Massachusetts
Net metering in Massachusetts, 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 41767 kilowatt hours. A 570 kilowatt hour month against 729 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 159 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $168.78 to $0.00 at 29.61 cents per kilowatt hour.
Massachusetts average household use, 570 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 29.61¢ 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 Massachusetts, utility by utility
Usage nets one for one inside the billing month. A month’s net surplus is credited at the basic service, distribution, transmission and transition charges, leaving out the efficiency, renewable energy, solar program and net metering recovery charges: 84 to 90% of what a kilowatt hour costs at the three investor owned utilities for August 2026 to January 2027. That applies up to 25 kW AC; a larger system serving its own site earns 60% of the same charges.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
- EversourceInvestor owned/1.5M accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus at about 32 cents a kWh against 36 to buy
- National GridInvestor owned/1.3M accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus at about 33.5 cents a kWh against 40 to buy
- UnitilInvestor owned/30K accountsRetail, netted monthlySurplus at about 39.9 cents a kWh against 46.7 to buy
Massachusetts net metering rules
Surplus at 84 to 90% of retail up to 25 kW, 60% of that above.
- Who it binds
- The three investor owned utilities, Eversource, National Grid and Unitil. The municipal light plants, of which Massachusetts has more than forty, are outside the requirement entirely.
- What happens to a surplus
- Dollar credits carry forward from bill to bill with no expiry date in the tariffs, and a house-sized system is never paid out in cash.
- How big a system you may build
- Systems up to 25 kW AC are exempt from the net metering caps and keep the higher Standard credit. A larger system serving its own site is also cap exempt but earns the 60% Market credit.
M.G.L. c. 164 § 138-140 and 220 CMR 18.00 — checked 2026-10-02
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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts
Every company we list for at least one Massachusetts utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Massachusetts: the questions people ask
- Does Massachusetts have net metering?
- Usage nets one for one inside the billing month. A month’s net surplus is credited at the basic service, distribution, transmission and transition charges, leaving out the efficiency, renewable energy, solar program and net metering recovery charges: 84 to 90% of what a kilowatt hour costs at the three investor owned utilities for August 2026 to January 2027. That applies up to 25 kW AC; a larger system serving its own site earns 60% of the same charges.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Massachusetts?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts homes use about 570 kWh a month at an average of 29.61 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts rule cover?
- The three investor owned utilities, Eversource, National Grid and Unitil. The municipal light plants, of which Massachusetts has more than forty, are outside the requirement entirely.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Massachusetts?
- Dollar credits carry forward from bill to bill with no expiry date in the tariffs, and a house-sized system is never paid out in cash.
- How big a solar system can you install in Massachusetts?
- Systems up to 25 kW AC are exempt from the net metering caps and keep the higher Standard credit. A larger system serving its own site is also cap exempt but earns the 60% Market credit.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Massachusetts?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in Massachusetts: Eversource, National Grid, Unitil. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: M.G.L. c. 164 § 138-140 and 220 CMR 18.00, checked 2026-10-02.
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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