Portland General Electric
Portland and the northern Willamette Valley, including Salem, Beaverton and Gresham. The largest utility in the state.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 950K
What they credit you
Full retail, trued up in March
Set by state ruleExports are credited one for one at the retail rate and roll month to month. At the March annual true up, any remaining credit is transferred to low income bill assistance.
- Month to month
- Month to month at the retail rate.
- Once a year
- March, donated to low income assistance rather than paid out.
Set by undefined · checked 2026-09-05 · source
What your installer should be telling you
Size the system against your own annual usage. Anything above it is donated every March rather than paid.
PGE is investor owned, so ORS 757.300, net metering applies and these terms are set by the state rather than by a board that can revise them. That is the strongest position a homeowner can be in on net metering.
Applying to PGE
What PGE itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- One for one at the retail rate
- Every kilowatt hour you push back to the grid is credited at your full retail rate, which is genuine net metering rather than a percentage of it.
- The true up is in March, and that is on purpose
- The annual billing cycle ends in March so that credits earned over the summer are still available through the winter, which is when an Oregon house needs them.
- A leftover balance is donated, not paid
- Whatever remains unused after March is transferred to the Low Income Energy Assistance Program rather than being paid out in cash. Better than a utility keeping it, and still gone.
- That makes oversizing a charitable act
- A system built well past your own annual usage will reliably donate the difference every March. Size to your usage unless you intend the donation.
From PGE’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
PGE net metering questions
- Does PGE offer one for one net metering?
- Yes. Exports are credited one for one at the retail rate and roll month to month. At the March annual true up, any remaining credit is transferred to low income bill assistance. Month to month at the retail rate.
- What does PGE pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Full retail, trued up in March. March, donated to low income assistance rather than paid out.
- Do I need a battery with PGE?
- Not for the economics. PGE credits exports at the retail rate, so power you send out during the day comes back at the same value after dark without storage. A battery is still worth considering for outages during hurricane season, but it is an upgrade here rather than a requirement.
- How do I find my PGE bill?
- Sign in at portlandgeneral.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 PGE?
- Size the system against your own annual usage. Anything above it is donated every March rather than paid.
Installers serving PGE customers
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