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

Net billing at about 4.27 cents. Per the utility’s own schedule.

Do I need a battery with Rocky Mountain Power?

Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Rocky Mountain 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 Rocky Mountain Power territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.

How do I find my Rocky Mountain Power bill?

Sign in at rockymountainpower.net. 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.

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Rocky Mountain Power

Eastern Idaho, including Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Preston. A PacifiCorp utility with its own Idaho schedules, separate from the Utah ones.

Type: Investor owned
Accounts: 85K

What they credit you

Net billing at about 4.27 cents

Published terms

Idaho Power moved from net metering to net billing in January 2024, with the annual average export credit rate falling from 6.18 cents to 4.27 cents.

Month to month: Per the utility’s own schedule.

Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source

Rocky Mountain Power requirementRequired

Battery backup is mandatory
in Rocky Mountain Power territory.

Rocky Mountain Power 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 Rocky Mountain 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. Idaho Power pays about 4.27 cents for an exported kilowatt hour after its 2024 move to net billing, a 31% cut, so the value of an Idaho system now sits in what the house consumes as it is produced. Rocky Mountain Power sets its own limits. Ask Rocky Mountain 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 Rocky Mountain 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

Confirm the current export credit rate in writing, and confirm which side of the 20 December 2019 grandfathering line any existing system falls on.

Applying to Rocky Mountain Power

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

There is no statewide net metering policy: The Commission has required investor owned utilities to offer net metering through separate docket proceedings rather than under a single state rule, and has approved an alternative compensation mechanism for one utility.
Idaho Power moved to net billing in January 2024: The annual average export credit rate fell from 6.18 cents to 4.27 cents, a reduction of roughly 31%, and the Commission paused annual adjustments.
Systems from before 21 December 2019 keep net metering until 2045: If you installed or purchased by 20 December 2019 you are grandfathered until 20 December 2045. Twenty-six years is among the longest protection in the country and it is worth asking a seller for the date.
Ask which docket governs your utility: Because Idaho legislated nothing, the rules are in a Commission order specific to your company. There is no state statute to fall back on if you disagree with a quote.

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