North Dakota
Net metering in North Dakota, 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 41639 kilowatt hours. A 1,029 kilowatt hour month against 1,316 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 287 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $145.29 to $0.00 at 14.12 cents per kilowatt hour.
North Dakota average household use, 1,029 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 14.12¢ 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 Dakota, utility by utility
Net metering is available to customers of the investor owned utilities. At the cooperatives and municipal systems it is optional, and most customers are credited well below the retail rate.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
- Xcel EnergyInvestor owned/95K accountsNet billed, below retail3.646 cents a kilowatt hour for what you export
- Montana-Dakota UtilitiesInvestor owned/80K accountsNet billed, below retail3.416 cents a kilowatt hour for what you export
- Otter Tail PowerInvestor owned/60K accountsNet billed, below retail4.871 cents a kilowatt hour for what you export
North Dakota net metering rules
Required of investor owned utilities, optional everywhere else.
- Who it binds
- The investor owned utilities. Cooperatives and municipal systems may offer it and are not required to.
- What happens to a surplus
- Set by each utility’s own arrangement.
- How big a system you may build
- Set by the Commission’s rules and by each utility.
N.D. Admin. Code 69-09-07, net metering — 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 North Dakota, 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 Dakota
Every company we list for at least one North Dakota utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in North Dakota: the questions people ask
- Does North Dakota have net metering?
- Net metering is available to customers of the investor owned utilities. At the cooperatives and municipal systems it is optional, and most customers are credited well below the retail rate.
- What is the solar buyback rate in North Dakota?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in North Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota homes use about 1,029 kWh a month at an average of 14.12 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 Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota rule cover?
- The investor owned utilities. Cooperatives and municipal systems may offer it and are not required to.
- What happens to credits you do not use in North Dakota?
- Set by each utility’s own arrangement.
- How big a solar system can you install in North Dakota?
- Set by the Commission’s rules and by each utility.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in North Dakota?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in North Dakota: Xcel Energy, Montana-Dakota Utilities, Otter Tail Power. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: N.D. Admin. Code 69-09-07, net metering, 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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