Eversource’s Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) is asking state regulators for a $727 million annual increase in electric distribution revenue, which the Attorney General says would raise average residential rates about 18%. Eversource puts that at about $32 a month for a typical home using 700 kWh. The request is pending before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) in Docket No. 26-05-10, with public comment hearings on Nov. 16, Nov. 23 and Dec. 9 and a decision expected around June 28, 2027. Nothing has been approved.

The case covers distribution, the part of the bill that pays for poles, wires and the company’s operations, not the standard service supply rate. For this year’s supply rate drop and the temporary public benefits credit, see how Connecticut’s supply rates and solar credits changed in 2026.

What Eversource Is Asking For

Attorney General William Tong said in a July 14, 2026 statement that Eversource is “seeking a $727 million annual rate increase” and that “the average residential customer would see rates rise by 18 percent.” AARP Connecticut, in comments dated Oct. 29, puts the 700 kWh figure at $32.91 a month, or nearly $400 a year.

Our math: $32.91 × 12 = $394.92 a year for a 700 kWh-a-month home under the full request. The roughly $20-a-month version works out to about $240 a year. Homes that use more electricity would generally see larger dollar increases.

The 11% Version: Storm Costs

The size of the increase depends partly on how older storm costs are paid. Eversource told Connecticut Public that if historical storm costs “are ultimately financed separately through securitization,” the typical 700 kWh increase “would be about 11%” or “roughly $20 a month,” instead of “the approximately 18% increase or $32 per month reflected in the filing.” The Attorney General’s statement says that without 2018-2025 storm costs, “Eversource is seeking a $451 million rate increase, resulting in an 11 percent increase for residential bills.” It adds that storm costs for 2024 and 2025 “will be considered as part of this latest rate case.”

Securitization means paying off a cost with long-term bonds repaid through a separate charge, which usually spreads the cost over more years. Customers would still pay for the storm costs either way; the 11% figure is lower partly because those costs are handled outside the base-rate increase.

A separate PURA case already ruled on Eversource’s 2018-2023 storm costs. In a July 29, 2026 release, the Attorney General said PURA approved about $861 million and that “the total to be collected from customers will be $668 million plus applicable going forward carrying charges.” Eversource has appealed that decision to New Britain Superior Court, according to the Office of Consumer Counsel (Oct. 15, 2026), seeking about $397 million in retroactive carrying charges PURA disallowed. The release did not say when that storm charge would show up on bills.

Timeline and How to Comment

Hearing dates are from the Acadia Center and AARP Connecticut; the decision date is the Acadia Center’s estimate based on the 350-day review that Connecticut law allows. You can also submit a written comment through PURA’s public comment page; PURA says comments “become a public record and will be posted in the public docket database.” Reference Docket No. 26-05-10.

Clean energy groups have filed testimony too. Testimony filed for Vote Solar and the Acadia Center recommends that PURA reject Eversource’s own performance-based plan in favor of the framework PURA developed with stakeholders, according to Vote Solar. The Attorney General and AARP Connecticut have publicly opposed the request; AARP has asked PURA to reject it. PURA can approve the full amount, less, or a different structure.

What It Means for Your Bill and Solar

Your bill. The request changes distribution charges. Your supply rate (standard service or a third-party supplier) is set separately, so your total bill in mid-2027 will also depend on the next supply rate changes and on what happens to the public benefits credit, which Eversource has said is temporary. For context, Connecticut’s average residential price was 24.51 cents per kWh in August 2026, down from 30.17 cents a year earlier, according to EIA’s preliminary data. That is a statewide average for all utilities, not Eversource’s tariff.

Solar owners and shoppers. Under Connecticut’s Residential Renewable Energy Solutions netting option, surplus solar earns credits at the rate you pay, so a higher distribution rate generally makes each kilowatt-hour your panels cover worth more. Buy-all customers are paid a fixed rate per kWh that this case does not set. If you are weighing solar, run your numbers at today’s rates and treat a rate increase as possible, not certain; our solar payback calculator lets you test both. Our explainer on kW vs kWh shows how to read the usage line on your bill.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We could not open PURA’s docket filings or Eversource’s rate review page directly during this check, so the company’s bill estimates come from news coverage and advocacy groups that quote the filing. Sources describe the 18% differently (as a rate increase, a bill increase, or a distribution-rate increase); Eversource’s and AARP’s dollar estimates use a 700 kWh typical home. Figures are requests and can change in settlement or PURA’s decision. United Illuminating customers are not affected by this case.

An average U.S. home that cooks with electricity used 290 kWh a year on its range, cooktop and oven in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, that is about $52.66 a year, or $4.39 a month. An hour of baking costs at most about 47 cents for a typical 2,600-watt bake element, and usually less. Household size and your electric rate change the answer most.

Cooking is one of the smaller electric loads in a home. It is far less than the electric water heater (about 2,706 kWh a year in EIA’s 2020 data) and less than half of an electric dryer’s 680 kWh. This guide shows the math per hour, month and year. To plug in your own price, see our electricity rates by state page.

The Formula

Cost = kWh used × your price per kWh

Watts tell you how fast an element uses energy; kilowatt-hours (kWh) are what you pay for. A 2,600-watt element running for one hour uses 2.6 kWh. Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference.

The wattages below come from the specification sheet for one 30-inch, 5.3-cubic-foot electric range, Frigidaire’s CFEF3054U. Other models differ, so check yours.

These are maximums. An oven element runs steadily while preheating, then switches on and off to hold the set temperature, and a burner on medium cycles too. A real hour of baking or simmering therefore uses less than the rating times the time. That is why the monthly and yearly figures below start from EIA’s measured household use instead.

What an Average Home Pays

Assumptions: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020, Table CE5.3b, average electricity used for cooking per household that cooks with electricity (“ranges (units with both a cooktop and an oven), separate cooktops, and separate ovens”); U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026; preliminary).

By region, EIA’s averages are close: 287 kWh a year in the Northeast, 289 in the Midwest, 301 in the South and 270 in the West.

By Household Size and Home Type

More people means more meals. Same price, 18.16 cents per kWh:

Single-family detached homes averaged 327 kWh a year (about $59.38), and apartments in buildings with five or more units 203 kWh (about $36.86).

By Electric Rate

Average home (290 kWh a year), using EIA’s August 2026 state averages:

State averages include all charges divided by kWh sold and hide differences between utilities and plans. On a time-of-use rate, dinner often falls in the peak window, so the same roast can cost more at 6 p.m. than at 2 p.m.

Oven, Cooktop, Induction or Microwave?

Induction. ENERGY STAR says induction cooktops transfer “about 85% of heating energy” to what is in the cookware, and that they are “about 5-10% more efficient than conventional electric resistance units” (which it puts at 75% to 80%) and about three times as efficient as gas. In dollars the gain is small: even 10% of all 290 kWh would be about 29 kWh, or about $5 a year at 18.16 cents, and the real figure is lower because the oven is not induction. People usually choose induction for speed and control, not the bill.

ENERGY STAR ranges. ENERGY STAR says its certified electric cooking products are “18% more efficient, on average, compared to standard models.” Its program covers cooktops and ranges, not standalone ovens.

Microwave. EIA’s 2020 average for microwaves is 107 kWh a year, about $19.43 at 18.16 cents, counted separately from the 290 kWh above. For reheating or small portions, a microwave avoids heating an oven cavity of five cubic feet or more.

Ways to cut the cost. The Maryland Energy Administration’s cooking tips include:

• “Try to avoid opening the oven door a lot as you cook.”
• With a conventional oven, “keep your preheating time to a minimum”; it may not be needed except for pastries and breads.
• If you bake more than one pan at a time, stagger them on upper and lower racks; cook double portions and save half.
• “Match the pan size to the element size.” The agency says “a 6” pan on an 8" burner will waste over 40% of the heat produced by the burner."
• Lower the oven temperature by about 25 degrees when using glass or ceramic pans.

Each saves a little; none will change your bill much, because cooking is a small share of it.

Cooking and Solar

If you are sizing solar panels, cooking barely moves the total. EIA’s 290 kWh is about 2.8% of the 10,356 kWh a year the average U.S. home bought in 2024 (863 kWh a month; see how much electricity a house uses). At about 1,375 kWh of yearly output per kW of panels (our calculator’s national figure), 290 kWh is about 0.2 kW of panels.

Timing matters more than the total. A range with two large elements and the oven on can draw several kilowatts at once, often at dinnertime after solar output has dropped. Where exported solar earns less than the retail rate, cooking in daylight uses more of your own output; a home battery is the other way to shift it.

Sources and verification

Limitations

EIA’s figures are 2020 averages for homes that cook with electricity; the 2024 survey’s consumption data are due in spring 2027, according to EIA. EIA does not split ovens from cooktops, so we cannot give a separate yearly oven figure. Per-hour costs assume an element is fully on and are upper bounds. Prices are state averages, not any utility’s tariff, and may not include sales taxes added to your bill. Gas and propane ranges are not covered.

U.S. homes used an average of 839 kWh a year to run their refrigerators in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, that is about $152 a year, $12.70 a month or 42 cents a day. The main refrigerator accounts for most of it (about $112 a year); a second fridge averages about $90 a year and a separate freezer about $104.

A refrigerator never turns off, so its cost shows up on every bill. This guide shows the math by day, month and year, what a second fridge or freezer adds, how to read the EnergyGuide label, and when replacing an old unit pays. To find your own rate, see our electricity rates by state page.

The Formula

Cost = kWh used × your price per kWh

You pay for kilowatt-hours (kWh). A refrigerator’s compressor runs only part of the time, so you cannot simply multiply the wattage on its nameplate by 24 hours. The Department of Energy (DOE) suggests dividing the time a refrigerator is plugged in by three to estimate hours at full wattage. Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference between watts and kWh.

The simplest starting point is a yearly kWh figure: EIA’s survey average below, or the yellow EnergyGuide label on your model.

What an Average Home Pays

Assumptions: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020, Table CE5.3b, average electricity use per household that has the appliance; U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026; preliminary).

The “all refrigerators” figure covers every refrigerator in the home, so in homes with a second fridge it includes both; that is why it is higher than the most-used refrigerator alone.

By region, EIA’s all-refrigerator averages were 743 kWh in the Northeast, 836 in the Midwest, 885 in the South and 840 in the West.

By Electric Rate

Same 839 kWh a year, using EIA’s August 2026 state averages:

Reading the EnergyGuide Label

New refrigerators carry a yellow EnergyGuide label with an estimated yearly electricity use. For example, Midea’s 18-cubic-foot top-freezer model MRT18S2AWW (automatic defrost, no through-the-door ice) is labeled at 362 kWh a year, which the label prices at $43 using “a national average electricity cost of 12 cents per kWh.” At August 2026’s 18.16 cents, the same 362 kWh costs about $65.74 a year, or $5.48 a month.

Labels come from a standard federal test, not your kitchen, so real use can be higher with a warm room, frequent door opening or dirty coils. The label also shows the cost range of similar models, which is the fairest comparison when shopping.

Old vs New: When Replacing Pays

EIA’s 617 kWh average for the most-used refrigerator is a mix of old and new units across U.S. homes. The Midea label above, at 362 kWh, is 255 kWh a year lower. At 18.16 cents that difference is about $46 a year, by our math. That compares one new model’s lab rating with a national average of all ages and sizes, so treat it as a rough guide, not a quote for your fridge.

Federal guidance points the same way:

• ENERGY STAR says certified refrigerators are “about 9 percent more energy efficient than models that meet the federal minimum energy efficiency standard.”
• ENERGY STAR says “Models with the freezer on top tend to use the least energy (versus bottom freezers or side-by-sides).”
• DOE’s Energy Saver says an older refrigerator uses “about 35% more energy” than an ENERGY STAR model, and advises against keeping one as a backup.
• ENERGY STAR puts lifetime savings from recycling an old fridge and buying a certified one at about $150 over 12 years; DOE’s page says new ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators “can save more than $220 over a 12-year lifetime.” Neither page states the electricity rate behind its figure.

The second-fridge question. A garage or basement fridge that EIA’s numbers put at 494 kWh a year costs about $90 a year at 18.16 cents, about $897 over 10 years at today’s price. If it mostly holds a few drinks, unplugging it saves that cost outright.

How to Cut the Cost

DOE’s Energy Saver lists these steps:

• Check the door seals and replace them if they are not airtight.
• Clean the coils “every six months to a year,” more often with shedding pets. DOE says dirty coils can raise energy costs “by as much as 35%.”
• Keep it away from heat, “away from direct sunlight and other heat sources such as ovens or ranges.”
• Size it right. DOE says the most efficient models are typically 16 to 20 cubic feet.

Refrigerators and Solar

The average home’s 839 kWh a year for refrigerators is about 8% of the 10,791 kWh the average U.S. home bought in 2022 (see how much electricity a house uses). At about 1,375 kWh of yearly output per kW of panels (our solar system size calculator’s national figure), that is about 0.6 kW of panels.

Because a fridge runs around the clock, rooftop panels alone do not keep it cold at night or in a grid outage. Grid-tied systems without a battery generally shut off when the grid goes down, so keeping a refrigerator running in an outage takes a battery or other backup. See solar panels and power outages and how to size a home battery.

Sources and verification

Limitations

EIA’s figures are 2020 averages for homes with each appliance; the 2024 survey’s consumption data are not out yet. Prices are state averages including all charges divided by kWh, not any utility’s tariff, and may not include sales taxes added to your bill. The old-versus-new comparison sets one new model’s label against a national average and is not a prediction for a specific refrigerator.

An average U.S. home with an electric clothes dryer used 680 kWh a year to run it in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, that is about $123 a year, about $10 a month, or roughly 44 cents a load. How many people live in the home, how full and wet the loads are, and your electric rate change the answer.

A dryer is one of the larger loads in a home while it runs, but because it runs only a few hours a week, its yearly cost is far smaller than an electric water heater’s (about 2,706 kWh a year in EIA’s 2020 data). This guide shows the math per hour, load, month and year, and what cuts it. To find your own rate, see our electricity rates by state page.

The Formula

Cost = kWh used × your price per kWh

You pay for kilowatt-hours (kWh), the energy used, not for the dryer’s power rating in kilowatts (kW). Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference.

Per hour of heating. Most of an electric dryer’s energy goes to its heating element. One full-size electric dryer we checked, Frigidaire’s FFQE5000QW (7.0 cubic feet), lists a heating element of 4,700 watts at 240 volts and a connected load of 5.4 kW. At 4,700 watts, the element uses 4.7 kWh for each hour it is on:

• At 18.16 cents per kWh: 4.7 × $0.1816 = about 85 cents an hour of heating

The element cycles on and off as the drum reaches temperature, and a moisture sensor can end the cycle early, so a real load usually uses less than the rating times the run time. That is why the per-load figure below starts from measured household use instead.

