Dominion Energy South Carolina
The Midlands and the Lowcountry, including Columbia, Charleston, Beaufort and Aiken. The former SCE&G. Its solar choice terms are materially better than Duke’s on the two numbers that matter most.
- Type
- Investor owned
- Accounts
- 810K
What they credit you
3.4 cents in 2022, under a $13.50 floor
Published termsDominion’s solar choice terms credit exports at a per-kWh figure the Office of Regulatory Staff put at 3.363 cents in January 2022, under a monthly minimum bill of $13.50 rather than Duke’s $30.
- Month to month
- Monthly credits carry forward; a credit is applied at the end of each year.
Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Battery backup is mandatory
in Dominion SC territory.
Dominion SC 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 Dominion SC 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. South Carolina’s solar choice tariffs bill you on a time of use rate, which changes the sizing question: solar produces off-peak, and the expensive hours are in the evening, so a system sized only against annual kilowatt hours can still leave a bill. Dominion SC sets its own limits. Ask Dominion SC 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 Dominion SC 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
January 2022 figures, reset annually in the fuel case. Dominion also has a rate increase in progress for 2026, so confirm both the credit and the minimum bill in writing.
What Dominion SC 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
- $13.50 a month
- How it is set
- The Office of Regulatory Staff records a minimum monthly bill of $13.50 for Dominion’s solar choice rates as of 1 January 2022, with consumers paying an additional $0.50 to meet it.
checked 2026-09-05 · source
Applying to Dominion SC
What Dominion SC itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- Three groups, three deals, and one of them has already ended
- The Office of Regulatory Staff sets it out plainly: applications before 16 May 2019 kept the full retail rate "until December 31, 2025"; applications between 16 May 2019 and 31 May 2021 keep it "until May 31, 2029"; from 1 June 2021 solar choice metering applies. The first group’s protection has expired.
- Solar choice means a time of use rate on everything you buy
- The ORS is blunt about the consequence: "Solar typically produces electricity during off-peak hours ... Consumers with solar may produce enough electricity to cover their usage during on-peak times, but still end up paying a bill because of the higher price to use electricity in the evenings."
- The export credit is reset every year in the fuel case
- The ORS: "This per kWh credit amount is determined in the company’s annual fuel case." Whatever figure an installer quotes you is this year’s, not the life of the system.
- The rates are available for ten years, not forever
- The Commission approved these rates for consumers applying on or after 1 June 2021, "available to consumers for the next ten years".
- The minimum bill is $13.50, not $30
- ORS, January 2022: Dominion’s solar choice minimum monthly bill is $13.50, and consumers pay "an additional $0.50 to meet the minimum monthly bill". Duke’s is $30 with $15 to $17 added. On the same street, on different sides of a territory boundary, that is a $200 a year difference before a single kilowatt hour moves.
- And the export credit was higher too
- ORS gave Dominion $0.03363 per kWh against Duke’s $0.0270 and $0.0230. All three are January 2022 figures reset annually in each company’s fuel case.
- Solar Choice runs off Residential Rate 5
- Dominion credits exports on time of use rates through the Solar Choice rider to Residential Rate 5, with a ten year term and a $100 interconnection application fee.
From Dominion SC’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Dominion SC net metering questions
- Does Dominion SC offer one for one net metering?
- No. Dominion’s solar choice terms credit exports at a per-kWh figure the Office of Regulatory Staff put at 3.363 cents in January 2022, under a monthly minimum bill of $13.50 rather than Duke’s $30.
- What does Dominion SC pay for power sent back to the grid?
- 3.4 cents in 2022, under a $13.50 floor. Monthly credits carry forward; a credit is applied at the end of each year.
- Do I need a battery with Dominion SC?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Dominion SC 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 Dominion SC territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my Dominion SC bill?
- Sign in at dominionenergy.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 Dominion SC?
- January 2022 figures, reset annually in the fuel case. Dominion also has a rate increase in progress for 2026, so confirm both the credit and the minimum bill in writing.
Installers serving Dominion SC customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in Dominion SC 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.