Buyback Plans for Texas Solar Owners
When your rooftop solar system produces more electricity than your home is using, the excess flows back onto the grid to other users. With a “buyback” electric plan, that earns you bill credits or cash.
The table below summarizes all current residential buyback plans. Rates and terms vary, so always do the math to choose the plan that best fits your particular situation.
Better yet… Get our custom analysis of these and other plans for your home to save time and money.
Don’t throw away $100’s on the wrong plan. Learn more below, or contact us with questions.
Electric Plans for Solar Owners
Updated:
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Definitions:
TDU: As your local Transmission and Distribution Utility, charges to maintain the lines that deliver electricity to and from your home.
Retailer: The Retail Electricity Provider (REP) you choose resells you electricity and bills for delivery on behalf of your TDU.
Plan: The plan you choose sets the monthly- and/or usage-based costs you pay for electricity, as defined by the Electricity Facts Label (EFL).
Term: The length of your contract in months.
ETF: An Early Termination Fee for quitting your contract more than 14 days early (unless you move).
Base /mo: A monthly fee to cover administrative or other non-usage-based costs.
Import /kWh: The rate you pay for each kWh of electricity you consume from the grid.
* Some charges are not offsettable by energy export credits.
Export /kWh: The credit you earn for each excess kWh of electricity you supply to the grid.
† Unless noted, surplus credits roll over every month, never expire, and are not redeemable for cash.
RTW: Real-Time Wholesale prices update every 5 minutes with supply/demand and are published by ERCOT here. Typically <3 ¢/kWh off-peak, they can spike up to 500 ¢/kWh during peak demand periods.
VPP: ‘Virtual Power Plant’ plans pay you to let the Retailer control when your battery charges/discharges.
Shopping Tips:
The best plan depends on your relative system size and usage timing. In general…
- Larger systems benefit most from “net metering” plans that credit all excess generation at the full retail rate.
(Since 12/13/2021, no such plans are offered in Texas except to those who installed their panels through Green Mtn.) - Smaller systems benefit most from lower import rates or Time-of-Use Rates like “free nights” (depending on usage patterns).