Per load. EIA does not publish kWh per load. DOE’s dryer test procedure assumes “the representative average use for clothes dryers is 283 drying cycles per year.” Dividing EIA’s 680 kWh by 283 loads gives our estimate:

• 680 ÷ 283 = about 2.4 kWh a load
• 2.4 kWh × $0.1816 = about 44 cents a load

Treat that as an average. Heavy towels, high heat and over-drying cost more; small, well-spun loads cost less.

What an Average Home Pays

Assumptions: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020, Table CE5.3a, average clothes dryer electricity use per household that uses an electric dryer; U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026; preliminary).

By Household Size

The number of people in the home changes dryer use more than anything else in EIA’s table. Same price assumption, 18.16 cents per kWh:

By region, EIA’s averages are close together: 632 kWh in the Northeast, 702 in the Midwest, 700 in the South and 641 in the West.

By Electric Rate

Your price per kWh matters as much as your usage. Average home (680 kWh a year, 2.4 kWh a load), using EIA’s August 2026 state averages:

State averages hide big differences between utilities and plans. If you pay a time-of-use rate, running the dryer outside peak hours can cost noticeably less per load.

Washer vs Dryer

The washer’s motor uses far less. EIA’s 2020 average for clothes washers is 69 kWh a year, about $12.53 at 18.16 cents, a tenth of the dryer. If you wash in warm or hot water, the cost of heating that water shows up on your water heater, not the washer’s motor.

How to Cut the Cost

DOE’s Energy Saver laundry guidance gives these steps:

• Don’t over-dry. “If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it.”
• Clean the lint screen after every load “to improve air circulation and prevent fire hazards.”
• Use the cool-down cycle so clothes finish drying on heat already in the drum.
• Check the dryer vent periodically so it is not blocked.
• Air-dry on a line or rack when you can.

New dryer? DOE says ENERGY STAR clothes dryers “use 20% less energy than conventional models,” and heat pump dryers “can save 20-60 percent more energy than conventional clothes dryers.” ENERGY STAR’s own page says heat pump dryers use “around 70% less energy” than conventional dryers and need no exterior vent.

For an average home using 680 kWh a year, by our math at 18.16 cents:

Those savings are modest for a small household and larger for big families or high electric rates. ENERGY STAR estimates a certified dryer “saves approximately $210 in energy bills over the life of the product”; the page does not state its rate or usage assumptions.

Dryers and Solar

If you are sizing solar panels, an electric dryer is a small part of yearly use. EIA’s 680 kWh is about 6% of the 10,791 kWh the average U.S. home bought in 2022 (see how much electricity a house uses). At about 1,375 kWh of yearly output per kW of panels (our calculator’s national figure), 680 kWh is about 0.5 kW of panels.

Timing matters more than the total. A dryer like the one above can draw close to 5 kW while its element is on, which can be more than a small rooftop system produces at that moment. Running it at midday on a sunny day uses more of your own solar output, which helps most where exported power earns less than the retail rate.

Sources and verification

Limitations

EIA’s figures are 2020 averages for homes that use an electric dryer; the 2024 survey’s consumption data are not out yet. The per-load figure combines two federal numbers and is an estimate, not a measurement. Prices are state averages including all charges divided by kWh, not any utility’s tariff, and may not include sales taxes added to your bill. Gas dryers use natural gas or propane for heat and are not covered here.

An average U.S. home that heats water with electricity used 2,706 kWh a year for it in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, that costs about $491 a year, or about $41 a month. Your cost depends on how much hot water your household uses, the season, your thermostat setting and your electric rate.

Water heating is one of the larger electric loads in a home that has an electric tank, and unlike a space heater it runs all year. This guide shows the math per hour, month and year, what changes it, and when a heat pump water heater or solar makes sense. For your own electric rate, see our electricity rates by state page.

The Formula

Cost = kWh used × your price per kWh

You pay for kilowatt-hours (kWh). A water heater’s element draws its rated power only while it is heating; the thermostat switches it off when the tank reaches its setting. Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference between the element’s power (kW) and the energy you are billed for (kWh).

Per hour of heating. A 50-gallon electric tank we checked, A.O. Smith’s E6-50H45DV, has “two 4,500-watt copper heating elements” and a listed maximum wattage of 4,500. At 4,500 watts, the heater uses 4.5 kWh for each hour it is heating:

• At 18.16 cents per kWh: 4.5 × $0.1816 = about 82 cents an hour of heating

That is not a daily cost. How many hours the element runs depends on how much hot water you draw.

What an Average Home Pays

EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey measured average electricity use for water heating at 2,706 kWh a year in 2020 for households that heat water with electricity. That is about 7.4 kWh a day.

Assumption: U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026).

The 2020 usage figure is the latest EIA survey of how much electricity homes use by end use; the price is current. Your own usage may differ a lot from the average.

By Electric Rate

Same 2,706 kWh a year, at different state average prices for August 2026 (EIA):

Use the price per kWh from your own bill, including delivery charges, for the closest estimate. If you are on a time-of-use rate, the hours the tank heats matter too; see our guide to time-of-use rates and solar.

What Makes It Cost More

Household size. More people means more showers, laundry and dishes. ENERGY STAR’s savings table for heat pump water heaters doubles from 1,880 kWh a year for a household of two to 3,760 kWh for a household of four, which reflects how hot-water energy grows with the number of people.

Season. EIA’s monthly averages run from 255 kWh in January to 191 kWh in September, so January use is about a third higher than September’s. Colder incoming water needs more heating to reach the same temperature.

Thermostat setting. The Department of Energy (DOE) says most households “usually only require them to be set at 120ºF” and that a 140ºF setting can waste “$36 to $61 annually in standby heat losses,” the heat a tank loses to the room around it. DOE’s estimate of energy savings from lowering the setting is 4% to 22% a year.

The manufacturer’s estimate for one model. A.O. Smith’s product page shows an estimated energy cost of $573 a year for the 50-gallon model above, based on a home in Nolensville, Tennessee, and a default of 64.3 gallons of hot water a day. That is a high-use assumption, and the estimate depends on local rates; it shows how heavy use pushes costs above the national average.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

A heat pump water heater moves heat from the surrounding air into the water instead of making all of it with a resistance element. ENERGY STAR estimates these savings compared with a standard electric water heater:

ENERGY STAR’s dollar figures use a price of about 14.6 cents per kWh; the last column is our arithmetic at the August 2026 U.S. average. ENERGY STAR also assumes $1,503 of extra upfront cost and a 13-year life. Our heat pump water heater savings guide covers installation needs, payback and rebates.

Water Heating and Solar

If you are sizing a solar system, an electric water heater is a meaningful share of what the panels need to cover. By our math, 2,706 kWh a year is roughly the yearly output of 2 kW of panels, at the U.S. mean output of about 1,375 kWh per kW of panels used in our solar system size calculator. Switching to a heat pump water heater before you size a system can mean fewer panels.

Timing can matter too. Under net metering with full retail credit, it makes little difference when the tank heats. Where exports earn less than the retail rate, or under time-of-use pricing, heating water during sunny hours uses more of your own solar output. Some heat pump water heaters and add-on timers can schedule heating; check what your model supports.

How to Cut the Cost

• Check the setting. DOE says 120°F is enough for most households.
• Fix leaks and use less hot water. Every gallon you do not heat is energy you do not pay for.
• Compare a heat pump water heater when your tank needs replacing, using ENERGY STAR’s estimates and your own rate.
• Look at your bill’s kWh in winter versus fall; a big jump in an all-electric home can point to water heating as well as space heating. Our guide to high electric bills lists other causes.

Sources and verification

Limitations

EIA’s 2,706 kWh is a 2020 national average across homes that heat water with electricity, whatever type of electric water heater they have, so a standard tank in a large household can use more. Prices are August 2026 averages; your rate, including delivery charges, will differ. We did not measure any water heater ourselves.

PPL Electric Utilities’ supply price for customers on default service rises 10.3% on Dec. 1, 2026, from 13.079 to 14.428 cents per kWh. For a home using 1,000 kWh a month, that adds about $13.49 a month to the supply part of the bill. The new Price to Compare runs through May 31, 2027, according to PPL. Customers who buy electricity from a competitive supplier are not affected by this change; they pay their contract price.

The increase follows a distribution rate increase that took effect July 1, which PPL described as its first since 2016. For how Pennsylvania’s default supply prices moved across every utility at the last reset, see our Pennsylvania electricity price and solar guide.

What Changes on Dec. 1

PPL’s rates and shopping page lists the residential Price to Compare as “13.079 ¢/kWh Valid 7/1/2026 to 11/30/2026” and “14.428 ¢/kWh Valid 12/1/2026 to 5/31/2027.” PPL describes it as “the rate you’ll pay if you don’t shop or you’re on our OnTrack program” and says it “changes every June 1 and December 1.”

The Price to Compare is the per-kWh price for electricity supply. It is not your whole bill: PPL also charges a monthly customer charge and per-kWh distribution charges for delivering power, plus taxes. Those are not part of this change.

A note on the summer figure: the PUC’s May 2026 release listed PPL’s June 1, 2026 price as 13.147 cents. PPL’s page now shows 13.079 cents as valid from July 1. We compare against PPL’s posted figure.

How Much More You Will Pay

Assumptions: PPL default service; supply price change of 1.349 cents per kWh; usage held constant. Delivery charges and taxes are not included.

Many homes use more electricity in winter, especially with electric heat, so the dollar change is larger in the months you use the most. Your bill shows your monthly kWh.

Compared with a year ago. Two changes stack up for a default-service customer at 1,000 kWh: the supply price is 1.475 cents higher than last winter (about $14.75 a month), and the July 1 distribution increase PPL puts at about $6.48 a month at 1,000 kWh. Together that is about $21.23 a month more than in December 2025, by our math. Other riders and charges can move too, so treat that as an estimate, not a bill.

The July Distribution Increase

The PUC approved a settlement of PPL’s base rate case (docket R-2025-3057164) in June 2026, reducing the annual revenue increase to “approximately $275 million” from about $356.3 million requested. The PUC said a residential bill at 918 kWh a month was projected to rise from $177.01 to “approximately $184.49,” with new rates for service “on and after July 1, 2026.” PPL’s own rate page puts the change at “approximately $6.48 per month” for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh.

That case set delivery rates. The Dec. 1 change is to the separate supply price for default-service customers.

If You Shop for a Supplier

The PUC says default-price changes “only affect customers receiving ‘default service’” and that customers “already shopping with a supplier will continue paying the generation price set by their contract.” If you shop:

• Check your contract’s end date and what price it renews at.
• Compare any offer’s cents per kWh with 14.428 cents, and read the contract length, cancellation fee and renewal terms.
• The PUC’s shopping site, PAPowerSwitch.com, lists offers by utility. Our guide to comparing electricity supplier offers explains what to check.

A lower price today is not always lower over a year. A fixed-price offer below 14.428 cents beats default service only while it lasts, and the Price to Compare resets again on June 1, 2027.

What It Means for Solar Owners

For a PPL solar customer on default service, a higher supply price raises the value of solar in two ways:

• Power you use at home as it is produced avoids the Price to Compare plus the per-kWh distribution charge for those kWh.
• Banked excess kWh. PPL nets usage and solar output each month and banks the excess. Its net-metering page says excess kWh accumulate “until the end of the PJM planning period ending May 31 of each year” and are paid “at the Company’s Price To Compare (PTC).” PPL’s billing page says it compensates net-metering customers “once per year, in May,” and adds: “This payment is based on the price to compare at the time of the payout.” The Price to Compare in effect in May 2027 is 14.428 cents, so a payout made then would use the new, higher price. On PPL’s cash-out page, the residential compensation rate for July 1 to Nov. 30, 2026 is $0.13079 per kWh, the same as the summer Price to Compare.

Solar customers who buy from a supplier are treated differently. PPL says their compensation depends on the supplier, and if the supplier does not compensate, PPL credits only the distribution portion of excess kWh each month. If you have panels and a supplier contract, ask the supplier how it handles net metering before you sign or renew.

Other Pennsylvania Utilities

Every Pennsylvania utility resets default service prices on Dec. 1. Last year the PUC listed all of the Dec. 1 changes in one release on Nov. 24, 2025. Trade publication EnergyChoiceMatters reported Oct. 16 that PECO filed a residential generation supply charge of $0.11970 per kWh for December through May, up 11% from $0.10785, though that charge is only part of PECO’s Price to Compare. We will add the PUC’s statewide figures to our Pennsylvania guide when they are published.

Sources and verification

Limitations

PPL’s page does not give a monthly bill estimate for the Dec. 1 change; the dollar figures above are our arithmetic on the supply price only, at constant usage. We did not review PPL’s default service filing with the PUC. PPL’s posted summer price (13.079 cents from July 1) differs from the 13.147 cents the PUC listed for June 1, and PPL’s page does not explain the difference. Delivery charges, riders and taxes also affect your bill.

DTE Electric is asking Michigan regulators for about $474.3 million a year in new base electric revenue. Its application estimates a residential summer bill would rise $22.13 a month at 1,000 kWh, or $11.06 at 500 kWh, if the full request were approved. The request (MPSC case U-22046) was filed April 28, 2026, and has not been decided. Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) staff has recommended about half the amount, and the state Attorney General has recommended much less.

DTE filed this request about two months after the MPSC approved a $242.4 million increase in February in an earlier case. For how both DTE and Consumers Energy rates have moved this year, and how Michigan credits rooftop solar, see our guide to Michigan electric rate changes in 2026.

What DTE Is Asking For

DTE’s application, filed with the MPSC on April 28, 2026, asks for “additional annual base electric revenues in the amount of approximately $474.3 million.” The key numbers:

The bill figures are DTE’s own estimates for summer bills on Rate D1.11, assuming about 15% of use is on-peak, as the filing states; DTE’s public notice describes the 500 kWh figure as an increase of “up to” $11.06. Winter bills and different on-peak shares would give different numbers.

DTE said in April the money would support converting its Belle River Power Plant from coal to natural gas and developing the Trenton Channel Energy Center, according to CBS News Detroit. The Michigan Attorney General noted the filing came “just two months after the utility received approval for a $242.4 million increase.”

What Staff, the Attorney General and CUB Recommend

Other parties in a Michigan rate case file testimony proposing their own numbers. Three have done so here:

• MPSC staff: In Aug. 26 testimony, staff recommended “a $239.1 million rate increase for DTE Electric Co.,” about half of the request, and keeping DTE’s return on equity at 9.90%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Staff is a party to the case; its recommendation is not the commission’s decision.
• Michigan Attorney General: Dana Nessel said on Aug. 28 that DTE should “increase rates by no more than $134.5 million,” which would “slash the utility’s proposed hike by 71%,” and that this would cut “DTE’s requested 10% residential rate hike to 2%.”
• Citizens Utility Board of Michigan (CUB): In a Nov. 6 post on its testimony, the consumer group said its witness proposed a 9.17% return on equity, which he estimates would save customers about $122 million a year compared with DTE’s 10.25%. CUB’s witnesses also recommended a labor-cost offset that it says would save customers more than $21 million a year.

