Utilities · Solar in California
Southern California Edison (SCE): how it credits the solar power you send to the grid
Hourly export credits averaging about 4.6 cents per kWh, plus an adder of about 2 cents for 2026 applicants, locked for 9 years. Requires the TOU-D-PRIME rate plan.
Checked November 12, 2026. Utilities change these rules; check the current tariff before you sign.
How it works
Southern California Edison (SCE) credits exported power at 6.6 cents per kWh, about 21% of California's average electricity price.
SCE's 2026 adder is the largest of the three big California utilities, which makes its average export credit the highest of the three, though still a small fraction of what SCE charges for power.
SCE settles the year on an Annual Settlement Statement: export credits are applied to earlier charges and anything left over is forfeited, so sizing the system well over your use adds nothing.
Already have solar? Customers who applied before April 15, 2023 keep their NEM 1.0 or 2.0 terms for 20 years from connection.
Tip: Read your yearly statement with our true-up guide. Read it.
What it means for a typical California home
An average California home uses about 5,928 kWh a year. A 3 kW system costs about $7,710 at the 2026 median price and makes about 5,031 kWh in its first year, of which we assume about 3,019 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 Southern California Edison (SCE)'s credit | $830 | 9 years | $16,212 |
| If every exported kWh earned the full price | $1,577 | 5 years | $40,104 |
The difference, about $23,892 over 25 years, is what Southern California Edison (SCE)'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 California's average electricity price; Southern California Edison (SCE)'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 California: PG&E (4.9¢), SDG&E (3.7¢), LADWP (full retail credit), SMUD (9.6¢).
All 55 utilities · Solar in California · Lease and PPA terms by company
Sources: NRG Clean Power: NEM 3.0 export credits by utility; 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.