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Net Metering Program
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Duquesne Light net metering in Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Beaver County. Independent of both Exelon and FirstEnergy, with its own rates.

Type
Investor owned
Accounts
600K

What they credit you

Full retail monthly, price to compare on 31 May

Published terms

Within each billing period exports offset consumption one for one at the full retail rate, generation, transmission and distribution included, and excess kilowatt hours carry forward. Whatever is left when the PJM year ends on 31 May is paid at the price to compare. A home may net meter a system of up to 50 kW.

Month to month
Excess kilowatt hours carry forward at the full retail rate until 31 May.
Once a year
On 31 May, at the price to compare.

Published terms · checked 2026-10-03 · source

Installers serving Duquesne Light 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 Duquesne Light 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 Duquesne Light bill

An average Pennsylvania 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$177.53
$177.53
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 41698 kilowatt hours. A 817 kilowatt hour month against 1,045 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 228 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $177.53 to $0.00 at 21.73 cents per kilowatt hour.

Pennsylvania average household use, 817 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 21.73¢ 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.

What your installer should be telling you

If you buy power from a competitive supplier, Duquesne Light credits only the distribution part of each kilowatt hour, distribution credits left at the end of the year are zeroed out, and what you get for the rest is set by your supplier’s contract. Ask what the current price to compare is before you size for a surplus.

What Duquesne Light 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
$13.00 a month, about $13.28 with the infrastructure surcharge
How it is set
Rate RS sets a distribution Customer Charge of $13.00 a month (Supplement No. 85, effective 20 December 2024), and “The Minimum Charge shall be the Customer Distribution Charge.” The Distribution System Improvement Charge adds 2.17% to distribution charges from 1 July 2026, about $0.28 on the customer charge, and the State Tax Adjustment takes off 0.0964%. The two fixed per-customer riders, the Retail Market Enhancement Surcharge and the Smart Meter Charge, are both $0.00 at present. Distribution energy is 8.2479 cents a kilowatt hour; supply and transmission are billed under Default Service or by your chosen supplier. Under Rider No. 21, systems up to 50 kW at a home are credited kilowatt hour for kilowatt hour at the full retail rate within each month, excess kilowatt hours carry forward through the 12 months ending 31 May, and whatever is left then is paid at the Price to Compare. The rider states that the customer-generator remains responsible for the customer charge. If you buy supply from a competitive supplier, Duquesne credits only the distribution charges and the supplier sets the rest.

Duquesne Light Company, Electric - Pa. P.U.C. No. 25 (Supplement No. 108, effective 1 September 2026): Rate RS, Fourth Revised Page No. 38 and First Revised Page No. 39; Rider No. 1 RMES, Page No. 88; Rider No. 10 State Tax Adjustment; Rider No. 20 Smart Meter Charge, Fourth Revised Page No. 129; Rider No. 21 Net Metering Service, Pages 133 to 136A; Rider No. 22 DSIC, Twenty-ninth Revised Page No. 137, effective 1 July 2026 · checked 2026-10-02 · source

Applying to Duquesne Light

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

The monthly credit includes distribution
52 Pa. Code § 75.13 offsets consumption one for one at the full retail rate within each billing period, and the Code specifies that "full retail rate" includes generation, transmission and distribution charges.
The annual settlement is on 31 May, at a lower rate
Any surplus remaining at the end of the twelve month billing cycle is compensated at the price-to-compare, the retail price minus the distribution component. Everything you carry past your own annual usage is settled at that.
PPL’s rate case did not change net metering for homes
PPL replaced its whole tariff on 1 July 2026 after its rate case, and its net metering rider for homes keeps the Chapter 75 terms: retail credit within the month, excess carried to 31 May, the rest paid at the price to compare. The hourly market-price compensation in the new tariff applies to large commercial customers on Rate GSC-2.
Switching to a competitive supplier changes the credit
If you buy power from a competitive supplier, the utility credits only the distribution part of each kilowatt hour, and distribution credits left at the end of the year are zeroed out rather than paid. What you get for the generation part is whatever your supplier’s contract says. Ask before you switch, because 52 Pa. Code § 75.13(f) puts that in the supplier’s hands.
Pennsylvania does not license contractors at state level
There is no state contractor license. What exists is Home Improvement Contractor registration with the Attorney General, and that register is the one to search.
Cooperatives and municipal systems are outside Chapter 75
The net metering rules bind the regulated electric distribution companies. If your provider is a co-op or a borough system, the framework above does not apply to you and its own terms do.

From Duquesne Light’s published guidelines · checked 2026-10-03 · source

Duquesne Light net metering questions

Does Duquesne Light offer one for one net metering?
Yes. Within each billing period exports offset consumption one for one at the full retail rate, generation, transmission and distribution included, and excess kilowatt hours carry forward. Whatever is left when the PJM year ends on 31 May is paid at the price to compare. A home may net meter a system of up to 50 kW. Excess kilowatt hours carry forward at the full retail rate until 31 May.
What does Duquesne Light pay for power sent back to the grid?
Full retail monthly, price to compare on 31 May. On 31 May, at the price to compare.
Do I need a battery with Duquesne Light?
Not for the economics. Duquesne Light 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 Duquesne Light bill?
Sign in at duquesnelight.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 Duquesne Light?
If you buy power from a competitive supplier, Duquesne Light credits only the distribution part of each kilowatt hour, distribution credits left at the end of the year are zeroed out, and what you get for the rest is set by your supplier’s contract. Ask what the current price to compare is before you size for a surplus.