Rhode Island
Net metering in Rhode Island, 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 41768 kilowatt hours. A 567 kilowatt hour month against 725 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 158 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $165.73 to $0.00 at 29.23 cents per kilowatt hour.
Rhode Island average household use, 567 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 29.23¢ 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 Rhode Island, utility by utility
Net metering credits generation up to your own consumption at the supply, distribution, transmission and transition charges, about 82% of the retail rate for a house in September 2026, and production beyond your consumption at the wholesale price. The separate Renewable Energy Growth program instead pays a fixed price on everything the system generates: 31.55 cents a kWh for 15 years at 1 to 15 kW, or 28.65 cents for 20 years at 15 to 25 kW, for projects in the April 2026 to March 2027 program year.
Credits you at retail, with a condition
Rhode Island net metering rules
About 82% of retail up to your use, or a fixed 31.55 cents.
- Who it binds
- Rhode Island Energy, the state’s single electric distribution company, under Public Utilities Commission oversight.
- What happens to a surplus
- Credits carry against the bill. In each billing period, production above 100% of your own consumption is credited at the ISO-New England wholesale clearing price.
- How big a system you may build
- Set by the program rules rather than by a single statutory figure.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4 and the Renewable Energy Growth program — checked 2026-10-02
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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island
Every company we list for at least one Rhode Island utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Rhode Island: the questions people ask
- Does Rhode Island have net metering?
- Net metering credits generation up to your own consumption at the supply, distribution, transmission and transition charges, about 82% of the retail rate for a house in September 2026, and production beyond your consumption at the wholesale price. The separate Renewable Energy Growth program instead pays a fixed price on everything the system generates: 31.55 cents a kWh for 15 years at 1 to 15 kW, or 28.65 cents for 20 years at 15 to 25 kW, for projects in the April 2026 to March 2027 program year.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Rhode Island?
- Rhode Island has one provider on our list, Rhode Island Energy, and it credits the power you export at the retail rate, with a condition. Its own page gives the figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in Rhode Island 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. Rhode Island homes use about 567 kWh a month at an average of 29.23 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island rule cover?
- Rhode Island Energy, the state’s single electric distribution company, under Public Utilities Commission oversight.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Rhode Island?
- Credits carry against the bill. In each billing period, production above 100% of your own consumption is credited at the ISO-New England wholesale clearing price.
- How big a solar system can you install in Rhode Island?
- Set by the program rules rather than by a single statutory figure.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Rhode Island?
- We have read the published terms of the one provider in Rhode Island: Rhode Island Energy. It has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4 and the Renewable Energy Growth program, checked 2026-10-02.
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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