Florida Net Metering in 2026: Why Your Electric Utility Can Change the Value of Solar

Florida may be known as the Sunshine State, but sunshine alone does not determine whether a solar project makes sense.

Two homes can have similar roofs, similar electric usage, and identical solar equipment — yet receive very different financial results because they are served by different electric utilities. The difference often comes down to how the utility values energy used inside the property and energy exported to the grid.

This guide explains the practical differences among Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, Orlando Utilities Commission, SECO Energy, Kissimmee Utility Authority, and other Florida utilities.

Quick answer: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric currently operate under Florida’s investor-owned utility net-metering rule. OUC, SECO, KUA, and other municipal or cooperative utilities publish their own export-credit structures, which may be materially lower than the retail price of electricity.

Net metering in plain English

A grid-connected solar system creates three different energy flows:

1. Solar used immediately by the property This energy goes directly from the solar system to the home or business. It reduces the amount of electricity being purchased from the utility at that moment.
2. Solar exported to the grid When production is higher than the property’s immediate demand, the surplus flows through a bidirectional meter to the utility grid.
3. Electricity imported from the grid At night, during cloudy conditions, or whenever the property needs more power than the solar system is producing, electricity comes from the utility.

The most important question is not simply, “Does the utility have net metering?” It is:

What is one exported kilowatt-hour worth, how long does the credit last, and which charges remain on the bill?

Florida’s investor-owned utility rule

Florida Public Service Commission Rule 25-6.065 applies to investor-owned electric utilities. The major Sunstorm markets in this category are:

• Florida Power & Light
• Duke Energy Florida
• Tampa Electric
• Florida Public Utilities Company

For qualifying customer-owned renewable generation, the rule currently provides monthly net metering. Excess energy credits may carry forward to later billing periods for up to 12 months. At the end of the calendar year, unused energy credits are paid at the utility’s applicable as-available or avoided-cost energy rate rather than remaining indefinitely at retail value.

The rule uses three interconnection tiers:

Larger systems can require additional documentation, insurance, disconnect equipment, fees, engineering review, or utility upgrades.

Florida utility comparison

This table is a starting point, not a proposal. Rates, tariffs, fees, and program terms change.

Retail net metering versus lower export compensation

Suppose a home produces one extra kilowatt-hour at noon.

Under full-retail monthly netting

That exported kilowatt-hour can generally offset a kilowatt-hour imported during the same billing period, subject to the utility’s rate design and applicable rules.

Under a wholesale or avoided-cost export credit

The exported kilowatt-hour may earn substantially less than the retail price paid for a kilowatt-hour imported later.

That difference changes system design.

Under a lower export credit, the homeowner often gets more value by:

• Using solar energy in the home while it is being produced
• Running pool pumps, laundry, dishwashers, or EV charging during solar hours
• Pre-cooling the home during daytime production
• Avoiding unnecessary oversizing
• Evaluating a battery for energy shifting as well as backup
• Improving efficiency before adding more panels

Why self-consumption matters

Self-consumption is the share of solar production used directly inside the home or business before the energy crosses the utility meter.

A self-consumed kilowatt-hour can avoid buying a kilowatt-hour at the applicable retail rate. An exported kilowatt-hour may receive retail value, an avoided-cost credit, a wholesale credit, or another tariff-specific amount.

That is why the same battery can have different value under different utilities:

• In FPL, Duke, or Tampa Electric territory, the battery may be purchased primarily for resilience because monthly retail net metering already provides useful energy shifting through the bill.
• In OUC, SECO, KUA, or another lower-export-credit territory, the battery may also increase self-consumption by storing midday production for evening use.
• The battery’s cost, usable capacity, power output, warranty, efficiency, control settings, and expected cycling still have to be considered. Storage is not automatically the best financial answer.

Will solar eliminate the utility bill?

Usually not.

Even a well-designed system can leave:

• Monthly customer charges
• Minimum charges
• Taxes and assessments
• Demand charges for some commercial accounts
• Electricity usage above system production
• Seasonal usage differences
• Charges that solar production does not offset
• Agreement payments for a loan, lease, or Solar as a Service plan

A trustworthy solar analysis should compare the combined post-solar cost against the expected utility-only path. It should not compare a solar payment to the entire current bill while pretending the utility bill disappears.

What happens at the end of the year?

Under Florida’s investor-owned utility rule, excess credits can accumulate for up to 12 months. Unused annual credits are then paid at the utility’s applicable as-available or avoided-cost energy rate.

That creates an important design principle:

A system should generally be designed around realistic annual consumption, not around producing the largest possible surplus.

Some utilities also impose explicit production or sizing limits. For example, FPL requires estimated annual production below 115% of the customer’s annual consumption for net-metering approval.

Municipal and cooperative utilities may use monthly dollar credits, different rollover rules, or account-closeout provisions. Their individual tariffs must be reviewed.

What changes for commercial solar?

Commercial customers need the same import-export analysis, but there are additional variables:

• Demand charges
• Time-of-use periods
• Load shape during business hours
• Roof ownership and lease term
• Transformer and service capacity
• Tier 2 or Tier 3 interconnection requirements
• Insurance and engineering
• Business tax treatment
• Whether storage can reduce peak demand
• Whether the business can use most solar production onsite

A business with high daytime usage can be a strong solar candidate even under a lower export credit because a larger share of production may be consumed behind the meter.

How Sunstorm evaluates utility fit

A useful solar review should include:

1. Service address and confirmed electric utility
2. At least 12 months of kilowatt-hour usage
3. Current rate schedule
4. Roof age, condition, orientation, and shading
5. Expected solar production by month
6. Estimated onsite consumption and exports
7. Remaining utility charges
8. Planned EV, pool, HVAC, addition, or occupancy changes
9. Backup-power goals
10. Cash, ownership, financing, lease, or Solar as a Service terms
11. Home-sale timeline
12. Sensitivity analysis rather than one perfect-looking projection

Frequently asked questions

Is net metering available throughout Florida?

Florida’s investor-owned utilities follow the Public Service Commission rule, but municipal utilities and electric cooperatives publish their own programs and tariffs. The value of exports can differ substantially.

Is SECO a non-net-metering utility?

SECO calls its program net metering, but it describes excess solar producers as small wholesale power providers and credits exports at its wholesale rate. “Non-retail export compensation” is the more precise description.

Does KUA have net metering?

Yes. KUA has a net-metering tariff and a bidirectional meter. Under the current tariff, most non-grandfathered exports receive an avoided-cost credit rather than full retail value.

Does OUC still offer full-retail net metering?

OUC grandfathered eligible legacy systems through June 30, 2045. Systems interconnected after June 30, 2025, and account-holder changes after that date follow a transition schedule. OUC currently states that a temporary full-retail grace period runs through fall 2026, followed by the community solar energy rate through June 30, 2030, and the retail levelized fuel rate thereafter.

Do I need a battery if my utility has a lower export credit?

Not necessarily. Start by improving efficiency and shifting flexible loads into solar-producing hours. Then model a battery using the actual tariff, expected cycling, and backup goals.

Will my solar panels power the home during an outage?

A standard grid-tied solar system normally shuts down when the grid fails. Outage operation requires equipment designed to isolate the home from the grid, usually including an appropriate inverter and battery system.