By our arithmetic, staff’s figure is about 50% of DTE’s request ($239.1M ÷ $474.3M) and the Attorney General’s is about 28% ($134.5M ÷ $474.3M). The residential share of any final increase depends on how the MPSC allocates it among customer classes, so these totals cannot be turned into a household dollar figure.

When Will the MPSC Decide?

Michigan rate cases run on a review of about 10 months from filing, according to Axios Detroit, and DTE asked for new rates as early as March 1, 2027. CUB says an administrative law judge’s proposal for decision is scheduled for Dec. 21. That proposal is a recommendation; the commission issues the final order afterward.

The MPSC’s most recent DTE electric decision shows how much a request can shrink: on Feb. 19, 2026 it approved about $242.4 million of roughly $574 million DTE had requested, according to the Michigan Attorney General.

DTE’s Pledge to Pause Rate Requests

When DTE announced the filing in April, CEO Joi Harris said “we will refrain from filing another rate request until at least 2028,” according to CBS News Detroit, on the condition that “the first data center project we’re supporting comes online as planned by the end of 2027.” DTE also said it needs other regulatory approvals. CBS reported that the $474.3 million request does not include costs tied to DTE’s data center contracts.

That is a conditional statement about future filings, not a freeze. Rates can still change between rate cases through separate charges, such as the power supply cost recovery factor.

What It Means for Your Bill and Solar

If you are a DTE customer: nothing changes on your bill until the MPSC rules. Check your bill for your actual monthly kWh. At 1,000 kWh in summer, DTE’s own estimate for the full request is $22.13 a month. The final number would be lower if the MPSC lands anywhere near the staff or Attorney General recommendations, but that is not certain.

If you have or are considering rooftop solar: under Michigan’s distributed generation program, DTE credits power you send to the grid based on the power supply part of the rate, not the distribution part, as our Michigan guide explains. A rate case that raises distribution charges increases the value of solar power you use in your home as it is produced, but does less for exported power. This request also includes generation projects, which could raise the power supply part of the rate that sets export credits; the final order will show how the increase is split. Sizing a system to match daytime use, or adding a battery, matters more as that gap widens. Our solar payback guide shows how to run the numbers with your own rate and export credit.

For the other big Michigan utility’s pending case, see our article on the Consumers Energy rate increase request for 2027.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We did not read MPSC staff’s testimony directly; the staff figures come from S&P Global’s report on it. DTE’s bill estimates cover summer bills on Rate D1.11 only. The MPSC has not set a decision date in the sources we found, and the final increase, its split among customer classes and any change to DTE’s fixed monthly charge will be set by the commission’s order.

An electric baseboard heater costs its wattage times your electric rate for every hour its element is on. A common 4-foot, 1,000-watt heater uses 1 kWh an hour, about 18 cents at the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026. A 1,500-watt heater costs about 27 cents an hour. Your monthly bill depends on how many hours the thermostat actually keeps the element on, and on what you pay per kWh.

About 42% of U.S. households used electricity as their main heating fuel in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and baseboards are a common electric option. This guide shows the math by heater size, room and whole house, and when a heat pump or zoning saves money. For a portable heater, see our space heater running-cost guide; to find your own rate, see electricity rates by state.

The Formula

Cost per hour = (watts ÷ 1,000) × your price per kWh

Your bill charges for kilowatt-hours (kWh). A 1,000-watt heater running for one hour uses 1 kWh. Our kW vs kWh explainer covers the difference.

The wattage is on the heater’s label. Baseboard wattage generally scales with length. Cadet’s F Series catalog, for example, lists 240-volt models at 500 watts (30 inches), 750 watts (36 inches), 1,000 watts (48 inches), 1,250 watts (60 inches), 1,500 watts (72 inches) and 2,000 watts (96 inches).

Voltage does not change the cost. A 1,000-watt heater uses 1 kWh an hour whether it is a 120-volt or 240-volt model. One exception: a 240-volt heater connected to 208-volt power, used in some apartment and commercial buildings, puts out less. Cadet lists its 4-foot 4F1000 at 1,000 watts on 240 volts and 750 watts on 208 volts. It uses less electricity per hour, but also delivers less heat, so it may run longer.

Cost Per Hour by Heater Size

Assumptions: U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA, released Oct. 23, 2026); element on at full rated output.

These are full-output figures. A baseboard heater does not use its full wattage every hour it is “on”; the thermostat cycles the element off once the room reaches the set temperature.

What One Room Costs a Month

Take a 12-by-12-foot bedroom (144 square feet). A common rule of thumb from heater retailer Homelectrical is about 10 watts per square foot in a well-insulated room with 8-foot ceilings, which gives about 1,440 watts, so a 1,500-watt, 6-foot heater. The same guide suggests 12.5 watts per square foot for older homes and adding 25% for a 10-foot ceiling.

How long the element actually runs is the big unknown: it depends on the weather, your insulation and the thermostat setting. So here are three cases, on a 30-day month at 18.16 cents per kWh:

The math for 8 hours: 1.5 kW × 8 hours × 30 days = 360 kWh, and 360 × $0.1816 = $65.38.

The same room costs very different amounts by state. At 360 kWh a month and EIA’s August 2026 state averages for residential customers:

State averages blend every utility in the state and include fixed charges spread over kWh, so your own bill’s price per kWh is the better number to use. Winter rates can also differ from August rates.

What a Whole House Costs

Baseboard costs add up when every room has a heater. Using the same 10-watts-per-square-foot rule, a 1,200-square-foot home would have about 12,000 watts of baseboard heat. With every heater at full output, that is 12 kWh an hour, about $2.18 an hour at 18.16 cents.

If those heaters together averaged the equivalent of 6 hours a day at full output over a 30-day month, an assumption for illustration, not a measurement, the house would use 2,160 kWh for heating, about $392. Your real figure could be far lower in a mild month or higher in a cold snap.

For a national benchmark, EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook forecasts that homes heating mainly with electricity will spend an average of $1,196 on electricity from November 2026 through March 2027, up 4% from last winter. EIA notes that the main heating fuel is also used for other purposes, so that figure covers more than heat. See our winter heating costs outlook for the breakdown.

How to Lower Baseboard Heating Costs

• Heat the rooms you use. Baseboards already give each room its own thermostat. The Department of Energy (DOE) says zone heating “can produce energy savings of more than 20% compared to heating the whole area of your house.”
• Upgrade the thermostat. DOE says the built-in line-voltage thermostats on baseboards “often don’t sense the room temperature accurately” and recommends a remote line-voltage or low-voltage thermostat on an interior wall. A programmable model also lets you lower the temperature at night or while you are out.
• Keep the heater clear. Baseboards work by convection: DOE explains that warmed air rises into the room and cooler air is drawn into the bottom. Furniture or long curtains in front of a heater block that flow.
• Consider a heat pump. DOE says electric resistance heating, which includes baseboards, is “100% energy efficient in the sense that all the incoming electric energy is converted to heat,” but heat pumps “easily cut electricity use by 50% when compared with electric resistance heating.” At that rate, the 360 kWh room in our example would need about 180 kWh. Ductless mini-split heat pumps are a common replacement in baseboard-heated homes. Our heat pump buying guide covers sizing and efficiency ratings.

Does Solar Offset Baseboard Heat?

Only partly. Baseboard heat runs hardest on winter nights and cold mornings, when solar panels produce little or nothing, and panels produce less in winter overall (see how solar output changes in winter). Under net metering that credits exports at the full retail rate, summer surplus can offset winter heating kWh where credits roll over month to month. Where exports earn less than retail, more of baseboard heat is bought from the grid at the full price. Cutting the heating load first, with a heat pump, better thermostats and air sealing, usually lets a smaller solar system cover more of the bill.

Sources and verification

Pacific Power has asked California regulators for a 57% increase in customer rates starting Jan. 1, 2027. The company says a 14% decrease in rates on the same date will partly offset it. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has not ruled, and the company says the review “could take several months.”

Pacific Power is the trade name of PacifiCorp, which serves far northern California. This article covers its California customers only. For the statewide picture at PG&E, Southern California Edison and SDG&E, see our California electric rates and solar page. For the separate Oregon case, see Pacific Power’s 2027 Oregon settlement.

What Pacific Power Asked For

On its California rate changes page, checked Nov. 8, 2026, Pacific Power says it submitted a general rate case to the CPUC in November 2026 and that “the filing proposes a 57% increase in customer rates,” which “will be partially offset by a 14% decrease in rates that will take effect January 1, 2027.” The page does not say what the 14% decrease is.

The status is requested, not approved. The company says it “has requested that the new rates take effect on January 1, 2027” and that the CPUC review could take several months.

The dollar figures come from a Nov. 7, 2026 report by 24/7 Wall St., which says a company pricing director testified that “the average residential Schedule D bill would rise $121.15 a month.” Seeking Alpha reported the same request with a $120-a-month increase for a typical residential bill, and a Benzinga headline used the same $120 figure. Seeking Alpha described $103 million a year as the base revenue increase, which differs from 24/7 Wall St.’s $82.8 million. We could not find the filing itself in CPUC search results on Nov. 8, so treat those numbers as reported, not confirmed. 24/7 Wall St. also notes it is unclear whether the $121.15 accounts for the 14% decrease.

Why Pacific Power Says It Needs the Money

Pacific Power lists three drivers on its rate page: wildfire prevention investments, higher insurance costs tied to wildfire risk, and inflation.

Seeking Alpha cites company president Ryan Flynn, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, as saying the company is replacing wooden poles with steel and fiberglass structures and replacing bare wire with insulated, fire-resistant conductor.

A second request is pending. Separately, PacifiCorp filed an application with the CPUC on Feb. 27, 2026 “to recover costs relating to the 2020 Slater fire and the 2022 McKinney fire.” It seeks about $340.5 million of roughly $637.4 million in claims costs paid and legal expenses. Its proposed schedule calls for a proposed decision on Feb. 26, 2027 and a final decision on March 25, 2027. The application points to separate exhibits for bill impacts, so we have not estimated what that case would add.

What It Could Mean for Your Bill

For now, three numbers matter, and two are confirmed by the company’s own page:

1. 57% is the requested increase in customer rates (Pacific Power).
2. 14% is a decrease the company says partly offsets it on the same date (Pacific Power). The company has not said how the two combine for a typical home.
3. $121.15 a month is the reported average residential increase from company testimony, before any CPUC changes. We have not seen the kWh or starting bill behind it.

How the increase would be split between per-kWh and fixed charges is not yet public, but households that use more electricity, such as those with electric heat, would generally see larger dollar changes than average. The CPUC can approve the full request, part of it or none of it. Our explainer on how electric rate cases work covers what usually happens between a filing and a decision.

If you need help with bills, Pacific Power’s rate page points California customers to its CARE discount program and to the CPUC’s public comment process.

What It Means for Solar

Pacific Power stopped taking new customers on traditional net energy metering in California in 2020, after hitting the capacity cap in state law. Its customer FAQ (updated Feb. 5, 2020) says customers who applied before March 1, 2020 and connected by March 1, 2023 can stay on legacy NEM until March 1, 2040. Newer solar customers are on Net Billing, which pays “export credits for all energy that they export to the grid” at on-peak and off-peak rates set in Schedule NB-136.

That split matters if rates rise sharply:

• Power you use yourself avoids the per-kWh charges you would otherwise pay, so it gains value as those charges rise.
• Power you export earns the Schedule NB-136 export credit rates, so a retail increase may not raise those credits by the same amount. We did not find current NB-136 credit values.

For a household weighing solar or a battery, the practical step is to size the system to cover daytime use and run the math with your own rate. Our solar payback guide shows how.

What Happens Next

The CPUC will assign a case number, and the request will go through review that Pacific Power says could take several months. Pacific Power’s page says customers can submit comments to the CPUC and take part in public hearings. We will update this article when the filing is posted, when hearings are set and when the commission rules.

Sources and verification

We did not open the Nov. 6 filing or its testimony; dollar figures come from news reports of it. All figures are requested and subject to CPUC review.

A 100-light LED mini string costs about 16 cents a month to run 6 hours a night, and a 100-light incandescent string about $1.33, at the U.S. average residential electricity price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026. Big C9 incandescent bulbs cost far more: about $5.72 a month for a 25-bulb string. Your cost depends on the wattage on the label, how many hours the lights are on and what you pay per kWh.

This guide shows the formula, works through common light strings at the U.S. average and at low and high state rates, and explains why a timer matters as much as the bulbs. For background on the units, see our explainer on kW vs kWh.

The Formula

Your utility bills you for kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kWh is 1,000 watts used for one hour.

Monthly cost = (watts ÷ 1,000) × hours a night × nights × your rate per kWh

Assumptions for every example below, unless stated:

• Rate: 18.16 cents per kWh, EIA’s U.S. average residential price for August 2026 (Electricity Monthly Update, released Oct. 23, 2026).
• Schedule: 6 hours a night for 30 nights, or 180 hours.
• Wattage: the rating on specific products listed for sale, checked Nov. 8, 2026. Your lights may differ, so check the tag near the plug.

What Common Light Strings Cost

The math for the incandescent mini string: 40.8 watts ÷ 1,000 = 0.0408 kW. Then 0.0408 × 180 hours = 7.34 kWh, and 7.34 × $0.1816 = $1.33. For the C9 string: 25 bulbs × 7 watts = 175 watts, so 0.175 kW × 180 hours = 31.5 kWh, or $5.72.

Wattage sources: a 100-count clear incandescent mini set listed at 40.8 watts (Bulb America); a 100-count red LED mini set listed at 4.8 watts, 0.04 amps, 120 volts (Christmas Central); 7-watt C9 incandescent bulbs rated at 130 volts (1000Bulbs); and 0.6-watt Bulbrite C9 LED bulbs, which the listing compares to a 5-watt incandescent (SupplyStop). These are examples, not averages for all products. The C9 rows assume a 25-socket string. Because the 7-watt C9 rating is at 130 volts, these bulbs draw somewhat less on a standard 120-volt circuit, so the C9 incandescent figures are a slight overestimate.

A Whole-House Display

Most displays use more than one string. With 10 strings on the same 6-hours-a-night schedule:

If you leave the lights up from late November to early January, about 40 nights, multiply the monthly figure by about 1.33. Ten incandescent strings would come to about $17.78 for the season and ten LED strings about $2.09.

