Appalachian Power (Virginia): how it credits the solar power you send to the grid
1:1 net metering, with credits banked month to month over a 12-month period; at the end of each period, leftover credit is paid at about 5.7 cents per kWh instead of carrying forward (2025 SCC order).
Checked November 12, 2026. Utilities change these rules; check the current tariff before you sign.
How it works
Exported power earns the full retail price, kWh for kWh.
Appalachian Power proposed crediting exports about 70% lower; in August 2025 the State Corporation Commission rejected that and kept net metering as it was.
The one change: unused credits now cash out at about 5.7 cents at the end of each 12-month period.
The monthly fixed charge stayed at $7.96, and Virginia law asks that systems be sized to no more than a year's use.
Tip: Appalachian Power's West Virginia customers are on a different, lower successor tariff.
What it means for a typical Virginia home
With full credit, a typical 8 kW system in Virginia (about $20,560 at the 2026 median price) pays for itself in about 11 years and saves about $32,599 over 25 years after its price, paid in cash with no federal credit. It doesn't matter much whether you use the power as it's made or send it out, so a battery adds backup, not savings. Payback by system size in Virginia.
Also in Virginia: Dominion Energy Virginia (full retail credit).
All 55 utilities · Solar in Virginia · Lease and PPA terms by company
Sources: Cardinal News: rooftop solar rules mostly unchanged for Appalachian Power (2025); Advanced Energy United: Virginia keeps Appalachian Power net metering; NC Clean Energy Technology Center: 50 States of Solar; U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), final 2025 data: Annual State Historical Spreadsheets (Form EIA-861, released October 7, 2026) and Electric Power Annual (October 21, 2026); EnergySage: median quoted price, first half of 2026.