New Mexico
Net metering in New Mexico, 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 41744 kilowatt hours. A 654 kilowatt hour month against 836 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 182 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $98.49 to $0.00 at 15.06 cents per kilowatt hour.
New Mexico average household use, 654 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 15.06¢ 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 New Mexico, utility by utility
Rule 570 gives customer-sited systems up to 10 kW a dedicated route. At PNM excess is banked as kilowatt hour credits that do not expire while the account is open; at El Paso Electric it is bought at a monthly purchased-power rate.
Credits you the full retail rate
Credits you at retail, with a condition
New Mexico net metering rules
Kilowatt hour credits under 10 kW, and it depends on the utility.
- Who it binds
- The investor owned utilities regulated by the Public Regulation Commission. Cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms.
- What happens to a surplus
- At PNM, excess is saved as kilowatt hour credits applied to future bills, and the credits do not expire while the account remains open.
- How big a system you may build
- The rule has a dedicated section for customer-sited qualifying facilities with a design capacity up to and including 10 kW.
17.9.570 NMAC (Rule 570) — 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 New Mexico, 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 New Mexico
Every company we list for at least one New Mexico utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in New Mexico: the questions people ask
- Does New Mexico have net metering?
- Rule 570 gives customer-sited systems up to 10 kW a dedicated route. At PNM excess is banked as kilowatt hour credits that do not expire while the account is open; at El Paso Electric it is bought at a monthly purchased-power rate.
- What is the solar buyback rate in New Mexico?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in New Mexico credit the power you export: 1 at the full retail rate; 1 at the retail rate, with a condition; 1 at a rate below retail. Each one’s own page gives its figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in New Mexico 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. New Mexico homes use about 654 kWh a month at an average of 15.06 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico rule cover?
- The investor owned utilities regulated by the Public Regulation Commission. Cooperatives and municipal systems set their own terms.
- What happens to credits you do not use in New Mexico?
- At PNM, excess is saved as kilowatt hour credits applied to future bills, and the credits do not expire while the account remains open. Above the small-system route, a utility pays avoided cost for energy or capacity purchased from a qualifying facility.
- How big a solar system can you install in New Mexico?
- The rule has a dedicated section for customer-sited qualifying facilities with a design capacity up to and including 10 kW.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in New Mexico?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in New Mexico: Public Service Company of New Mexico, El Paso Electric, Southwestern Public Service. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: 17.9.570 NMAC (Rule 570), 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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