Duke Energy 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
Retail behind the meter, avoided cost for exports
Published termsEnergy used behind the meter offsets consumption at the retail rate. Surplus exported is credited at avoided cost, applied to future bills, with no right to be paid it in cash.
- Month to month
- To future bills, and the rule permits an unused credit to be lost.
Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source
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
Ask what happens to your accumulated credit if you sell the house, and ask for the current avoided cost export figure in writing.
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 "is not required to pay the monetary credit directly, but must 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 it or stops taking service". Moving house, or a mild year, can cost you a balance you thought you had.
- The larger utilities split retail from export
- AEP Ohio filed a tariff in 2020 giving new residential customers retail-rate credit for energy consumed behind the meter and avoided-cost credit for surplus exported. Self consumption is worth retail; exports are not.
- 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, the last with a hospital exception. 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. Energy used behind the meter offsets consumption at the retail rate. Surplus exported is credited at avoided cost, applied to future bills, with no right to be paid it in cash.
- What does Duke Ohio pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Retail behind the meter, avoided cost for exports. To future bills, and the rule permits an unused credit to be lost.
- 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?
- Ask what happens to your accumulated credit if you sell the house, and ask for the current avoided cost export figure in writing.
Installers serving Duke Ohio customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in Duke Ohio 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.