Inflatables, projectors and animated displays have their own motors and lights. Check each item’s label for watts and add them in the same way.

What It Costs Where You Live

Electricity prices vary widely by state. These rows use EIA’s August 2026 state averages for residential customers (Electric Power Monthly, released Oct. 23, 2026), with the same 6-hours-a-night, 30-night schedule.

Nevada had the lowest state average and Hawaii the highest in August 2026. State averages blend many utilities and rate plans, so your own bill shows your real price. Our guide to reading your electric bill shows where to find it, including delivery and supply charges.

LED or Incandescent?

LEDs win on electricity. In our examples, the LED mini string draws 4.8 watts against 40.8 watts for the incandescent string, about 88% less. ENERGY STAR says certified decorative light strings “consume 92% less energy than conventional incandescent lights strands” and “can last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent strands.”

The dollar savings per string are small for mini lights, about $1.18 a month at the U.S. average in our example. They add up with many strings, big C9 or C7 bulbs, long seasons and high-rate states. Whether replacing strings that still work pays off depends on how many you run and what new strings cost.

One other difference matters in practice:

• How many strings you can connect. One 100-light incandescent set we checked is UL listed for up to 5 strings end to end. One 100-light LED set allows up to 43 sets, “not to exceed 210 watts.” Always follow your own product’s label.

Use a Timer

Hours count as much as watts. Cutting 6 hours a night to 4 trims the cost by a third with any kind of bulb. Leaving lights on all night, 12 hours, doubles it: ten incandescent mini strings would use about 147 kWh in 30 nights, about $26.67 at the U.S. average.

A plug-in timer or smart plug turns the lights off on schedule. If you are on a time-of-use rate, evening hours may be the most expensive of the day, so a later start or earlier shutoff can save more than these averages suggest.

What About Solar?

Holiday lights run after dark, when solar panels produce nothing. How your panels help depends on your billing rules:

• Full net metering. Daytime exports earn credits at about the retail rate, which can offset evening use.
• Net billing or lower export credits. Exports may earn less than you pay for evening power, so daytime exports may cover only part of the cost of running the lights in the evening.
• Home battery. A battery charged by solar during the day can run the lights at night. Ten LED mini strings on our schedule use under 0.3 kWh a night (48 watts × 6 hours = 0.288 kWh).

For a sense of how holiday lights compare with your other uses, see how much electricity a house uses, and for a bigger winter load, what a space heater costs to run.

Sources and verification

Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) electric customers face a much smaller 2027 increase than the utility requested. After the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) voted on Nov. 5, 2026, WPS estimated a 0.3% electric increase in 2027, about $1 or less a month for a typical household, and 2.9% in 2028, about $5 to $6 a month. WPS had asked for about $11 a month more in 2027. The PSC’s written order, which will set exact rates, is still pending.

WPS says it has about 474,000 electric customers and 350,000 natural gas customers. For how WPS compares with We Energies, Alliant and other utilities in the state, and how each credits rooftop solar, see our Wisconsin electric rates and solar guide.

What the PSC Decided

WEC Energy Group, the parent of WPS and We Energies, said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Nov. 5 that the PSC “approved rate changes” that day in the rate cases WPS, We Energies (Wisconsin Electric Power Company) and Wisconsin Gas filed in April 2026. Its presentation slides list:

• Return on equity: 9.50%, the profit rate the PSC allows on shareholder investment. WPS and We Energies had asked for 9.9%; the current rate is 9.8%.
• Equity ratio: 53.0%, unchanged.
• Final written order: expected before year-end.

The SEC filing does not give the dollar or percentage increases. Those come from company estimates (WPS for NBC 26, WEC Energy Group for WPR), reported the next day by NBC 26, Wisconsin Public Radio and WFRV:

WPS spokesperson Matt Cullen gave NBC 26 the estimates, and the station noted the PSC “is yet to outline exactly what the increases will now be.” WFRV called the figures “preliminary estimates.”

By our arithmetic, the estimates add up to roughly $5 to $7 a month above 2026 levels by 2028, compared with about $16 under WPS’s original request ($11 + $5). Nearly all of the cut is in 2027: the 2028 estimate ($5 to $6) is about what WPS asked for in 2028 ($5). WPS’s April figures and the post-vote estimates may not use exactly the same measure, and neither the reports nor the SEC filing say what usage level “typical household” means. The PSC’s order will show the final comparison.

What WPS Had Asked For

WPS filed in April 2026, in PSC docket 6690-UR-129. Its April 1 release said a typical residential electric bill would increase “by about $11 per month in 2027 and about $5 per month in 2028.” WEC’s April investor slides put the WPS electric base rate request at 6.3% for 2027 and 3.5% for 2028, excluding fuel.

WPS said the money would pay for solar, wind and battery projects already approved by regulators, trimming more than 2,000 miles of power lines a year, removal of 5,000 to 8,000 hazard trees a year, and 80 to 100 miles of underground cable in each of 2027 and 2028.

On the gas side, WPS asked for about $7 a month more in 2027 for residential customers and said no base rate increase was expected in 2028. The reports on the vote that we reviewed did not give WPS gas outcomes.

We Energies Got a Larger Increase

The PSC decided the We Energies case at the same meeting. WEC’s estimates, as reported by WPR and WFRV, put We Energies electric increases at 3.9% in 2027 and 3.5% in 2028, about $7 to $8 a month in 2027 and $6 to $7 in 2028 for a typical residential customer. Our We Energies 2027 rate increase article has the original request and current tariff.

PSC Chair Summer Strand, as quoted by WPR: “We heard you loud and clear that utility rates are too high.”

What It Means for Your Bill and Solar

If WPS’s estimate holds, a typical household’s 2027 electric bill would barely move, and the bigger step comes in 2028. Two cautions apply:

• The numbers are estimates. The written order sets the final rates and the split between the fixed customer charge and per-kWh charges.
• This covers electric base rates only. Gas customers should wait for the written order, which was not described in the reports we reviewed.

For solar owners, a 0.3% change does little to the value of panels in 2027. The split matters more than the total: per-kWh charges are what your solar offsets, while a higher fixed charge is a cost solar cannot reduce. Our explainer on fixed charges and solar savings walks through that math.

What Happens Next

WEC expects the PSC’s final written order before the end of 2026, and WPS told NBC 26 it expects it “in the next few weeks.” WPS said in April that it expected new rates in January 2027. We will update this article with the final residential rates when the order is issued.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We could not read the PSC’s decision documents, so the increases above are WEC’s preliminary estimates as reported by three news outlets, and “typical household” usage is not defined. Gas outcomes, fixed charge changes and the effective date will be confirmed by the written order.

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is asking Washington regulators for an electric rate increase that would add $28.31 a month in 2027 for a home using 800 kWh, according to PSE’s customer notice. Two more steps would follow: $6.58 in 2028 and $15.69 in 2029. Nothing is approved. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) is reviewing the request, and PSE’s proposed rates would start in February 2027.

The request would come on top of the January 2026 changes covered in our Washington electric rates and solar overview, which also explains how public utilities such as Seattle City Light set their own rates. This article covers PSE residential customers only.

What PSE Is Asking For

PSE filed a three-year rate plan on Feb. 27, 2026, in docket UE-260005 for electric service and UG-260006 for natural gas. The figures below are PSE’s own, from its public comment hearing notice.

The 800 kWh bill was $159.46 when PSE filed, with a basic charge of $7.49. The 2027 bill uses PSE’s proposed February 2027 rates. Status: requested, not approved.

Two things stand out. The 2027 bill change at 800 kWh, 17.8% by our arithmetic ($28.31 ÷ $159.46), is larger than the 15.2% overall rate increase PSE cites for all customers. The two are different measures, but they suggest residential bills would rise faster than the average. Some news reports cite a 16.75% residential increase for 2027; our 17.8% is the change in PSE’s own 800 kWh bill example. And by 2029 the 800 kWh bill would be $50.58 higher than at filing, or 31.7%.

PSE says it “needs to invest more than $3.2 billion in its gas and electric systems” and points to the state law milestone that requires it to supply 80% of its electricity from renewable or non-emitting resources by 2030-2033.

Natural Gas Customers Would Pay More Too

PSE’s notice shows the gas side, for a home using 64 therms a month:

The gas bill at filing was $105.37. The gas basic charge would rise from $14.00 to $18.12 in February 2027. A home with both PSE electric and gas service at these usage levels would see $41.94 a month more in 2027 under the full request ($28.31 + $13.63).

The Basic Charge Matters for Solar

The basic charge is the fixed amount you pay each month no matter how much power you use. PSE proposes taking it from $7.49 to $20.00 over three years. That is $12.51 of the $50.58 increase at 800 kWh, about a quarter. In 2027 alone, $5.01 of the $28.31 increase comes from the basic charge.

Solar panels cannot reduce a fixed charge. PSE’s net metering tariff, Schedule 150, says customer-generators still pay the basic charge of the rate schedule they would otherwise be on. Our explainer on fixed charges and solar savings shows why a bigger fixed share lowers the value of a solar system.

The rest of the bill still rises, though. As a rough guide, here is the average non-fixed cost per kWh at 800 kWh, our arithmetic from PSE’s bill totals (bill minus basic charge, divided by 800):

These are averages across the whole bill, not PSE’s per-kWh rates, so the cents saved per kWh depend on your usage and season.

What It Means for Homes With Solar

Under Schedule 150, surplus solar kWh you send to the grid are credited as kWh that offset your use on later bills. On March 31 each year, any unused credits are “granted to the Company, without compensation.” Schedule 150 covers systems up to 100 kW AC.

That means a kWh your panels cover, either directly or through a banked credit, avoids PSE’s per-kWh charges. If the full request were approved, a system covering 500 kWh a month of a home’s use would avoid about $110 a month at the 2027 average (500 × 21.9¢), compared with about $95 at filing rates (500 × 19.0¢). These are illustrations, not bill quotes.

One caution for new solar buyers: the version of Schedule 150 on PSE’s website (effective Feb. 29, 2024) says new service under it is available “until December 31, 2025, or when a replacement Net Metering schedule is in place for new Net Metered Customers, whichever is later.” Ask PSE or your installer which schedule a new system would join before you sign. Our guide to the net metering true-up explains how an annual credit reset works.

What Happens Next

PSE’s notice says the UTC review “may take up to 11 months” and that the UTC can approve rates “higher or lower than PSE’s request.” Counting from the Feb. 27 filing, that points to a decision by about the end of January 2027. FOX 13 Seattle reported in September that a decision is expected in January.

Other parties have pushed back. In rebuttal testimony filed Sept. 15, PSE witness Michelle Vargo responded to commission staff witness Misare, who “recommends excluding the full $290 million for the Cable Remediation program from rate recovery,” and to Public Counsel witness Holloway, who recommends reducing the multiyear rate plan; PSE disputes the size of that reduction. We know these positions only as PSE describes them. We found no settlement in the documents we reviewed.

PSE scheduled public comment hearings for Sept. 29 in Lacey and Oct. 7 online. The notice lists these ways to comment: by email at comments@utc.wa.gov, by phone at 1-888-333-9882, or by mail to P.O. Box 47250, Olympia, WA 98504. Include your name, contact information and dockets UE-260005 and UG-260006. MyNorthwest reported on Oct. 8 that customers “have until Nov. 12 to submit written testimony on the charges”; we did not confirm that date with the UTC. For how a request like this moves from filing to final order, see how electric rate cases work.

Sources and verification

Limitations

The bill figures are PSE’s examples at 800 kWh and 64 therms; your change depends on your usage and rate schedule. We did not find a UTC procedural order with a hearing or decision date, or a staff total revenue recommendation. The per-kWh averages spread all non-fixed charges evenly across 800 kWh and are rough. We will update this article when the UTC rules.

A home solar battery costs about $15,650 installed before incentives in 2026: EnergySage, a quote marketplace, says solar batteries “typically cost $15,647” for 13.5 kWh of storage. Berkeley Lab data point to a similar range: in 2025, cash-purchase solar systems with storage had median prices $2.1 per watt higher than solar alone, about $16,170 on a typical 7.7 kW system.

There is no federal tax credit to take off that price for a battery you own and installed in 2026. Below we show where the cost comes from, how it varies by brand and size, and the simple math for whether a battery can pay for itself on your rate plan.

Solar Battery Cost at a Glance

Sources: EnergySage, updated July 13, 2026; Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage 2026 Data Update; IRS OBBB credit FAQs. The 7.7 kW median system size is from the same Berkeley Lab update.

The two main figures measure different things. EnergySage’s number is a typical quoted price for a battery installation. Berkeley Lab’s is the difference in median price between two groups of completed systems, about 80% of them in California for the paired data. They land close together, which makes about $15,000 to $16,000 a reasonable planning number for one 13.5 kWh battery, before any state or utility incentive. Your quote can be well above or below that.

Price per kWh by Brand

EnergySage published “the average price per kWh of the 10 most quoted batteries on EnergySage in the first half of 2026.” Three common home batteries:

EnergySage labels this table “battery cost (assuming no incentives)” and does not say whether every figure includes installation. Its state-by-state table, by contrast, is labeled total installed cost. Prices also spread well beyond these three: EnergySage says MidNite Solar offers some of the most affordable batteries “at about $342/kWh.”

Price per kWh is the fairer comparison when capacities differ. In the table above, the Enphase battery costs less in total than the FranklinWH, but it holds 5 kWh less and costs more per kWh. For specs side by side, see our Tesla Powerwall vs Enphase vs FranklinWH comparison.

What You Pay For

EnergySage says “equipment costs typically account for 50-60% of the price of an energy storage system,” and “labor and project planning make up most of the remaining costs.” Things that move a quote up or down:

• Capacity (kWh). More storage costs more, though a second battery may cost less than the first if it shares installation work and equipment. Ask for a per-battery price.
• Inverter. Some batteries include one; others need a separate unit. EnergySage says “the inverter could add a couple of thousand dollars to your system cost.”
• Backup wiring. Whole-home backup or a separate critical-loads panel adds electrical work. Ask the installer to list it as its own line.
• Electrical panel. An older or full main panel may need an upgrade before a battery can be connected. This is a common add-on; get it priced in writing.
• Adding to an existing system versus new. A battery added later may need different equipment than one installed with new panels. Ask for both prices if you are deciding now.

Berkeley Lab also found that median battery power output rose sharply in 2025. Mercom, reading the lab’s charts, reports the median discharge capacity rose “from 6 kW to 11.4 kW,” a rise Mercom attributes mainly to the Tesla Powerwall 3. Higher power lets a battery run more appliances at once; it does not add hours of storage.

