Illinois
Net metering in Illinois, provider by provider.
Every provider in the state, and every figure below read from the published tariff or interconnection document rather than a comparison site. Some credit you the full retail rate for the power you send back. Most do not, and that difference is the whole reason this page exists.
Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41733 kilowatt hours. A 693 kilowatt hour month against 886 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 193 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $137.84 to $0.00 at 19.89 cents per kilowatt hour.
Illinois average household use, 693 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 19.89¢ per kWh. Your utility still bills a fixed monthly customer charge that no system offsets, so this is the energy part of the bill, which is the part that goes away.
Solar buyback rates in Illinois, utility by utility
New solar customers are credited for exports at the electricity supply rate rather than the full retail rate. Delivery charges are no longer offset, which is most of the change.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
- ComEdInvestor owned/4.0M accountsNet billed, below retailExports offset supply charges only, never delivery, since 2025
- Ameren IllinoisInvestor owned/1.2M accountsNet billed, below retailSupply rate only, since January 2025
- MidAmerican EnergyInvestor owned/100K accountsNet billed, below retailSupply rate only, since January 2025
Illinois net metering rules
Supply-rate credit since January 2025.
- Who it binds
- ComEd, Ameren Illinois and MidAmerican, the utilities the Commerce Commission regulates.
- What happens to a surplus
- Credits carry against the bill under the supply-only arrangement.
- How big a system you may build
- Set by the Commission’s interconnection standards rather than by a single statutory figure.
Illinois Power Agency Act and ICC net metering rules — checked 2026-09-05
What actually happens after you pick
Most sites in this business hand your number to a sales team and disappear. We do the preparation first, so the company that turns up already knows your situation.
You see your real terms
Your provider page shows what that specific utility credits you, when it trues up, and where the catch is. Sourced and dated, not a sales page.
You choose the company
Companies serving your territory in Illinois, with the reviews, years trading and BBB grade we found for each. You pick. Not a call center, not an auction.
We set the whole thing up
We call you, go through your bill and your last twelve months of use, work out what your utility owes you, and get the program paperwork in order.
They arrive prepared
The company you chose turns up to a job that is already understood, with your figures in hand. No cold pitch on your doorstep.
Solar installers in Illinois
Every company we list for at least one Illinois utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Illinois: the questions people ask
- Does Illinois have net metering?
- New solar customers are credited for exports at the electricity supply rate rather than the full retail rate. Delivery charges are no longer offset, which is most of the change.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Illinois?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in Illinois credit the power you export: 3 at the retail rate, with a condition. Each one’s own page gives its figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in Illinois in 2026?
- It depends mostly on what your utility pays for the power you export, because the 30% federal credit ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025. Illinois homes use about 693 kWh a month at an average of 19.89 cents per kWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Where exports are credited at the full retail rate, each kilowatt hour your panels send back is worth about that much; where they are credited below retail, size the system to what you use while the sun is up. Check your own utility on this page before you get a quote for solar panels.
- Is there a solar tax credit in Illinois in 2026?
- Not a federal one. The 30% federal credit, IRC Section 25D, ended for systems completed after 31 December 2025, and a deposit paid in 2025 does not preserve it. Anyone still quoting it is working from an old script. Any incentive left in Illinois comes from the state or your utility, and what your utility pays for exported power is now most of the financial case.
- Which providers does the Illinois rule cover?
- ComEd, Ameren Illinois and MidAmerican, the utilities the Commerce Commission regulates.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Illinois?
- Credits carry against the bill under the supply-only arrangement.
- How big a solar system can you install in Illinois?
- Set by the Commission’s interconnection standards rather than by a single statutory figure.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Illinois?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in Illinois: ComEd, Ameren Illinois, MidAmerican Energy. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: Illinois Power Agency Act and ICC net metering rules, checked 2026-09-05.
Not sure which one you are on?
It is the name at the top of your bill. Find it on the schedule and we will show you what it pays.
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