CPS Energy (San Antonio): how it credits the solar power you send to the grid
Exports offset your usage within each month at the full price; power left over at the end of the month earns about 1.65 cents per kWh (October to May) or 2.02 cents (June to September), as a credit on the next bill.
Checked November 12, 2026. Utilities change these rules; check the current tariff before you sign.
How it works
Exported power earns roughly 85% of the retail price on average (our estimate).
San Antonio's city-owned utility nets what you send out against what you use in the same billing month.
Only the month's net excess drops to the low rate, so a system sized to your use loses little; one sized well beyond it earns very little for the extra.
Excess credits can't exceed the next bill's total; any balance carries to the month after.
Tip: Size to your average month, not your best one.
What it means for a typical Texas home
An average Texas home uses about 13,320 kWh a year. An 8.5 kW system costs about $21,845 at the 2026 median price and makes about 12,079 kWh in its first year, of which we assume about 7,247 kWh goes out to the grid because no one is home to use it.
| First-year savings | Payback | 25-year savings, after the price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| With CPS Energy (San Antonio)'s credit | $1,693 | 13 years | $29,661 |
| If every exported kWh earned the full price | $1,860 | 11 years | $35,015 |
The difference, about $5,354 over 25 years, is what CPS Energy (San Antonio)'s rules cost a typical system compared with full net metering. Using more of the power at home, while the sun is up, closes some of that gap. Uses Texas's average electricity price; CPS Energy (San Antonio)'s own prices may be higher or lower. Paid in cash, no federal credit, prices rising 2.5% a year, one inverter replacement.
Also in Texas: Oncor (set by your retail plan), CenterPoint Energy (Houston) (set by your retail plan), Austin Energy (9.91¢).
All 55 utilities · Solar in Texas · Lease and PPA terms by company
Sources: CPS Energy: solar billing facts (2024); 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.