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Net Metering Program
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Duke Energy Ohio net metering in Ohio

Southwestern Ohio, including Cincinnati and the Miami Valley. A separate Ohio tariff from Duke’s other state companies.

Type
Investor owned
Accounts
750K

What they credit you

Netted monthly; surplus at the energy price, refundable once a year

Published terms

Under Rider NM, kilowatt hours are netted over each billing period. A surplus earns an excess generation credit at the Retail Energy rider price, 8.1218 cents a kWh from 1 June 2026 (4.7724 cents above 1,000 kWh in winter), rather than the full retail rate.

Month to month
Credits accumulate on the account, and you may request in writing a refund of up to a year’s accumulated credit.
Once a year
On written request, an annual refund of accumulated credit.

Published terms · checked 2026-10-02 · source

Installers serving Duke Ohio customers

Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.

Not sure which to choose?

These are real companies operating in Duke Ohio territory. Bold Energy is listed first because it is the company we introduce first. That order is our choice, not a score. The other companies are 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 Duke Ohio bill

An average Ohio 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 readingkWh
Energy charge$162.35
$162.35
We have read this provider’s own tariff. What it still bills you at zero is set out below, with the sheet it came from. The energy line above uses the statewide average. See what they still bill
DirectionReading…

Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41690 kilowatt hours. A 846 kilowatt hour month against 1,082 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 236 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $162.35 to $0.00 at 19.19 cents per kilowatt hour.

Ohio average household use, 846 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 19.19¢ 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.

Duke Ohio requirementRequired

Battery backup is mandatory
in Duke Ohio territory.

Duke Ohio does not credit the power you send back at the rate it charges you to take it.

That does not make solar a bad idea in Duke Ohio territory. It changes what you should build. When exports are worth a fraction of retail the credit stops being the return, and the job becomes using more of your own production inside the house, which usually means a larger array than a one for one utility would need.

Sizing is where that gets decided, so ask about it directly. Ohio credits go to future bills and can be lost if unused, so a system sized to bank a large surplus is banking something the rule lets the utility take back. Build to your own usage. Duke Ohio sets its own limits. Ask Duke Ohio what it allows before you accept that a bigger system is off the table.

A battery then does two separate jobs. It moves daytime production into the evening so you use it instead of selling it, and it keeps the house running when the grid goes down. That second job is not a bonus. Panels on their own shut off in an outage, by design, so a roof full of them powers nothing during a storm. That is the part we will not refer around.

So we treat it as a requirement, not an upgrade. We will not refer you for a panels-only system in Duke Ohio territory, and you should be skeptical of anyone who quotes you one without raising storage first.

Our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement

What your installer should be telling you

The fixed charges, about $10.44 a month, are paid whatever the panels produce. Rider RE applies only on Duke’s standard service offer, so if you buy generation from a competitive supplier, ask how your excess will be credited.

What Duke Ohio 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
About $10.44 a month: an $8.00 customer charge, the percentage riders on it, and $0.90 in fixed riders
How it is set
Rate RS sets a Customer Charge of $8.00 a month (Case 21-887-EL-AIR, effective 3 January 2023), and “The minimum charge shall be the Customer Charge.” Four riders are percentages of the base distribution charges, which their sheets define as “customer charge plus base distribution charge”: the Distribution Capital Investment Rider adds 18.624% from 1 October 2026, the Electric Service Reliability Rider 2.44%, and the Economic Competitiveness Fund Rider 0.96%, while the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Rider credits 2.75%. That makes the $8.00 about $9.54. Two riders are flat: Power Future Initiatives at $0.87 a month and the Distribution Storm Rider at $0.03, for about $10.44 before any energy. The Solar Generation Fund and Legacy Generation riders are currently $0.00. Distribution energy is 3.9693 cents a kilowatt hour plus per kilowatt hour riders, and on the standard service offer the Retail Energy rider adds 8.1218 cents (4.7724 cents above 1,000 kilowatt hours in winter) from 1 June 2026. Under Rider NM, kilowatt hours are netted over the billing period, and a surplus month earns an excess generation credit priced at that Retail Energy charge, not the full rate. Credits accumulate, and you may request in writing a refund of up to a year’s accumulated credit.

Duke Energy Ohio, P.U.C.O. Electric No. 19: Rate RS, Sheet No. 30.18 (effective 3 January 2023); Applicable Riders, Sheet No. 85.2; Rider DCI, Sheet No. 103.46 (effective 1 October 2026); Rider ESRR, Sheet No. 80.11 (effective 12 June 2026); Rider DR-ECF (effective 1 July 2026); Rider ETCJA, Sheet No. 77.10 (effective 2 March 2026); Rider PF (effective 1 May 2026); Rider DSR (effective 3 November 2025); Riders SGF and LGR (effective 14 August 2025); Rider RE, Sheet No. 112.18 (effective 1 June 2026); Rider NM, Sheet No. 48.6 · checked 2026-10-02 · source

Applying to Duke Ohio

What Duke Ohio itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.

The rule does not require anyone to pay you
Ohio Admin. Code 4901:1-10-28: the electric utility "shall not be required to pay the monetary credit, other than to credit it to future bills". There is no cash-out right in Ohio.
And the credit can be lost
The same rule provides that the credit "may be lost if a customer-generator does not use the credit or stops taking service from the electric utility". Moving house, or a mild year, can cost you a balance you thought you had.
Surplus is valued at the energy price, not retail
The rule converts excess electricity into a monetary credit at the energy component of the utility’s standard service offer, which carries forward on future bills. That is below the full retail rate, which also includes delivery charges.
FirstEnergy is three utilities under one schedule
Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison operate under a unified Schedule NEM approved by the Commission, but they are separate companies with separate rates.
Eligible technology is defined narrowly
The rule covers solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, hydropower, microturbines and fuel cells, with a separate arrangement for hospitals. It is worth checking your equipment qualifies before the interconnection application.

From Duke Ohio’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source

Duke Ohio net metering questions

Does Duke Ohio offer one for one net metering?
No. Under Rider NM, kilowatt hours are netted over each billing period. A surplus earns an excess generation credit at the Retail Energy rider price, 8.1218 cents a kWh from 1 June 2026 (4.7724 cents above 1,000 kWh in winter), rather than the full retail rate.
What does Duke Ohio pay for power sent back to the grid?
Netted monthly; surplus at the energy price, refundable once a year. On written request, an annual refund of accumulated credit.
Do I need a battery with Duke Ohio?
Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Duke Ohio does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in Duke Ohio territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
How do I find my Duke Ohio bill?
Sign in at duke-energy.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 Duke Ohio?
The fixed charges, about $10.44 a month, are paid whatever the panels produce. Rider RE applies only on Duke’s standard service offer, so if you buy generation from a competitive supplier, ask how your excess will be credited.