Tax Credits in 2026

The federal residential clean energy credit (Section 25D) used to cover home batteries; the IRS says “battery storage technology must have a capacity of at least 3 kilowatt hours” to qualify. That credit has ended. The IRS says the credit “will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025,” and that an expenditure is treated as made “when the original installation of the item is completed.” A battery finished in 2026 does not qualify, even if you signed or paid in 2025.

That makes the price before incentives the real price for most buyers. Some states and utilities run their own storage programs, and the terms vary widely; check with your utility and state energy office before you sign. If a leased or third-party-owned system is offered, ask the provider in writing which incentives it is claiming and whether any of that value reaches your price. Our solar payback guide without the federal credit covers the same shift for panels.

Will a Battery Pay for Itself?

A battery saves money only by moving electricity from a time when it is cheap or poorly paid to a time when it is expensive. How much that is worth depends on your utility’s rate plan: time-of-use price gaps, how exports are credited, and demand charges, if any. Backup during outages has value too, but it does not show up on a bill.

Here is the bar a battery has to clear, using EnergySage’s typical price:

• Price: $15,647
• To pay back in 10 years: $15,647 ÷ 10 = about $1,565 a year
• Per day: $1,565 ÷ 365 = about $4.29 a day
• If the battery shifts 10 kWh a day: $4.29 ÷ 10 = about 43¢ per kWh of savings needed on each kWh shifted

Assumptions: no incentives, no financing cost, the battery cycles every day of the year, and no round-trip losses or capacity fade. The last three make the real hurdle higher; a state or utility incentive would lower it. For scale, 43¢ is more than twice the average U.S. residential price of 18.16¢ per kWh in August 2026, according to preliminary EIA data (see our electricity prices by state). Unless your rate plan has a very wide gap between cheap and expensive hours, a battery is likely to be mainly backup that saves some money rather than an investment that pays for itself in 10 years. Homes with large time-of-use price gaps, low export credits, or frequent outages are the exceptions worth pricing.

To run your own numbers, see best home batteries for time-of-use rates and how to size a home battery. If backup is the goal, start with best home batteries for backup power.

How to Check a Battery Quote

1. Get the price per usable kWh. Divide the total by the battery’s usable capacity, then compare with the brand averages above.
2. Ask what is included. Inverter, backup gateway or panel, electrical upgrades, permits and monitoring should each be listed.
3. Ask for the rate assumptions. Any savings estimate should name your rate plan and how exports are credited.
4. Check the warranty. Look at the years covered and the capacity the battery must keep by the end of it.
5. Price it with and without solar. If you are also buying panels, our solar panel cost guide shows typical 2026 system prices.

Sources and verification

Checked Nov. 6, 2026. Prices are before incentives and vary by installer, home and region.

South Dakota regulators approved a smaller Black Hills Energy rate increase on Nov. 4, 2026: about $16.34 a month for a typical residential customer using 650 kWh, starting Dec. 1. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) accepted a settlement that raises the company’s South Dakota electric revenue by $27.354 million a year. Black Hills had asked for about $50.6 million, or $25.13 a month for a typical home.

The case covers Black Hills Power, Inc., which does business as Black Hills Energy and serves about 75,000 customers in its South Dakota territory, including Rapid City. A second, separate charge for a new power plant is still pending and could start on an interim basis the same day. For Xcel Energy’s 2026 decision and how solar is paid in the state, see our South Dakota electricity rates and solar guide.

What the PUC Approved

According to the PUC’s Nov. 5 news release, the settlement allows Black Hills to “increase electric rates for South Dakota customers by $27.354 million annually.” The PUC says that is “a 21.28% increase in base rate revenue” and “a 13.62% increase in total bills.”

Sources: PUC release of Nov. 5, 2026; the PUC’s Nov. 4 meeting agenda; Black Hills’ updated customer notice. The 21.28% applies to base rate revenue only; the 13.62% applies to total bills, which also include other charges.

The settlement was filed Oct. 26 by Black Hills, PUC staff and the South Dakota Large Customer Group, a group of eight large energy users that intervened in the case, according to the agenda. The PUC says the company’s last rate increase was approved “in March of 2015.” Commission Chairman Chris Nelson said that, counting rate changes since what he called the company’s last base rate increase in 2014, the typical residential customer’s increase “averages approximately 3.0% per year,” below average annual inflation of about 3.5%.

The case is Docket EL26-003.

Interim Rates and Your Refund

Black Hills began charging interim rates on Aug. 18, 2026, while the case was pending, at the level of its full request. The company’s interim bill-impact sheet shows the average residential regular-service bill rising from $98.96 to $124.08 under interim rates, the same $25.13 as the full request.

“The approved settlement is less than interim rates,” the PUC says, so the company “agreed to refund customers the difference between interim rates and new rates collected, plus interest.”

Our estimate of the size of that gap, for a typical customer:

• Interim increase: $25.13 a month
• Approved increase: $16.34 a month
• Difference: $25.13 − $16.34 = $8.79 a month over-collected, plus interest

Assumptions: the company’s typical residential customer at 650 kWh a month, regular service. Interim rates ran from Aug. 18 through Nov. 30, about three and a half billing months. The PUC release does not give a refund amount per customer or say on which bill the credit will appear, so treat this as an estimate, not your refund. Customers on total-electric or demand service had different interim increases.

The Separate Lange II Surcharge

The base rate case is not the only change scheduled for Dec. 1. In August, Black Hills filed a second request, Docket EL26-024, to amend its Phase-In Plan Rate (PIPR), a surcharge tied to its new Lange II generating plant in Rapid City.

The company’s application describes Lange II as “a generating plant that will produce a total of 97.4 MW net capacity,” which the application describes as six dual-fuel reciprocating engines. It proposed to increase PIPR revenue “by approximately $39.5 million.” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reported the plant’s cost at $320 million.

On Oct. 30, Black Hills filed a notice of intent to put interim PIPR rates in place “effective December 1, 2026,” designed to recover “approximately $37.5 million in additional annual revenue.” The notice says: “A typical residential customer using approximately 600 kWh per month is expected to experience an increase of approximately $17.26 per month.” The company’s customer notice puts that at $0.02876 per kWh. Black Hills “acknowledges that the interim rates … are subject to refund.”

The PUC has not issued a final decision on the surcharge. The docket page listed it as pending on Nov. 6, 2026, with no hearing or decision date shown.

What a December Bill Could Look Like

If the interim surcharge starts Dec. 1 as Black Hills has noticed, a typical home would see both changes at once. Our rough estimate at 650 kWh a month, regular residential service:

This is our estimate, not a company or PUC figure. It combines figures computed at two usage levels (650 kWh for the rate case, 600 kWh for the surcharge, which we scaled by its per-kWh rate), it assumes the $98.96 average bill matches the typical 650 kWh customer, and it leaves out the interim refund credit. The surcharge is interim and could change when the PUC rules. Black Hills’ application also says its new PIPR allocation method “ties to Docket No. EL26-003,” so the final surcharge may reflect the settlement.

Compared with the interim bill customers have paid since August ($124.08), the estimate is about $9.91 higher. For how interim rates, settlements and riders fit together, see how electric rate cases work.

What It Means if You Have or Want Solar

South Dakota does not have net metering. The PUC’s solar FAQ states that “South Dakota does not compensate solar generation at a net metered rate.” It says “the minimum rate paid” for power you send to the grid “is referred to as the avoided cost,” meaning what the utility would otherwise spend to generate or buy that energy. Solar you use at home as it is produced offsets the full retail rate; exported power may be credited at as little as avoided cost.

Two things follow for Black Hills customers:

• Per-kWh charges are what solar can offset. The interim Lange II surcharge is billed per kWh ($0.02876 in the company’s notice), so each kWh your panels supply directly to your home avoids it. Exported kWh do not.
• We do not yet know how the base increase is split. The PUC release does not say how much of the $16.34 is in the fixed customer charge versus per-kWh energy charges. Fixed charges cannot be offset by solar. Our guide to fixed charges and solar savings explains why that split matters.

Without net metering, sizing a system to your daytime use generally gets the most value from each kWh. If an installer’s quote assumes every kWh is worth the full retail rate, ask how it values exports. Our payback guide walks through the math.

What to Check on Your Bill

1. December bill: new base rates for service from Dec. 1.
2. Refund credit: the interim refund, with interest. Ask Black Hills when it will appear if you do not see it.
3. PIPR or Phase-In Plan Rate line: whether the Lange II interim surcharge has started.

For help reading those lines, see how to read your electric bill.

Sources and verification

Checked Nov. 6, 2026. The base rate figures are approved. The Lange II surcharge is a pending request with interim rates noticed by the company, not a PUC decision.

Minnesota Power is asking Minnesota regulators for a $134 million revenue increase net of riders, or 17.8%, which it says would raise the average residential bill by about $24 a month if fully approved. The company filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Nov. 2, 2026. It also asked for a 15% net interim increase starting in January 2027, about $15 a month for an average home. This is a request, not a decision.

Minnesota Power serves northeastern Minnesota and is a separate utility from Xcel Energy. The 17.8% applies to the company’s total revenue; the change for any one customer class can differ. For Xcel’s 2025-2026 rate decision, interim refunds and how net metering works in the state, see our Minnesota electricity rates and solar overview.

What Minnesota Power Is Asking For

According to Minnesota Power’s Nov. 2 news release, the company asked the PUC “to approve a $134 million increase in revenue net of riders, or a 17.8% increase.”

Source: Minnesota Power news releases of Nov. 2 and Oct. 9, 2026. Bill figures are the company’s averages for residential customers. The release does not say what monthly usage (kWh) the $24 figure assumes.

At least one news report, from FOX 21, cited a $138 million figure. Minnesota Power’s own release says $134 million net of riders, and we use that.

The release does not give a docket number, and we could not open the filing letter on the state’s eDockets system. Readers can search the PUC’s eDockets for Minnesota Power’s 2026 general rate case.

Interim Rates and Refunds

Minnesota Power asked to collect interim rates while the case is reviewed. It requested “a net interim rate increase beginning in January 2027 of 15%, or about $15 per month for residential customers,” pending final rates.

If the final rates the PUC approves are lower than interim rates, the company says it “will refund the difference to customers with interest.” Xcel Energy customers are going through the same kind of refund now, as our Minnesota overview explains.

How the Bill Credits Change 2027

On Oct. 9, Minnesota Power announced about $122 million in bill credits. About $72 million comes from selling company land around several of its hydroelectric reservoirs, and $50 million is a contribution from the company’s two owners. The release says the PUC approved the credit plan on Oct. 8.

For an average residential customer, the company says:

• Land-sale credits average about $55 a month on January and February 2027 bills.
• Owner-funded credits start with about $15 in March 2027, then four more $15 credits each January through 2031.

The company says the credits “will offset the interim rate increase by about 70 percent in 2027.” Our check of that math, for an average home:

• Interim increase for 2027: $15 × 12 months = $180
• Credits in 2027: ($55 × 2) + $15 = $125
• $125 ÷ $180 = 69%, close to the company’s “about 70 percent”
• What is left: $180 − $125 = about $55 for the year, or roughly $4.60 a month on average

Assumptions: the company’s average figures; interim rates in effect all 12 months of 2027 at the requested level. This is our estimate. Actual interim rates depend on the PUC, and your amounts depend on your usage. The credits land in specific months, so January and February bills could be lower than usual, while later 2027 bills carry the interim increase without a credit.

The credits do not offset the full request. If the PUC approved the whole $24 a month, an average home would pay about $288 more a year ($24 × 12) before credits.

Why Minnesota Power Says It Needs More

The company cites ongoing operation and maintenance of its generation, transmission and distribution systems, workforce costs, investment in a more resilient grid and renewable energy, and inflation in materials, equipment and insurance.

It also points to sales. “With two-thirds of Minnesota Power’s electric sales going to large industrial customers,” the release says, the idling of the Minorca Mine and partial idling of the Hibbing Taconite mine reduce the company’s energy sales but “do not change the cost of operating, maintaining and repairing the electric grid.”

The company says its “O&M costs from 2017 to 2027 have increased below the rate of inflation,” and that its last rate increase request was in 2023.

On data centers, the release says the request “is not related to the recent approval of the proposed data center in Hermantown.”

What Happens Next

1. Interim rates. The PUC decides on the interim request. The company asked for interim rates to start in January 2027.
2. Review. State agencies and other parties review the request, and the PUC is expected to hold public meetings and take comments. Minnesota Power calls it “a regulatory process likely to take a year or longer.”
3. Decision. The PUC can approve the full amount, less, or a settlement. Final rates then replace interim rates, with refunds if they are lower.

For how each stage works, see how electric rate cases work. The PUC is also running a separate statewide investigation into utility affordability.

What It Means if You Have or Want Solar

Under net metering, each kWh your panels produce offsets a kWh you would otherwise buy, so higher per-kWh charges make each solar kWh worth more. Fixed monthly customer charges cannot be offset by solar. Minnesota Power’s release does not say how the increase would be split between per-kWh charges and fixed charges, so the effect on solar savings is not yet clear. Our guide to fixed charges and solar savings explains why that split matters.

If you are getting solar quotes in Minnesota Power territory, ask the installer which rate the savings estimate uses. A quote built on the requested rates assumes an increase that has not been approved.

Sources and verification

Checked Nov. 5, 2026. All rate figures are Minnesota Power’s requested amounts, not approved rates.

Two recent national medians put home solar at about $2.57 and $3.60 per watt before incentives, or roughly $19,800 to $27,700 for a 7.7 kW system. The lower figure is EnergySage’s median price for the first half of 2026. The higher one is Berkeley Lab’s median for host-owned, solar-only residential systems installed in 2025 (an inflation-adjusted figure, as reported by Mercom). The federal residential clean energy credit for homeowners who buy a system does not apply when installation is completed after Dec. 31, 2025, so these before-incentive prices are no longer reduced by that credit.

Prices vary a lot by installer, state and payment method. Here is what each source measures, what a typical system works out to, and how to tell whether your quote is in line.

Solar Prices at a Glance

Sources: EnergySage, updated Oct. 7, 2026; Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage 2026 Data Update, August 2026; Mercom for LBNL chart values. All prices are before incentives. “W” means watts of system capacity.

The Berkeley Lab report shows its national medians in charts rather than in its text, so the $3.60, $3.00 and $4.50 figures come from Mercom’s reading of those charts. The report’s text does confirm that “loan-financed residential systems were considerably higher priced than cash-purchase systems.”

What a Typical System Costs

Price per watt times system size gives the total. Berkeley Lab says “the median U.S. residential system size was 7.7 kW in 2025.” A 7.7 kW system is 7,700 watts.

These are our calculations from national medians, not quotes. Your system may be larger or smaller. To work out the size you need from your own usage, see how many solar panels you need.

Why the Numbers Differ

Marketplace pricing vs. installed systems. EnergySage’s figure comes from pricing on its own marketplace. Berkeley Lab’s data covers a large sample of systems actually installed, dominated by California. They are different samples, so neither is “the” price.

