Austin Energy
Austin and parts of Travis and Williamson counties. Not part of retail choice. Austin Energy is the provider, and it uses a Value of Solar tariff rather than net metering, which works differently from both.
- Type
- Municipal
- Accounts
- 560K
What they credit you
We confirm it for you
Not yet published hereAustin Energy is a municipal provider, so its terms are set by its own board rather than by any state rule. We have not yet read Austin Energy’s own tariff, and we will not print a number we have not verified. Your installer confirms the current terms in writing before you sign. If they will not, walk away.
Battery backup is mandatory
in Austin Energy territory.
Austin Energy has not published a one for one credit that we have been able to verify. Until it does, we assume exporting power to Austin Energy is worth well below what you pay to buy it back.
That does not make solar a bad idea in Austin Energy 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. Texas has no statutory size cap. Your delivery utility, Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas or TNMP, sets the interconnection limits, and your retail provider separately decides whether its buyback plan caps system size or export volume. Austin Energy sets its own limits. Ask Austin Energy 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 Austin Energy 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 Austin Energy for the current Value of Solar rate in writing, and ask whether it is fixed for the life of your system or reviewed.
Applying to Austin Energy
What Austin Energy itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- Value of Solar is not net metering, and the difference matters
- Austin Energy credits you for 100% of what your system generates, at a Value of Solar rate, and bills you separately for 100% of what you consume. Production and consumption are two independent lines rather than one net figure.
- The reported rate is 9.91 cents per kWh
- That figure is widely reported for Austin Energy’s Value of Solar tariff. We have not read it in Austin Energy’s own published tariff, so confirm it directly before relying on it.
- It applies to everything you generate, not just exports
- Because the credit is on total generation rather than net exports, self-consumption and export are worth the same under this tariff. That is unusual, and it changes whether a battery pays.
- The rate is reviewed
- Value of Solar is recalculated by the utility rather than fixed by statute. Ask what happens to your rate at review, and whether existing customers are held.
From Austin Energy’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
Austin Energy net metering questions
- Does Austin Energy offer one for one net metering?
- We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from Austin Energy. As a municipal provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask Austin Energy for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.
- What does Austin Energy pay for power sent back to the grid?
- Austin Energy has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against Austin Energy’s own tariff before you commit.
- Do I need a battery with Austin Energy?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Austin Energy 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 Austin Energy territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my Austin Energy bill?
- Sign in at coautilities.com. Open Billing and Payments. 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 Austin Energy?
- Ask Austin Energy for the current Value of Solar rate in writing, and ask whether it is fixed for the life of your system or reviewed.
Installers serving Austin Energy customers
Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.
These are real companies operating in Austin Energy 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.