ComEd
Chicago and northern Illinois. The largest utility in the state. Its smart inverter rebate is the one most likely to be put in front of an existing solar owner.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 4.0M
What they credit you
Supply rate only, since January 2025
Published termsExports are credited at the electricity supply rate rather than the full retail rate, so delivery charges are no longer offset. Systems installed before 1 January 2025 keep full retail for life unless expanded or moved onto a rebate.
- Month to month
- Credits carry against the bill.
Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Battery backup is mandatory
in ComEd territory.
ComEd 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 ComEd 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. Illinois now credits exports at the supply rate only, so delivery charges are paid on every kilowatt hour you draw back. That makes using your own production inside the house worth noticeably more than exporting it. ComEd sets its own limits. Ask ComEd 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 ComEd 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
If you already have solar here, do not accept the smart inverter rebate without confirming in writing what it does to your net metering rate. It is one of the two ways to lose full retail crediting.
Applying to ComEd
What ComEd itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- The change landed on 1 January 2025
- New solar participants from that date receive credit for exported electricity at their electricity supply rate rather than the full retail rate. Delivery charges are no longer offset by exports.
- Older systems keep full retail for life, with two exceptions
- Anyone installed before 1 January 2025 is grandfathered into full retail net metering for the life of the system, unless they significantly increase the system size or apply for a generator rebate.
- The smart inverter rebate can cost you the grandfathering
- ComEd’s distributed generation smart inverter rebate is $300 per kW, about $2,100 on a 7 kW system. For a pre-2025 customer, accepting it is one of the two ways to lose full retail net metering. Get the trade in writing before you take the cheque.
- Adding panels is the other way to lose it
- A significant increase in system size ends the grandfathering. If you are on the old arrangement and thinking about expanding, price the expansion against the rate you would be giving up.
- Ask which rate a quote assumes
- Supply rate and full retail rate differ by the whole delivery component. A savings estimate built on the wrong one is not slightly wrong, it is wrong by the largest line on the bill.
From ComEd’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
ComEd net metering questions
- Does ComEd offer one for one net metering?
- No. Exports are credited at the electricity supply rate rather than the full retail rate, so delivery charges are no longer offset. Systems installed before 1 January 2025 keep full retail for life unless expanded or moved onto a rebate.
- What does ComEd pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Supply rate only, since January 2025. Credits carry against the bill.
- Do I need a battery with ComEd?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because ComEd 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 ComEd territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my ComEd bill?
- Sign in at comed.com. 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.
- What is the catch with ComEd?
- If you already have solar here, do not accept the smart inverter rebate without confirming in writing what it does to your net metering rate. It is one of the two ways to lose full retail crediting.
Installers serving ComEd customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in ComEd 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.