How you pay. Berkeley Lab found loan-financed systems “considerably higher priced” than cash purchases. If you plan to finance, compare the loan’s total cost with the cash price for the same system.

Which installer. In 2025, according to Berkeley Lab, “median prices across the top-100 residential installers ranged from $2.4 to $6.3/W.” It found roughly 60% of those installers had medians below $4/W, almost 25% below $3/W and about 10% above $5/W. In other words, which installer you pick can matter a great deal.

Where you live. Berkeley Lab says median prices vary across states, and that California, which dominates its sample, “is a relatively low-cost state for residential PV.”

Timing. The two sources cover different periods and move in different directions. Berkeley Lab says installed prices for host-owned residential systems fell by $0.5/W from 2024 to 2025, adjusted for inflation. EnergySage says its median quote rose about 3% from the second half of 2025 to the first half of 2026.

Adding a Battery

Berkeley Lab says that “among cash-purchase residential systems, median prices were $2.1/W higher for paired PV+storage” than for solar alone in 2025. It reports a median battery capacity of 13.5 kWh for residential systems with storage.

EnergySage reported battery prices of $1,130 per kWh in the first half of 2026; it does not say exactly what that figure includes. At that price, a 13.5 kWh battery would be about 13.5 × $1,130 = $15,255, before incentives. That is our illustration from two different sources, not a quote. For sizing, see how to size a home battery.

What Happened to the Tax Credit

The IRS says the residential clean energy credit (Section 25D) “will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025.” In its FAQ on the 2025 law changes, the IRS explains that an expenditure is treated as made “when the original installation of the item is completed.” Paying a deposit in 2025 does not qualify a system finished in 2026.

Leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs), where a company owns the system, have become more common. EnergySage says the share of installers on its platform offering these third-party ownership options rose from about 14% to roughly 41% during the first half of 2026. Ask each installer which state, utility or local incentives, if any, apply to you. Our solar lease vs. buy guide compares the options without the federal credit.

How to Check Your Quote

1. Get the price per watt. Divide the total price by system size in watts. A $24,000 quote for 8 kW is $24,000 ÷ 8,000 = $3.00/W.
2. Compare cash with financed. Ask for the cash price on the same system, so a loan’s cost isn’t hidden in the system price.
3. Check what’s included. Installation, permits, equipment, warranties and any sales tax should be stated.
4. Compare like with like. Same size, similar panels and inverters, and the same production estimate.
5. Run the payback. A fair price still has to pay off at your electric rate.

Our guide to comparing solar quotes walks through eight numbers to check on every proposal, and our solar payback guide shows how to work out the break-even year without the federal credit.

Sources and verification

Checked Nov. 5, 2026. Prices are national medians before incentives, not quotes for any specific home.

Portland General Electric (PGE) is asking Oregon regulators for an overall 4.8% rate increase, which it says would raise residential bills 3.9%, or $8.33 a month for an average home using 780 kWh. If the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) approves the request as filed, new rates would take effect July 1, 2027. This is a request, not a decision, and the public can comment at a PUC hearing on Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.

The case is docket UE 473. This article covers PGE customers only. For the April 2026 increases at PGE and Pacific Power, and how Oregon net metering works, see our guide to 2026 Oregon electricity rates and solar.

What PGE Is Asking For

PGE announced the rate case on July 31, 2026, and said it would file with the PUC the following week. The Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon (CUB), a ratepayer advocate, identifies the case as docket UE 473 and says PGE “would add $65.6 million a year to bills starting July 2027.”

On its 2027 general rate case page, PGE lists these requested changes by customer class:

Source: PGE 2027 general rate case page, checked Nov. 4, 2026. All figures are PGE’s requested amounts, not approved rates.

Status: requested, not approved. PGE says new rates would take effect “July 1, 2027” only “if approved as filed.” The PUC can approve the full amount, less, or a settlement among the parties.

Why PGE Says It Needs the Increase

PGE’s page lists extreme weather straining the grid, regional growth and rising demand, changes in how customers use energy, wildfire safety work, critical system improvements and severe weather response, and rising national energy prices. It also says large users such as data centers should pay for the infrastructure they need. Data center customers saw “a nearly 30% rate increase in 2026,” according to PGE’s July 31 announcement.

PGE also says it:

• Offset the case by “approximately $25 million” through efficiency and cost cuts.
• Proposes “a limit on annual base rate increases in 2028 and 2029, with increases tied primarily to inflation.” It did not give a cap percentage.
• Provides about $75 million a year in relief to more than 108,000 customers in its Income Qualified Bill Discount program.

What Consumer Advocates Say

CUB says PGE is “requesting to go from a 9.34% profit to a 9.75% profit.” That figure is the authorized return on equity, the profit rate regulators allow on shareholder investment, not PGE’s profit margin on sales.

CUB’s executive director, Bob Jenks, told KPIC that “Affordability is a fundamental problem with PGE,” and the station reported that CUB plans to challenge the higher profit rate. Those are an advocate’s positions; the PUC will weigh them against PGE’s evidence and its own staff’s review.

How to Comment, and What Happens Next

The PUC’s pending general rate cases page lists UE 473 with “Comment via Zoom/by phone Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.” PGE’s page gives the same date and time. Join details are in the PUC’s public notice linked from that page. If you comment online, make sure you are commenting on docket UE 473, PGE’s case; on Nov. 4 the page’s comment link pointed to a different docket.

The process from here, based on PGE and KPIC’s reporting:

1. Public comment and testimony. In a typical Oregon rate case, PUC staff, CUB and other parties file testimony over the following months, and settlements are possible.
2. Decision, expected around June 2027. KPIC reported the review is expected to take about 10 months.
3. New rates July 1, 2027, if approved as filed.

Oregon’s FAIR Act (HB 3179) prevents residential rate increases from Nov. 1 to March 31, according to a PUC news release. A July 2027 start falls outside that window.

What $8.33 a Month Means for Your Bill

PGE’s $8.33 is for an average residential customer using 780 kWh a month. If your use differs, your change will too. PGE did not publish how the increase splits between the fixed monthly charge and per-kWh charges, so you cannot scale it exactly. As a rough guide only:

• $8.33 ÷ 780 kWh = about 1.07 cents per kWh averaged across that bill.
• 12 × $8.33 = about $100 a year for that average home.

Both figures are our arithmetic on PGE’s requested numbers and would change with the final decision.

This request comes after PGE’s April 1, 2026 residential increase of about 5%, which we covered on the Oregon page. KPIC also reported a roughly 1% residential reduction in summer 2026 tied to Oregon’s POWER Act. We did not confirm that reduction in a PGE or PUC document.

What It Means for Solar Owners and Shoppers

PGE offers net metering: power your panels send to the grid offsets power you take from it, with kWh credits carried month to month and unused credits donated each March. Under that setup, each solar kWh is worth about what you pay per kWh, so a higher per-kWh rate makes solar slightly more valuable. A fixed monthly charge is the part panels can’t reduce; see how fixed charges limit solar savings.

For a household weighing solar, a 3.9% average increase is not a reason by itself to buy. Size the system to your annual use, because surplus credits do not pay out, and run the numbers on today’s rates. Our solar payback guide shows how.

Pacific Power, Oregon’s other large investor-owned utility, is in a separate case. See our Pacific Power 2027 report.

Limitations

• All rate figures are PGE’s request. The final amount, residential share and start date may change.
• PGE’s page does not give the filing date or docket number; the docket number UE 473 comes from CUB and the PUC’s pending cases page.
• The $65.6 million figure is from CUB; PGE’s page gives percentages only.
• The summer 2026 decrease is from a news report and is marked Qualified below.

Sources and Verification

Checked Nov. 4, 2026.

Solar panels last about 25 to 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and they don’t stop working at the end of that. They slowly lose output instead: NREL research puts the median loss at about 0.5% a year, and a 2022 NREL fleet study found about 0.75% a year at the system level. The inverter, whose warranty is often much shorter, is more likely than the panels to need replacing along the way.

Here is what the federal data says about panel life, how much output you lose, and what the warranty actually covers, with the math shown so you can apply it to your own quote. If you’re planning a new roof too, see whether to replace your roof before solar.

The Short Answer: 25 to 30 Years, Then Lower Output

DOE says “Solar panels last about 25-30 years, which is similar to the lifetime of a roof” (DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office, July 28, 2021). Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that advises solar owners, uses the same range: panels “are built to last 25-30 years with minimal maintenance” (March 4, 2025).

That range is a planning figure, not an expiration date. NREL’s Solar Technical Assistance Team puts it plainly: “there are no end-dates per se.” After the warranty ends, “the level of actual output is no longer guaranteed,” and owners can repower, remove the system, or “leave it in place and let it continue to generate electricity, albeit at a lower level” (NREL, April 23, 2018).

How Fast Panels Lose Output

Panels lose a small share of their output every year, a process called degradation. Two NREL figures are the most useful:

Sources: NREL/PR-5200-56690 and NREL/PR-5K00-83487.

The first study pooled degradation rates reported in published studies; NREL’s 2012 slides say about 80% of reported rates were below 1% a year. The second measured whole systems in the field, which includes losses beyond the panels themselves, and DOE said in 2023 that its result was “representative of the entire U.S. PV fleet” (DOE, June 27, 2023). Neither study is limited to home rooftops, so treat 0.5% to 0.75% a year as a reasonable range, not a guarantee for your roof.

Where you live matters. NREL says degradation “could be higher in hotter climates and for rooftop systems,” and DOE reported that panels degrade more slowly in cooler climates.

What That Means in Kilowatt-Hours

NREL’s own example: at 0.5% a year, “in year 20, the module is producing approximately 90% of the electricity it produced in year 1.”

To see the effect over a system’s life, take an illustrative system that produces 10,000 kWh in its first year. Assume simple straight-line loss (year 1 at full output, each later year 0.5 or 0.75 percentage points lower) and no outages:

The gap is 7,500 kWh over 25 years. At the U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electricity Monthly Update, preliminary), that is worth about $1,362, or roughly $54 a year. Your figure depends on your system size, rate and how your utility credits solar. Our solar payback guide shows how to build degradation into a payback estimate.

What Panel Warranties Cover

Panel quotes typically include up to three kinds of warranty:

• Product warranty: covers defects in the panel itself.
• Performance warranty: guarantees a minimum share of rated power over time.
• Workmanship warranty: from the installer, covering the installation. Solar United Neighbors describes it as a guarantee of “the quality of the installation.”

In 2018, NREL said “modules are typically warrantied for 20–25 years.” Newer warranties run longer. One example, from a March 2025 Qcells Q.TRON datasheet for a large-format module sold for both homes and commercial roofs:

By the same formula, the guarantee at 25 years works out to about 90.6% (our arithmetic: 98.5% minus 24 × 0.33). Warranty terms differ by manufacturer, model and country, so check the exact document named in your quote. Our guide to comparing solar quotes lists what to ask for.

A warranty is only as good as the company behind it. If the installer closes, manufacturer and workmanship warranties are affected differently; see what to do if your solar installer went out of business.

Inverters Usually Need Replacing First

The inverter turns the panels’ direct current (DC) into the alternating current (AC) your home uses. Solar United Neighbors says “Inverter warranties usually last 5-15 years,” well short of panel life. With warranties of 5 to 15 years, a string inverter may need replacing at least once over a panel’s life.

Microinverters, which sit under each panel, carry longer warranties. Enphase’s U.S. datasheet for the IQ8 series cites “an industry-leading limited warranty of up to 25 years” (Enphase IQ8SE datasheet, March 2022). Warranty length is not a lifespan guarantee, so read what the warranty covers. We compare warranty terms across models in our inverter and microinverter guide.

How to Get the Full Life Out of Your Panels

• Match the roof to the panels. If your roof has less than 25 to 30 years left, re-roofing first avoids paying later to remove and reinstall the array.
• Watch your monitoring app. A sudden drop in output is a fault, not normal degradation. Typical loss is under 1% a year.
• Keep the paperwork. Save the product, performance and workmanship warranties, the panel and inverter model numbers, and the installation date.
• Budget for the inverter. If you have a string inverter, plan for a replacement within the panels’ life.

Limitations

• The degradation studies are not limited to home rooftop systems. The 2022 fleet study covered mostly non-residential systems.
• NREL’s 0.5% figure comes from a literature review published in 2011 and NREL’s 2018 summary; newer panels may perform differently, in either direction.
• The kWh and dollar example is illustrative, uses straight-line loss and a single national average price, and ignores outages, rate changes and inverter replacement costs.
• The Qcells terms are one manufacturer’s datasheet, not a market average.

Sources and Verification

Checked Nov. 4, 2026.

The average U.S. home bought 863 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a month in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and paid an average bill of $142.26. That is about 10,356 kWh a year. But the average hides a wide range: the average residential customer in Hawaii bought 495 kWh a month, and in Louisiana 1,202.

Where you live, how you heat and cool, and the time of year matter more than the national number. The average Louisiana household bought more than twice as much as the average Hawaii household yet paid less per month ($140.96 vs. $212.12), because Louisiana’s average price was among the lowest in the country and Hawaii’s the highest; our Louisiana electricity rates and solar guide covers what is changing there. This guide shows the averages, explains the differences, and shows how to work out your own number.

The Short Answer

Source: EIA, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, Table 5a (2024 data). The annual figure is our arithmetic (863 × 12).

EIA’s FAQ on this question still cites 2022 data: 10,791 kWh a year, or about 899 kWh a month. Both are EIA figures for electricity bought per residential customer; the 2024 table is simply newer.

Average Electricity Use by State

The ten states with the highest and lowest average monthly use per residential customer in 2024:

Source: EIA Table 5a, 2024. Bills are EIA’s average monthly residential bill per customer.

Two patterns stand out:

• Hot, Southern states use the most. Every state on the high-use list is in the South or Southwest, where air conditioning runs for months and many homes heat with electricity.
• Low use does not mean a low bill. Hawaii had the lowest use and the highest average bill, $212.12. Several New England states also combine low use with bills above the national average. The highest-use state, Louisiana, had a bill slightly below the national average.

EIA adds a caution for Hawaii: these figures measure electricity bought from utilities. In states where many homes have net-metered rooftop solar, purchases can understate how much electricity households actually use.

Why Use Varies So Much

These are general factors rather than figures from EIA’s tables, but they explain most of the gap between two homes:

• Climate. Cooling and heating are the biggest electric loads in most homes.
• Heating fuel. A home heated by an electric furnace or heat pump uses far more electricity in winter than one heated by natural gas, propane or oil, even though its total energy use may be similar.
• Water heating and cooking fuel. Electric water heaters, dryers and ranges add load that gas appliances shift to the gas bill.
• Home size and type. A large detached house generally uses more than an apartment.
• Big new loads. An electric vehicle, a pool pump or a hot tub can add hundreds of kWh a month, and a second refrigerator adds more.

