyway

In a month when your production covers everything you use, the energy charge can reach zero. This does not. It is the floor under every bill, and it is the number that decides whether a system pays for itself.

The charge
$20.00 a month
How it is set
Rate Schedule RS sets a Customer Charge of $20.00 a month for single-phase service, and states plainly that "the monthly minimum charge shall be the Customer Charge", so the floor is one published figure. The $23.00 on the line beneath is three-phase service, which a house will not normally be on. The power cost adjustment and taxes apply to the energy actually billed, on top.

Rate Schedule RS, Second Revised Sheet Nos. 8.000 and 8.100, tariff effective 1 January 2026 · checked 2026-09-19 · source

Applying to LCEC

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

What a banked kilowatt hour is actually worth
LCEC’s guidelines put the calculated avoided wholesale rate for 2025 at $0.02875 per kWh. That is what your unused reserves are bought out at in January. You buy power back at the full retail rate, which is several times that.
Under $300 you do not get paid
Year-end banked amounts below $300 are applied as a credit on your bill rather than paid out to you. For most households that is the outcome, so treat the annual settlement as a bill reduction, not a check.
LCEC tells you itself not to oversize
Its guidelines say plainly that because avoided cost is variable and lower than retail, it is prudent to install a system producing up to what you use in a year. That is the utility advising against the upsell, in writing, and it is worth quoting back at anyone selling you more.
Do not switch on before the meter is changed
Operating the system before LCEC installs the bidirectional meter is prohibited except for testing and inspection, and LCEC warns it may result in meter tampering penalties. You also get no credit at all for anything exported before that meter goes in.
A disconnect switch on every installation
Required at all tiers, and it must isolate the renewable source only, not your whole service. LCEC specifies the arrangement in its Electric Service and Meter Requirements, in the Distributed Energy Resources section of the ESMR Handbook.
How LCEC rates your system
For inverter-based systems the gross power rating is the total installed AC capacity of the inverters. Only where the DC capacity is lower than the inverter AC output does it use DC times 0.85. This is not the same calculation FPL uses, so the tier you land in can differ between territories for identical hardware.
Four things before you can operate
An Application and Compliance Form, the Interconnection Agreement, proof of inspection by your local authority, and payment of the application fee. LCEC installs the bidirectional meter once it has all of them.
Who to call about the meter
LCEC’s Meter Service Department, 239-656-2106, for questions about meter service requirements.

From LCEC’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-19 · source

LCEC net metering questions

Does LCEC offer one for one net metering?
Yes. LCEC runs one for one net metering with credits rolling month to month at the retail rate, which is the good part. Credits roll forward through the year.
What does LCEC pay for power sent back to the grid?
Retail monthly, wholesale yearly. Every January the leftover balance is bought out at the avoided wholesale rate calculated for the prior year. LCEC’s guidelines put that rate at $0.02875 per kWh for calendar 2025, against a retail rate of 11.29 to 12.82 cents, so the buy-out is about a quarter of what the same kilowatt hour costs you. Anything under $300 comes back as a bill credit rather than a payment, and above that LCEC sends a check. The rate for calendar 2026, which sets the January 2027 payout, is not published: LCEC has not reissued the guidelines since the 2025 edition.
Do I need a battery with LCEC?
Not for the economics. LCEC credits exports at the retail rate, so power you send out during the day comes back at the same value after dark without storage. A battery is still worth considering for outages during hurricane season, but it is an upgrade here rather than a requirement.
How do I find my LCEC bill?
Sign in at lcec.net. Open Billing, then View bill history. Download the most recent statement. A photo of the paper bill works too. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.
What is the catch with LCEC?
Effectively the same shape as the investor owned utilities. Size the system so you are not carrying a large balance into January, because that is the month it converts to wholesale.