Virginia
Net metering in Virginia, 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 41638 kilowatt hours. A 1,032 kilowatt hour month against 1,320 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 288 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $177.71 to $0.00 at 17.22 cents per kilowatt hour.
Virginia average household use, 1,032 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 17.22¢ 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 Virginia, utility by utility
Virginia requires net metering by statute for residential systems up to 25 kW, subject to an aggregate program cap of 6% of the utility’s peak load, of which one point is reserved for low income customers. Inside your twelve month net metering year the credit is the full retail kilowatt hour; the surplus left at the end of it is sold at a PJM wholesale index, and only if you asked for that in writing before the year began.
Credits you the full retail rate
- Dominion Energy VirginiaInvestor owned/2.7M accountsRetail, yearly true upRetail all year, wholesale at the end of it
- Appalachian PowerInvestor owned/540K accountsRetail, yearly true upRetail all year, and no standby charge
- Virginia electric cooperatives600K accountsRetail, yearly true upNetted over a 12-month period; surplus paid only under a PPA you request
Virginia net metering rules
Net metering in statute, with caps and a standby charge.
- Who it binds
- The investor owned utilities under § 56-594. Electric cooperatives run under § 56-594.01 with their own caps, set against each co-op’s system peak. Municipal systems are outside both.
- What happens to a surplus
- Billing period credits accumulate and are applied to the first later month with positive consumption, at the full retail kilowatt hour. The net metering year runs from your own interconnection anniversary, not from January.
- How big a system you may build
- Residential systems are capped at 25 kW under the version of § 56-594 effective 1 January 2027, but the binding limit is usually your own consumption: Dominion allows a generator producing up to 150% of the previous twelve months of usage, Appalachian Power 100%. A monthly standby charge applies above 20 kW AC in Phase II Utility territory.
Code of Virginia § 56-594 (and § 56-594.01 for cooperatives) — checked 2026-09-21
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 Virginia, 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 Virginia
Every company we list for at least one Virginia utility. Each profile shows the utilities it covers and what each one pays for the power you export.
Net metering in Virginia: the questions people ask
- Does Virginia have net metering?
- Virginia requires net metering by statute for residential systems up to 25 kW, subject to an aggregate program cap of 6% of the utility’s peak load, of which one point is reserved for low income customers. Inside your twelve month net metering year the credit is the full retail kilowatt hour; the surplus left at the end of it is sold at a PJM wholesale index, and only if you asked for that in writing before the year began.
- What is the solar buyback rate in Virginia?
- It is set utility by utility, not by the state. How the 3 providers we list in Virginia credit the power you export: 3 at the full retail rate. Each one’s own page gives its figure and the date we read it.
- Is solar worth it in Virginia 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. Virginia homes use about 1,032 kWh a month at an average of 17.22 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia rule cover?
- The investor owned utilities under § 56-594. Electric cooperatives run under § 56-594.01 with their own caps, set against each co-op’s system peak. Municipal systems are outside both.
- What happens to credits you do not use in Virginia?
- Billing period credits accumulate and are applied to the first later month with positive consumption, at the full retail kilowatt hour. The net metering year runs from your own interconnection anniversary, not from January. Annual, at a PJM wholesale index rather than at retail, and only under a power purchase agreement you must request in writing before the year starts. Without that request there is no payment for the surplus at all.
- How big a solar system can you install in Virginia?
- Residential systems are capped at 25 kW under the version of § 56-594 effective 1 January 2027, but the binding limit is usually your own consumption: Dominion allows a generator producing up to 150% of the previous twelve months of usage, Appalachian Power 100%. A monthly standby charge applies above 20 kW AC in Phase II Utility territory.
- Which electricity providers does this cover in Virginia?
- We have read the published terms of 3 providers in Virginia: Dominion Energy Virginia, Appalachian Power, Virginia electric cooperatives. Each has its own page with the figures taken from its own tariff or from the state’s own order.
Source: Code of Virginia § 56-594 (and § 56-594.01 for cooperatives), checked 2026-09-21.
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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