EIA’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) ranks the biggest uses of home electricity nationally:

Source: EIA, Energy Explained, “Electricity use in homes,” citing RECS 2020. EIA lists lighting and refrigerators as the next two largest uses.

Electricity Use by Month

Monthly use swings with the weather. EIA’s RECS survey estimated average household electricity use for every month of 2020:

Source: EIA, RECS 2020, Table CE8.5.M. Selected months shown.

At the national level, July use was about 68% higher than April use (1,200 ÷ 714). In your home the swing could be larger or smaller, depending on your climate and heating fuel. That is why one month’s bill is a poor guide to your yearly use.

What 863 kWh Costs at August 2026 Prices

EIA’s preliminary data put the U.S. average residential price at 18.16 cents per kWh in August 2026, a single preliminary summer month (see our August 2026 electricity prices by state). At that price:

• 863 kWh × $0.1816 = about $156.72 a month

EIA’s 2024 average price was 16.48 cents, which gives about $142 for the same 863 kWh, in line with EIA’s $142.26 average bill. These averages already include fixed monthly charges, so they are a rough guide, not a quote. Your own bill splits into a fixed customer charge plus per-kWh charges; our guide on how to read your electric bill shows where each appears.

How to Find Your Own Number

1. Check your bills. Most bills show kWh used and a 12- or 13-month usage history. Many utilities also let you download it from your online account.
2. Add up 12 months. The annual total smooths out summer and winter peaks.
3. Divide by 12 for a true monthly average, then compare it with your state in the table above.

To estimate a single appliance, the U.S. Department of Energy gives this formula:

(Wattage × hours used per day) ÷ 1,000 = kWh per day

DOE’s example is a 1,500-watt kettle used for one hour: 1.5 kWh a day. At that rate, 30 days of use is 45 kWh, about 5% of an 863 kWh month. DOE notes that actual wattage varies, so use the figure on your own product’s label when you have it.

What It Means for Solar

Installers size a solar system from your annual kWh, not the national average. If you use 10,356 kWh a year (the 2024 national average), a system that offsets all of it is very different from one sized for, say, a 6,000 kWh home in New England or a 14,000 kWh home on the Gulf Coast (illustrative figures).

Three practical points:

• Bring 12 months of usage to every quote. A proposal built on one summer bill can oversize the system; one built on a spring bill can undersize it.
• Plan for new loads. If you expect to add an EV or a heat pump, tell the installer and estimate the added kWh.
• Usage is only half the math. Savings depend on your rates and how your utility credits power you export.

Our step-by-step guide to how many solar panels you need and the solar system size calculator take your annual kWh from here.

Limitations

State and national figures are averages per residential customer and include apartments as well as houses. They measure electricity bought from utilities, which understates use in homes with rooftop solar. The monthly profile is from EIA’s RECS 2020. EIA’s 2024 table is the most recent full year we could verify.

Sources and verification

The average U.S. home paid 18.16 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity in August 2026, up 3.4% from 17.57 cents a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Residential prices rose in 43 states and fell in 7. Hawaii posted the biggest increase and Connecticut the biggest drop.

Price was only half of the August story. EIA reports that residential electricity sales rose 7.9% from August 2025, in a month when most states needed more cooling than a year earlier. In Hawaii, where the statewide average reached 47.18 cents, our Hawaii rates and solar guide covers the utility-level changes behind the number.

The Short Version

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, released October 23, 2026. The 1,000 kWh line is our arithmetic (price × 1,000 kWh) and leaves out taxes and any charge not captured in EIA’s average.

Where Prices Rose Most

Nine of this month’s top 10 were also among July’s biggest increases: Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania all rose by more than 9% in both months, according to our July report. Virginia’s 11.3% increase adds $17.90 per 1,000 kWh. Maine’s 14.1% adds $39.70, because Maine started from a much higher price.

Where Prices Fell

Connecticut is the only large drop. A 5.66-cent decline takes $56.60 off the cost of 1,000 kWh at the statewide average. Even so, Connecticut’s 24.51 cents is the tenth-highest residential price in the country. Our Connecticut electricity rates page tracks what is changing there. The other six declines are 3.8% or less, and three of them are under half a percent.

Highest and Lowest Prices

Hawaii’s price is 3.7 times Nevada’s (47.18 ÷ 12.72). At 1,000 kWh, that is $471.80 against $127.20.

Every state’s figure is on our rates by state page.

Why August Bills Rose Faster Than Prices

EIA’s August release points to weather. It reports that 45 states and the District of Columbia had more cooling degree days (a measure of how much cooling a month demands) than in August 2025, and that residential electricity sales were up 7.9%, the largest increase of any sector.

A bill is roughly price times kWh, plus fixed charges. Here is what that means for one household, using illustrative numbers:

Assumptions: U.S. average residential prices from EIA (17.57¢ and 18.16¢ per kWh); the 7.9% usage increase applies EIA’s national sales growth to one home for illustration. EIA’s sales figure is a total for all customers, not a per-home number, and your own usage change depends on your weather and equipment.

The point for households: if your August bill jumped, check the kWh line before blaming the rate. Our guide to why an electric bill is so high walks through the usual causes.

What These Numbers Are, and Are Not

• What EIA measures: total revenue from residential customers divided by total kWh sold to them, for every utility in the state.
• Fixed charges are inside it. A monthly service charge is revenue, so it raises the average. The figure is not the per-kWh energy rate printed on a tariff.
• It blends utilities. Investor-owned utilities, cooperatives and city utilities are averaged together. No single utility’s rate represents a state.
• Hot months can pull the average down. When more kWh are sold, fixed charges are spread over more of them, which can lower revenue per kWh even if no rate changed.
• The data are preliminary. EIA labels these monthly values as estimates and revises them later.
• EIA’s headline state count is a different measure. EIA’s summary says 46 states and the District of Columbia saw higher average revenue per kWh and four saw lower, but that counts all sectors combined. The 43 states in this article are the residential figures only.

EIA’s table does not say why any state’s price moved. Fuel costs, supply auctions, approved rate cases and temporary bill credits all play a part, and they differ by state.

What It Means for Homeowners Considering Solar

A higher retail price raises the value of each kWh a solar system produces and you use at home. It does not automatically raise what you earn for power you send to the grid; that depends on your utility’s export credit, which in some states is below the retail rate. Summer is also when solar output is strongest, so the summer months are when panels offset the most usage for most homes.

Do not use a statewide average in a solar quote. Use the rate on your own bill, and size the system from your own 12 months of kWh. Our solar system size calculator takes those numbers directly.

What to Do With This

1. Find your own price: divide a recent bill’s total electric charges by the kWh used, then compare it with your state’s average.
2. Compare your August kWh with August 2025 on your bill’s usage history. If usage rose, weather or new equipment is likely a bigger factor than the rate.
3. Check your state guide for approved and pending rate changes before assuming this year’s trend continues.

Limitations

This article reports one month of preliminary data compared with the same month a year earlier. It does not forecast prices, and a single summer month is strongly affected by weather. EIA’s next Electric Power Monthly, expected to cover September, is scheduled for November 24, 2026.

Sources and verification

At 2025 U.S. average prices, an efficient heat pump and a gas furnace cost about the same to heat a home: roughly $16 to $19 for every million Btu of heat delivered, by our calculation from federal data. A minimum-efficiency heat pump costs more than gas at those prices, and electric baseboard heat costs roughly three times as much as gas. Where you live matters more than the national average, because electricity and gas prices vary widely by state.

This guide shows the math with every assumption spelled out, so you can redo it with the prices on your own bills. It compares running costs only, not the price of buying or installing equipment. For what EIA expects heating bills to do this winter, see our winter heating cost forecast.

The Short Answer

Assumptions: 2025 U.S. average residential prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): electricity 17.23 cents per kWh, natural gas $15.34 per thousand cubic feet. Heat content from EIA: 3,412 Btu per kWh, 1,036 Btu per cubic foot of gas. Calculations are ours and are explained below.

One million Btu is a unit of heat. It lets you compare fuels sold in kWh, cubic feet or therms on the same footing.

Step 1: Your Prices

Electricity. EIA’s Electric Power Monthly puts the 2025 U.S. average residential price at 17.23 cents per kWh. The 2026 year-to-date average through August is 18.19 cents (preliminary). If your price is higher, the heat pump numbers rise in proportion.

Natural gas. EIA puts the 2025 U.S. average price of gas delivered to homes at $15.34 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf).

Both are averages: total residential revenue divided by the amount sold, so fixed monthly charges are spread into them. Your best number is from your own bill. Divide the total of the usage-based charges by the kWh or the gas units billed. Our guide to reading your electric bill shows where each charge sits.

Step 2: Each System’s Efficiency

Gas furnaces: AFUE. The Department of Energy (DOE) defines AFUE as “the ratio of the furnace’s or boiler’s annual heat output compared to its total annual fossil fuel energy consumed.” An 80% AFUE furnace turns 80% of the gas’s heat into heat for the house. DOE lists:

• Older, low-efficiency systems: “56% to 70% AFUE”
• Mid-efficiency systems: “80% to 83% AFUE”
• High-efficiency systems: “90% to 98.5% AFUE”

DOE’s appliance standards page lists a federal minimum of 80 AFUE for non-weatherized gas furnaces (other than mobile home furnaces), with compliance from Nov. 19, 2015. DOE also notes that “AFUE doesn’t include the heat losses of the duct system or piping.”

Heat pumps: HSPF2. HSPF2 is the heating seasonal performance factor measured under DOE’s test procedure required since Jan. 1, 2023. It rates heat delivered per unit of electricity over a standard test season, and is commonly expressed as Btu per watt-hour. Split-system heat pumps manufactured since Jan. 1, 2023 must meet at least 7.5 HSPF2 (single-package units 6.7), according to DOE’s 2023 standards FAQ. Many models are rated higher; we use 10 as an example of an efficient unit. Our guide to choosing a heat pump covers HSPF2 and sizing in more detail.

Electric resistance heat (baseboards, electric furnaces, space heaters) turns each kWh into about 3,412 Btu of heat, EIA’s conversion. DOE gives all-electric furnaces an AFUE “between 95% and 100%”; we use 100% here.

Step 3: The Math

Heat pump. One million Btu divided by (HSPF2 × 1,000 Btu per kWh) gives the kWh needed.

• 10 HSPF2: 1,000,000 ÷ 10,000 = 100 kWh. At 17.23 cents, 100 × $0.1723 = $17.23.
• 7.5 HSPF2: 1,000,000 ÷ 7,500 = 133.3 kWh. 133.3 × $0.1723 = $22.97.

Gas furnace. A thousand cubic feet holds about 1.036 million Btu (1,000 × 1,036 Btu, EIA’s factor). So gas at $15.34 per Mcf costs $15.34 ÷ 1.036 = $14.81 per million Btu before furnace losses.

• 80% AFUE: $14.81 ÷ 0.80 = $18.51.
• 95% AFUE: $14.81 ÷ 0.95 = $15.59.

Electric resistance. 1,000,000 ÷ 3,412 = 293.1 kWh. 293.1 × $0.1723 = $50.50.

If your gas bill is in therms, one therm is 100,000 Btu, per EIA. Multiply your price per therm by 10 to get the price per million Btu, then divide by the AFUE.

The Break-Even Electricity Price

Flip the math to find the electricity price at which a heat pump and a furnace cost the same, at the 2025 average gas price:

How we got it: the furnace’s cost per million Btu divided by the heat pump’s kWh per million Btu. For example, $18.51 ÷ 100 kWh = 18.5 cents.

If your electricity costs less than the number in the table, the heat pump is cheaper to run per unit of heat. If your gas is cheaper than $15.34 per Mcf, the break-even prices fall. You can find your state’s average electricity price on its page in our rates by state list.

A Season Example

As an illustration only, take a home that needs 50 million Btu of delivered heat in a winter. That figure is a round example, not an average; homes vary enormously by size, insulation and climate.

Each figure is the cost per million Btu from the table above multiplied by 50, at 2025 U.S. average prices.

The pattern matters more than the dollar amounts. Replacing electric resistance heat with a heat pump cuts heating energy by more than half at rated efficiency. In DOE’s example, the annual savings from an air-source heat pump are “around 3,000 kWh (or $459) when compared to electric resistance heaters.” Replacing gas is closer to a toss-up and depends on your prices.

What the Ratings Don’t Capture

• Cold weather. HSPF2 is a rating from a standard test, not a measurement of your house. Heat pumps lose capacity and efficiency as outdoor temperatures drop, and many use electric resistance backup on the coldest days, which costs far more per unit of heat. DOE says newer air-source heat pumps now offer “a legitimate space heating alternative in colder regions.” If you live somewhere cold, see our guide to cold-climate heat pumps.
• Ducts. AFUE excludes duct losses, and leaky ducts waste heat from either system.
• Fixed charges. If switching lets you close a gas account entirely, you also stop paying the gas utility’s monthly customer charge. If you keep gas for a stove or water heater, you don’t. Our explainer on fixed charges covers how these work on electric bills.
• Rate design. Some utilities offer lower winter or electric-heat rates, and some charge more per kWh at higher usage. Use the price you would actually pay for the extra kWh.
• Cooling. A heat pump also replaces a central air conditioner. This comparison covers heating only.

Where Solar Fits

A heat pump turns heating into electricity use, and solar can offset electricity. A gas furnace’s fuel can’t be offset by panels. That makes a heat pump more attractive for a home with solar and generous net metering, where each kWh produced is credited at close to the retail price.

Two caveats. Panels produce the least in winter, when a heat pump works hardest, so the value depends on whether your utility lets summer credits carry into winter. And adding a heat pump can change how many panels you need: our guide to how many solar panels you need shows how to size for a higher yearly kWh total. To understand the units on a heat pump spec sheet versus your bill, see kW vs kWh.

Limitations

National average prices hide wide state and utility differences, and 2026 electricity prices so far are higher than the 2025 figure we used. Ratings-based estimates assume the equipment performs at its rated efficiency; real-world results depend on climate, installation, ducts and thermostat settings. We did not estimate equipment or installation costs, or any rebates.

Sources and verification

Pacific Power’s Oregon residential customers would see a net average increase of about 0.3% in April 2027 under a settlement the utility announced on Oct. 29, 2026. The deal includes a 9.0% general rate case increase for homes, but power cost decreases and other changes in 2026 and early 2027 offset almost all of it. The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) still has to approve it. If it does, new rates take effect April 5, 2027.

Pacific Power is the trade name of PacifiCorp. This article covers its Oregon customers only. For how Oregon’s 2026 increases played out at Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, and how the state’s net metering works, see what changed in Oregon electric rates this year.

