Otter Tail Power net metering in Minnesota
Western Minnesota, including Fergus Falls and Morris. Also serves parts of the Dakotas, under different rules in each state.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 65K
What they credit you
Surplus paid at 9.264 cents under 40 kW
Published termsUnder Otter Tail’s Small Power Producer Rider, a residential system of 40 kW or less is paid for energy delivered beyond what it used at the average retail utility energy rate: 9.264 cents a kilowatt hour for bills from 1 April 2026. The rider adds a customer charge of $0.85 a month.
- Month to month
- Paid each month rather than banked.
Published terms · checked 2026-10-03 · source
Installers serving Otter Tail customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
- RetroGreen EnergyLocal installerBBB A+, accredited4.8248 GoogleSaint Cloud installer covering central Minnesota and the Twin Cities.All of MinnesotaSelect this installer
- MN Solar and MoreLocal installerBBB A+, accredited4.9127 GoogleCentral Minnesota installer based at Hawick, working across greater Minnesota.All of MinnesotaSelect this installer
- Blue Raven SolarLocal installerBattery24 years tradingBBB A+, accreditedA nineteen state residential installer, now part of the group trading as SunPower after buying those assets out of the 2024 bankruptcy.All of MinnesotaSelect this installer
These are real companies operating in Otter Tail 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.
What this looks like on a Otter Tail bill
An average Minnesota 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 reading falling from 41926 to 41727 kilowatt hours. A 712 kilowatt hour month against 911 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 199 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $124.74 to $0.00 at 17.52 cents per kilowatt hour.
Minnesota average household use, 712 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 17.52¢ 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.
What your installer should be telling you
The same rider lists a solar renewable energy credit purchase of 2 cents a kWh for systems of 40 kW or less (rate M993); ask whether it is open to you and what it asks you to give up. Above 40 kW the rider pays the 4.571 cent avoided cost instead.
What Otter Tail 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
- $10.75 a month as filed, about $12.81 with the interim increase
- How it is set
- Residential Service (Section 9.01, rate code M101) sets a Customer Charge of $10.75 a month and a “Monthly Minimum Bill: Customer + Facilities Charges”, with the facilities charge at $0.00, so the floor as filed is $10.75. Since 1 January 2026 an interim rate adjustment of 19.2% has applied while the Commission decides Otter Tail’s rate case (Docket E017/GR-25-359), and Otter Tail says it reaches the customer charge and the monthly minimum, which takes the floor to about $12.81. Interim rates are refundable with interest if final rates come in lower; a decision is expected in early 2027. Energy is 8.194 cents a kilowatt hour from June to September and 6.111 cents otherwise, before the interim adjustment and riders. Opting out of the advanced meter moves you to rate M102 at $80.10 a month plus a $226.82 one-time charge, and makes you ineligible for net metering.
Otter Tail Power Company, Minnesota Electric Rate Schedule Section 9.01, Residential Service, Thirty-second Revision, effective with bills rendered on and after 1 October 2023 (Docket E017/M-23-125); interim rate adjustment of 19.2% effective 1 January 2026 (Docket E017/GR-25-359), per Otter Tail’s Minnesota rate case page · checked 2026-10-01 · source
Applying to Otter Tail
What Otter Tail itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- Average retail energy rate, under 40 kW
- Minn. Stat. § 216B.164 lets a customer with a system under 40 kW elect to be compensated for net input at the average retail utility energy rate, the average of the retail energy rates excluding special rates based on income, age or conservation.
- There is no February wipe-out
- Older summaries describe a credit cycle ending on the last day of February with any balance eliminated. The statute as it stands, § 216B.164 subd. 3a, runs a 40 kW to 1 MW system’s bank over the calendar year and pays for the surplus at the applicable rate; Xcel’s tariff pays it on the bill after 31 December.
- At a co-op or municipal utility, credits can expire with the year
- If your provider is a cooperative or municipal utility and you choose kilowatt hour credits, any credits left at the end of the calendar year cancel with no compensation.
- Above 40 kW the rate drops to avoided cost
- Systems of 40 kW up to 1 MW at the public utilities are paid an avoided-cost rate rather than the average retail energy rate: Xcel’s tariff prints 2.283 cents a kWh for an annual bank and Otter Tail’s 4.571 cents. For a house that is rarely relevant.
- Community solar runs on a different methodology
- Minnesota’s community solar garden program, under § 216B.1641, credits subscribers using the state’s Value of Solar methodology rather than the retail rate. It is a different product from rooftop net metering.
From Otter Tail’s published guidelines · checked 2026-10-03 · source
Otter Tail net metering questions
- Does Otter Tail offer one for one net metering?
- Yes. Under Otter Tail’s Small Power Producer Rider, a residential system of 40 kW or less is paid for energy delivered beyond what it used at the average retail utility energy rate: 9.264 cents a kilowatt hour for bills from 1 April 2026. The rider adds a customer charge of $0.85 a month. Paid each month rather than banked.
- What does Otter Tail pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Surplus paid at 9.264 cents under 40 kW.
- Do I need a battery with Otter Tail?
- Not for the economics. Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail bill?
- Sign in at otpco.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 Otter Tail?
- The same rider lists a solar renewable energy credit purchase of 2 cents a kWh for systems of 40 kW or less (rate M993); ask whether it is open to you and what it asks you to give up. Above 40 kW the rider pays the 4.571 cent avoided cost instead.