What does We Energies pay for power sent back to the grid?

Avoided cost, around four cents. Credited within the monthly billing period.

Do I need a battery with We Energies?

Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because We Energies 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 We Energies territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.

How do I find my We Energies bill?

Sign in at we-energies.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.

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We Energies

Southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Appleton. The largest utility in the state, and one of the two that credit exports at avoided cost rather than retail.

Type: Investor owned
Accounts: 1.1M

What they credit you

Avoided cost, around four cents

Published terms

Monthly excess generation is credited at the avoided cost rate rather than the retail rate, commonly modelled near 4.2 cents per kWh for 2026, for systems up to 300 kW.

Month to month: Credited within the monthly billing period.

Published terms · checked 2026-09-05 · source

We Energies requirementRequired

Battery backup is mandatory
in We Energies territory.

We Energies 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 We Energies 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. Wisconsin sets the eligible system size per utility, not by statute: 20 kW at Alliant, 100 kW at Xcel and 300 kW at We Energies. Check your own utility’s limit before anyone designs to a number they heard elsewhere. We Energies sets its own limits. Ask We Energies 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 We Energies 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 We Energies for the current avoided cost figure in writing; the 4.2 cent number is a modelling assumption rather than a published tariff we have read.

Applying to We Energies

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

Monthly excess is bought at avoided cost, not retail: If you generate more than you consume in a month, the excess is credited at the avoided cost rate, which is what the utility pays for power rather than what it charges you for it.
What that is worth: Local modelling commonly uses an avoided cost export value near 4.2 cents per kWh for 2026. Confirm the current figure with We Energies rather than relying on a model.
Eligible up to 300 kW: The most generous size limit of the three large Wisconsin utilities, which matters far more to a farm than to a house.
The neighbouring utility pays retail for the same power: Xcel credits monthly excess at the retail rate and writes a cheque in January. Wisconsin sets no statewide rate, so the difference is real and it is decided by geography.

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

We Energies net metering questions

Does We Energies offer one for one net metering?: No. Monthly excess generation is credited at the avoided cost rate rather than the retail rate, commonly modelled near 4.2 cents per kWh for 2026, for systems up to 300 kW.
What does We Energies pay for power sent back to the grid?: Avoided cost, around four cents. Credited within the monthly billing period.
Do I need a battery with We Energies?: Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because We Energies 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 We Energies territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
How do I find my We Energies bill?: Sign in at we-energies.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 We Energies?: Ask We Energies for the current avoided cost figure in writing; the 4.2 cent number is a modelling assumption rather than a published tariff we have read.

Installers serving We Energies customers

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