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Puget Sound Energy

The central Puget Sound region, including Bellevue, Tacoma’s suburbs, Olympia and Bellingham. The largest investor owned utility in the state.

Type
Investor owned
Accounts
1.2M

What they credit you

One for one, reset every 30 April

Set by state rule

Generation is netted against consumption one for one at the retail rate. Any unused kilowatt hour credit is granted to the utility on 30 April without compensation.

Month to month
Month to month through the annual cycle.
Once a year
On 30 April, granted to the utility.

Set by undefined · checked 2026-09-05 · source

What your installer should be telling you

Size to your own annual usage. Any balance still sitting there on 30 April belongs to the utility, and Washington’s low retail rates already make the payback longer than most states.

PSE is investor owned, so RCW 80.60.030 applies and these terms are set by the state rather than by a board that can revise them. That is the strongest position a homeowner can be in on net metering.

Applying to PSE

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

One for one, per kilowatt hour
RCW 80.60.030 provides for full retail rate compensation on a per kilowatt hour basis. What is generated is netted against what is consumed, one for one.
On 30 April the leftover is granted to the utility
The statute: any remaining unused kilowatt hour credit accumulated during the previous year "shall be granted to the electric utility, without any compensation to the customer-generator". It is not carried and it is not bought.
April is a hard date in a Pacific Northwest year
Production climbs through spring and summer. The reset lands just as the good months begin, so a credit balance built in one summer must be spent by the following April.
Cheap power makes the arithmetic harder, not easier
Washington has among the lowest residential electricity prices in the country. A one for one credit against a low rate saves less than a mediocre credit against an expensive one, so payback here is genuinely longer.
The rule reaches public utility districts too
Chapter 80.60 RCW is not limited to investor owned utilities, which is unusual. If your provider is a PUD or a city light department, the netting rule still applies to it.

From PSE’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source

PSE net metering questions

Does PSE offer one for one net metering?
Yes. Generation is netted against consumption one for one at the retail rate. Any unused kilowatt hour credit is granted to the utility on 30 April without compensation. Month to month through the annual cycle.
What does PSE pay for power sent back to the grid?
One for one, reset every 30 April. On 30 April, granted to the utility.
Do I need a battery with PSE?
Not for the economics. PSE 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 PSE bill?
Sign in at pse.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 PSE?
Size to your own annual usage. Any balance still sitting there on 30 April belongs to the utility, and Washington’s low retail rates already make the payback longer than most states.

Installers serving PSE customers

Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.

These are real companies operating in PSE 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.