The solar buyback credits are valued at the “energy charge rate”, which is the same rate Pulse charges you for electricity you use from the grid. When this happens, Pulse Power will pay you for that excess energy in the form of a bill credit, which can be carried over to help reduce your energy costs on future electric bills when your solar panels might not produce enough energy to cover all of your electricity needs. You see, there might be a few months out of the year when your solar panels produce more electricity than your home uses.

Uncapped solar buyback plans will save the most money for solar homeowners in Texas because there is no limit on how much excess solar power the company will credit you for. But for now, don’t count on getting Chariot’s uncapped credit plan. It’s unclear if it will offer a new plan in the future. As of May 2022, Chariot Energy took its Rise 12 solar buyback plan off of its website. Note: Chariot Energy no longer offers a solar buyback plan. Uncapped credit solar buyback plans Offered by: Pulse Power, Reliant Energy We’ve divided the solar plans offered by these REPs into three categories:ġ. Out of the over one hundred REPs operating throughout the Lone Star State, only seven currently offer some kind of solar buyback plan, and they include:īut beware, not all of the solar buyback plans offered by these companies are created equal. When you’re looking to go solar, you’ll want to narrow it down to REPs that offer solar buyback plans. Like we said before, if you live in a deregulated area of Texas, you’ll need to pick an REP. Solar buyback rates offered by REPs in Deregulated Texas So, the only electricity plans and solar buyback options you have are the ones offered by the utility company in your area. Instead, your municipal utility or electric co-op will handle both the supply and delivery of electricity to your home. If you live in an area that has a regulated electricity market, you do not choose an REP. The electric bill you receive from your REP will include REP electric charges, as well as TDU fees that get sent to the utility operating in your area. The delivery of electricity: Even though you get to pick your REP when you live in a deregulated area of Texas, you do not have a choice over what Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) you have. Whichever REP you choose will impact if solar will be a worthwhile investment for you.

If you want to go solar in the deregulated part of Texas, you’ll want to find an REP that has a solar buyback plan so you can maximize your solar savings. The supply of electricity: Texans can shop around for electricity rate plans from different electric companies called Retail Electric Providers (REPs). This presents a unique situation for solar homeowners in Texas that many homeowners in the rest of the United States don’t have to deal with. With a deregulated electricity market, the supply of electricity is separate from the delivery of electricity.

Whether or not you live in the deregulated part of Texas will impact what you need to think about when going solar. By entering a few pieces of information about your home, you can calculate the cost of solar panels (with and without a solar battery), as well as your projected savings and payback time through our solar calculator.īefore we get into the details about solar energy in Texas, we first need to clear up what's going on in the state’s electricity sector.Īround 85% of Texas participates in a deregulated electricity market, while the remaining 15% of the state participates in a regulated electricity market.Going solar in Texas is worth it for many homeowners, given they have access to a decent solar buyback program.If you live in a regulated area of Texas, you can only use the solar buyback plan offered by your utility company.Pulse Power will most likely provide the highest solar savings because it does not put a cap on how much solar electricity it will purchase from customers.Texans who live in a deregulated area of the state can pick a solar buyback plan from one of the following REPs (so long as they service your municipality): Green Mountain Energy, MP2 Energy, Octopus, Pulse Power, Rhythm, Reliant, or TXU Energy.Texas does not have a statewide net metering policy, but seven retail electric providers, as well as many municipal utilities and electric cooperatives, offer some form of a solar buyback program.

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