North Carolina
Net metering in North Carolina, 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 41643 kilowatt hours. A 1,015 kilowatt hour month against 1,298 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 283 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $149.61 to $0.00 at 14.74 cents per kilowatt hour.
North Carolina average household use, 1,015 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 14.74¢ 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 North Carolina, utility by utility
The Utilities Commission set the current rates in March 2023. Inside a billing month your exports offset what you buy at the full retail rate. The surplus left over is bought at a few cents, and the riders put a monthly minimum bill and a charge on your nameplate underneath the whole thing.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
- Duke Energy CarolinasInvestor owned/2.9M accountsRetail, netted monthlyRetail inside the month, a few cents outside it
- Duke Energy ProgressInvestor owned/1.6M accountsRetail, netted monthlyRetail inside the month, a few cents outside it
- Dominion Energy North CarolinaInvestor owned/125K accountsRetail, expires yearlyFull retail, wiped every June
North Carolina net metering rules
Netted monthly at retail, with a floor underneath.
- Who it binds
- Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, through Riders RSC and NMB. Dominion Energy North Carolina is regulated by the same Commission but runs its own net metering under Section XXV of its North Carolina Terms and Conditions. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are not required to offer net metering at all, though some do.
- What happens to a surplus
- Credits carry month to month and are wiped once a year, on a date that is different at all three companies: 30 April at Duke Energy Carolinas, 31 May at Duke Energy Progress, 1 June at Dominion.
- How big a system you may build
- At Duke, nameplate may not exceed the estimated maximum monthly demand of the residence or 20 kW AC, whichever is less. At Dominion, the facility must be no more than one megawatt AC.
N.C.G.S. § 62-126.4, NCUC Docket E-100 Sub 180 — checked 2026-09-20
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 North Carolina, 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 North Carolina
Every company we list for at least one North Carolina utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in North Carolina: the questions people ask
- Does North Carolina have net metering?
- The Utilities Commission set the current rates in March 2023. Inside a billing month your exports offset what you buy at the full retail rate. The surplus left over is bought at a few cents, and the riders put a monthly minimum bill and a charge on your nameplate underneath the whole thing.
- What is the solar buyback rate in North Carolina?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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. North Carolina homes use about 1,015 kWh a month at an average of 14.74 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina rule cover?
- Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, through Riders RSC and NMB. Dominion Energy North Carolina is regulated by the same Commission but runs its own net metering under Section XXV of its North Carolina Terms and Conditions. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are not required to offer net metering at all, though some do.
- What happens to credits you do not use in North Carolina?
- Credits carry month to month and are wiped once a year, on a date that is different at all three companies: 30 April at Duke Energy Carolinas, 31 May at Duke Energy Progress, 1 June at Dominion. No annual payout anywhere in the state. At Duke the monthly surplus is bought at the Net Excess Energy Credit rate as it arises; at Dominion the leftover balance is simply granted to the company at no charge.
- How big a solar system can you install in North Carolina?
- At Duke, nameplate may not exceed the estimated maximum monthly demand of the residence or 20 kW AC, whichever is less. At Dominion, the facility must be no more than one megawatt AC.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in North Carolina?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in North Carolina: Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Dominion Energy North Carolina. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: N.C.G.S. § 62-126.4, NCUC Docket E-100 Sub 180, checked 2026-09-20.
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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