Solar Billing Plan

1. To meet the state's renewable energy goal.

In December 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision to implement a new solar program. This new program is the Solar Billing Plan. It's also referred to as Net Billing.

The Solar Billing Plan will help California get closer to meeting our state's renewable energy goal—100% renewable energy by 2045.

2. To create incentives for storage adoption.

The plan provides incentives for customers to generate and use all their solar power for their property.

The Net Energy Metering (NEM) credit pricing structure doesn't provide incentives for storage adoption. With storage, solar and renewable energy customers can use their stored power when their renewable energy system isn't making power.

Solar and renewable energy customers who submitted their interconnection application after April 14, 2023, will be enrolled on the new Solar Billing Plan.

These customers were temporarily billed on Net Energy Metering (NEM). Billing on NEM happened until the Solar Billing Plan was available in PG&E's billing system.

Starting March 2026, new solar and renewable energy business customers will be billed on the Solar Billing Plan. Those who were temporarily billed on NEM2 or whose 20-year NEM legacy period expired will move to the Solar Billing Plan upon their True-Up date.

No. The Solar Billing Plan covers all renewable generation facilities. For example, energy produced by wind and fuel cells.

Maybe. Existing customers who submitted a complete application before April 14, 2023, are not affected by this new program. The customers who will be affected are:

• Existing solar or renewable energy customers who modify or expand their legacy NEM/NEM2 system above the tariff threshold levels.
• A renewable electrical generation facility that increases 10% of the original renewable electrical generating facility nameplate capacity
• A facility that increases their system size greater than 1kW.

These customers will move to the Solar Billing Plan at their annual True-Up date. Customers whose 20-year NEM legacy period ends on their original NEM program will move over at their annual True-Up. This includes those who were temporarily billed on NEM2. The new billing system becomes available in March 2026 for business customers. As a reminder, customers on NEM1 who moved to NEM2 at the end of their legacy period are not permitted to receive an extra 20 years on NEM2.

Yes. The 20-year NEM legacy program rules are tied to the system, not the owner. For example, if the original owner has spent 15 of the last 20 years on the NEM program, you will inherit the remaining five years on the original program.

All solar and renewable energy customers must be enrolled in an applicable Time-of-Use (TOU) rate plan. Customers on TOU legacy rates are billed temporarily on NEM2 until their TOU legacy period ends. On the monthly energy statement, you'll see charges, based on the TOU rate plan, for energy used from the grid. These charges may be offset with eligible credits. Charges are for energy provided and delivered from the grid. Credits are for excess renewable energy provided and delivered to the grid.

Each month, charges and credits are reconciled to provide the total owed or credited to your account. However, credits are not applied to non-bypassable charges and demand charges.

To maximize the value of your renewable energy system under this plan, it is important to use all your renewable power for your business.

With battery storage, you can use stored power during times when renewable power isn't available. The cost of energy is higher, typically between 4-9 p.m. (or 5-8 p.m. for Agriculture TOU rate plans). When reviewing your monthly energy statement look for times when you can shift energy use to maximize savings.

When your business uses more energy than your system makes, then your business uses energy from the grid. The energy used from the grid will be charged at a rate based on the hour energy is used. The details are in your Time-of-Use (TOU) plan.

For more information about business TOU plans, visit www.pge.com/businessrates.

When your renewable energy system is producing more energy than your business needs, excess electricity is exported to the electric grid. You will receive an Energy Export Credit (EEC) for this electricity. The credit will reflect the value of the power provided to the grid at a given time. The level of the credit will vary by time of day, day of the week and season. It will vary like Time-of-Use rates vary to reflect when power is more expensive.

Download a list of Energy Export Credit values (ZIP)

At the end of the 12-month billing cycle, True-Up adjustments occur. Adjustments happen after applying remaining credits to Energy Produced and Energy Delivered charges previously paid. They also happen when recalculating credits for eligible excess energy for Net Surplus Compensation. If there are any remaining credits after applying credits to the billing cycle, these credits will be rolled over to the new 12-month billing cycle.