What the Settlement Says

Pacific Power filed its general rate case on May 5, 2026, according to a PUC public notice in docket UE 470. On Oct. 29, the company announced it had “reached a settlement with Oregon Public Utility Commission staff and other parties.” It did not name the other parties.

The status is settled, not approved. Pacific Power says: “Pending final approval by the Commission, residential customers would see a net average increase of about 0.3% in April 2027.” Commercial and industrial customers would see a net average decrease of about 6.5% over the same period.

Sources: Pacific Power’s Oregon rate proposal page (request) and its Oct. 29, 2026 news release (settlement), both checked Nov. 2, 2026.

Pacific Power says the settlement “reflects higher costs for poles, wires and other equipment, rising wildfire insurance costs and completed infrastructure projects.”

Why 9% Becomes 0.3%

A general rate case resets the base rates that pay for the poles, wires, staff and return on investment. Separate adjustment schedules on your bill pass through power costs and program charges, and those move on their own calendars. Our explainer on how electric rate cases work covers the difference.

Pacific Power’s release lists these residential changes between April 2026 and April 2027:

Source: Pacific Power news release, Oct. 29, 2026.

The Transition Adjustment Mechanism is Pacific Power’s annual forecast of net power costs, filed separately as docket UE 469. The January 2027 figure is an estimate, so the final net change could differ from 0.3%.

Why April. Oregon’s FAIR Act (HB 3179) prevents residential rate increases during the winter heating season, Nov. 1 to March 31, according to the PUC. Pacific Power’s release does not explain its timing, but it lists the estimated 3.0% power cost decrease for January 2027 and the base-rate increase for April.

What It Means for Your Bill

Pacific Power did not publish a dollar figure for the settlement. Earlier, on its rate proposal page, it said its original request would leave “a typical residential customer” paying “2% more” in April 2027 than in April 2026, or $3.12 a month.

As an illustration only: 0.3% of a $150 monthly bill is about 45 cents ($150 × 0.003). The $150 is a round example, not a Pacific Power figure. Because the changes are percentages applied to different parts of the bill, a household that uses more electricity than average will see a larger dollar change, and one that uses less will see a smaller one.

Three things to watch on your bill:

1. January 2027. The estimated 3.0% power cost decrease should show up first.
2. April 5, 2027. The base-rate increase and the April power cost decreases arrive together, if the commission approves.
3. Your own usage. The 0.3% is an average for residential customers, not a guarantee for every household.

If you need help with bills, Pacific Power points to its Level-Based Income-Qualified Discount, which it says lowers bills by 20% to 80% depending on income.

What It Means for Solar

Pacific Power offers net metering in Oregon, so each kWh your panels send to the grid offsets a kWh you would otherwise buy. A net change of about 0.3% barely moves the value of those credits.

The rule that matters more for sizing: in Oregon, unused net metering credits are donated to low-income bill assistance each March, so you are not paid for a surplus. Size the system to your yearly use. Our guide to the net metering true-up explains how annual resets work, and the solar payback guide shows how to run the numbers with your own rate.

What Happens Next

The PUC commissioners decide whether to adopt the settlement. We did not find the filed settlement document or a decision date in the docket records we could reach; Pacific Power’s release says only that the figures are pending final approval. We will update this article when the commission rules.

Sources and verification

We did not open the settlement filing itself; figures come from Pacific Power’s announcement. All figures are pending commission approval, and Pacific Power labels the January 2027 power cost figure as an estimate.

Santee Cooper’s board has approved higher electric rates: residential base rates rise 4.7% in 2027, about $6.60 a month for a typical home, according to the utility. The new rates apply to bills rendered on or after Feb. 1, 2027. A second step is scheduled for 2028, and the way the monthly demand charge is calculated is changing too.

The vote, on Oct. 30, 2026, sets rates for Santee Cooper’s retail customer classes. For the rest of the state’s rate picture and how other South Carolina utilities credit solar, see our South Carolina electricity rates and solar guide.

What Santee Cooper Approved

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned utility. Its board sets its retail rates; the state Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) reviews proposals before the board votes. This is an approved increase, not a request.

Source: Santee Cooper rate study page, checked Nov. 1, 2026.

Effective dates. Santee Cooper says the rates “will take effect for bills rendered on or after Feb. 1, 2027, and Feb. 1, 2028.” Depending on your billing cycle, the first bill at the new rates may include some January usage.

Typical bill impact. Santee Cooper says “the typical residential customer would see an average monthly bill increase of about $6.60, or approximately 20 cents a day, in 2027, with a similar impact expected in 2028.” It does not say what monthly usage that typical customer has.

How 2028 is described. Santee Cooper’s pages say another overall 3.1% increase “will take effect in 2028,” and list Feb. 1, 2028 as an effective date. The residential page still calls the 4.6% residential figure for 2028 “proposed.” Santee Cooper’s news headline says the board approved new rates for 2027 and 2028, but we report the residential 2028 figure as scheduled, not final, until Santee Cooper’s published 2028 rate schedule confirms it.

Santee Cooper’s May proposal had the same 4.7% and 4.6% residential figures. It says rates are rising because of higher operating costs and needed investment in generation and transmission. In its May presentation to the board, management said its projections showed that “current rates will not recover costs to serve customers beginning in 2027.”

The Demand Charge Is Changing

Santee Cooper’s standard residential rate has three main parts: a monthly customer charge, an energy charge per kWh, and a demand charge per kW. The demand charge is based on how much power you draw at once during peak hours. Our explainer on residential demand charges covers how these charges work in general.

What’s changing. Today demand is billed on a single highest-hour charge each month. Under the new Balanced Demand Billing, it will be “the average of a customer’s maximum hourly use during the four highest peak periods each month.” Santee Cooper says this is meant “to reduce the impact of isolated spikes in electricity usage on customer bills.” It also says federal holidays will be excluded from peak-period calculations.

Peak windows. In management’s May presentation, residential demand is measured from 6 to 9 a.m. from November through March, and from 3 to 6 p.m. from April through October.

Worked example. Santee Cooper’s rate study fact sheet uses four monthly peaks of 6.5, 5.8, 5.2 and 4.6 kW.

• Single-highest-hour method: the bill uses 6.5 kW.
• Balanced Demand Billing: (6.5 + 5.8 + 5.2 + 4.6) ÷ 4 = 5.525 kW, which Santee Cooper rounds to 5.5 kW.
• At today’s demand charge of $8.00 per kW, that is $52.00 under the old method versus $44.00 under the new one (5.5 kW), a difference of $8.00 for that month. This uses the current rate only to show the effect of averaging; the 2027 demand charge is higher.

A home with one short spike gains the most from averaging. A home that hits a similar peak every day gains little.

Per-unit charges in the May proposal

Source: Santee Cooper management’s rate recommendation to the board, May 1, 2026. ORS’s July 30, 2026 review lists the same demand charges.

Santee Cooper revised its rate schedules after public comment, and we could not open the revised 2027 schedule. The residential increases (4.7% and 4.6%) did not change from the May proposal, but individual charges may have. Treat this table as the proposal, not the final tariff.

What It Means for Your Bill

Your increase depends on how much you use and how “peaky” your use is. ORS modeled the standard residential rate at 750, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month and at different load factors (how evenly a home uses power through the month). It estimated 2027 changes from about 2.4% to 6.1%, with larger increases for homes whose use is spread more evenly. ORS assumed Balanced Demand Billing would cut billed demand by 20%, and it said its examples are illustrative, not a forecast.

Practical steps:

1. Find your demand line. Your bill shows your billed kW. Multiply it by the demand charge to see how much of your bill it drives.
2. Shift big loads out of the peak windows. Winter mornings (6 to 9 a.m.) are when electric heat, water heaters and showers stack up. In summer, the window is 3 to 6 p.m.
3. Use Santee Cooper’s rate calculator. Its residential rate study page links a calculator that estimates the change from your past use.
4. Consider time-of-use. Santee Cooper offers a residential time-of-use rate as an alternative for customers who find Balanced Demand Billing doesn’t work for them.

If your bill comes from an electric cooperative rather than Santee Cooper, this rate schedule is not your rate. Check with your co-op.

What It Means for Solar and Batteries

Higher per-kWh energy charges make every kWh of solar you use at home worth a little more. But on a demand rate, panels alone don’t control the demand charge. The winter peak window runs from 6 to 9 a.m., when rooftop panels produce little. The summer window, 3 to 6 p.m., catches only the late-afternoon part of solar output.

A battery set to cover those windows can lower billed kW. Averaging four peaks also means one cloudy day that pushes up your use matters less than it did. Our guides to time-of-use rates and solar and sizing a home battery show how to run the numbers.

ORS’s review notes that Santee Cooper also proposed revisions to its Distributed Generation Rider, which covers customer-owned generation such as rooftop solar. We did not find the final rider terms. Get them in writing from Santee Cooper before you sign a solar contract.

Sources and verification

A kilowatt (kW) measures power: how fast electricity is being used at one moment. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) measures energy: how much was used over time. Your utility bills mostly by kWh. Solar quotes and battery spec sheets use both, and mixing them up is an easy way to misread a solar quote.

This guide shows where each unit appears on a bill, an appliance, a solar quote and a battery spec sheet, with the math spelled out.

The Short Version

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) defines the units this way: “One kilowatt is equal to 1,000 Watts,” and “One kWh is one kilowatt generated for one hour.” Its example: “if you use a 40-Watt (0.04 kW) light bulb for five hours, you have used 200 Wh, or 0.2 kWh, of electrical energy.”

Think of a garden hose. kW is how hard the water is flowing right now. kWh is how many gallons filled the bucket.

“kW per hour” and “kW/h” are not real billing units. If a quote or ad uses them, ask what it means.

kWh on Your Electric Bill

Your meter counts kWh, and the energy charge is a price per kWh.

EIA says the average U.S. residential customer used 10,791 kWh in 2022, “about 899 kWh per month.” EIA’s Electric Power Monthly puts the U.S. average residential price at 18.16 cents per kWh in August 2026 (preliminary). Putting those together:

• 899 kWh × $0.1816 = about $163 a month

That average price includes fixed charges spread over every kWh sold, so it is a rough guide, not any one utility’s rate. Your own bill shows your kWh and your rates. Our guide to reading your electric bill explains each line.

When kW Shows Up on a Bill: Demand Charges

Some residential rates add a demand charge, priced per kW. It is based on your highest rate of use over a short interval (Santee Cooper, below, uses one hour), usually during set peak hours. Two homes can use the same kWh in a month and pay different demand charges if one runs everything at once.

A current example: South Carolina’s state-owned Santee Cooper charges $8.00 per kW on its standard residential rate today. A home billed at 5 kW pays $40 in demand charges that month (5 × $8.00), on top of energy charges. Santee Cooper’s board just approved a change that bills the average of four monthly peaks instead of the single highest hour; see our report on the Santee Cooper 2027 rate increase.

To lower a demand charge, spread out large loads such as the dryer, oven, water heater and EV charging. Our explainer on residential demand charges covers which utilities use them.

From Appliance Watts to kWh and Dollars

The Department of Energy’s formula:

(Wattage × hours used per day) ÷ 1,000 = daily kWh

DOE’s example is a 1,500-watt kettle used one hour a day: 1.5 kWh a day, or 547.5 kWh a year. At 18.16 cents per kWh:

• 1.5 kWh × $0.1816 = about 27 cents a day
• 547.5 kWh × $0.1816 = about $99 a year

One caution from DOE: “The wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance.” Many appliances use less most of the time. A plug-in usage monitor measures actual use for 120-volt devices, but DOE notes it can’t be used with large 220-volt appliances such as electric clothes dryers, central air conditioners or water heaters.

kW and kWh on a Solar Quote

A solar quote leads with system size in kW, the panels’ combined rated power. A 7.7 kW system is, for example, about eighteen 430-watt panels. (Berkeley Lab puts the median U.S. home system in 2025 at 7.7 kW DC.)

What saves you money is production in kWh. That depends on sunshine, roof angle, shading and equipment losses. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s 2023 Annual Technology Baseline models a home system’s first-year capacity factor at 12.7% in the least sunny locations to 19.6% in the sunniest. Converted to kWh per kW of panels per year:

• Least sunny: 0.127 × 8,760 hours = about 1,113 kWh per kW a year
• Sunniest: 0.196 × 8,760 hours = about 1,717 kWh per kW a year

So a 7.7 kW system would make roughly 8,570 to 13,220 kWh a year, by our math from NREL’s range. That brackets the 10,791 kWh EIA reports for an average home in 2022.

When you compare quotes, compare the estimated annual kWh and the price per watt, not just kW. Two 8 kW systems on different roofs can produce very different kWh. Our guide to how many solar panels you need walks through sizing from your bill.

kW and kWh on a Home Battery

Battery spec sheets list both units, and each answers a different question.

• kWh (capacity): how much energy the battery holds, which sets how long it can run your home.
• kW (power): how much it can deliver at once, which sets what can run at the same time.

Tesla’s Powerwall 3 datasheet lists “Nominal Battery Energy 13.5 kWh AC” and “Maximum Continuous Discharge Power 11.5 kWAC.” At a steady 1.5 kW load, 13.5 kWh lasts about 9 hours (13.5 ÷ 1.5), before losses or any solar recharge. Drawing the full 11.5 kW, it would last a little over an hour. Real run time will be lower once losses and reserve settings are counted.

Our battery sizing guide works through both numbers for backup and time-of-use savings.

Quick Conversions

Sources and verification

We Energies is asking Wisconsin regulators to raise electric rates in 2027 and again in 2028. Its customer notice puts the 2027 increase at $14.67 a month for a home using 660 kWh, then another $8.69 in 2028. Nothing is approved. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is expected to decide late this year, with any new rates starting in January.

This would follow increases the PSC estimated at $7.62 a month in 2025 and $9.73 in 2026 for an average residential customer. For every major Wisconsin utility’s approved and pending changes, see our Wisconsin electricity rates and solar guide.

What We Energies Is Asking For

Source: We Energies’ customer notice of the requested rates and its April 1, 2026 filing announcement.

The residential percentages are higher than the overall ones. The 4.7% and 4.5% figures cover all of We Energies’ electric revenue, while the 10.28% and 5.52% figures are the notice’s estimates for residential customers only.

The announcement described the 2027 change as “about $13 per month.” The customer notice gives the more precise numbers above. The difference is fuel: the notice says $14.67 leaves out the current fuel cost adjustment, while $13.35 factors in 2026 fuel costs. Measured against today’s full bill, $13.35 is the closer figure.

We Energies also asked for natural gas increases in the same case. This article covers electric rates only.

What the Money Would Pay For

In its announcement, We Energies tied the request to underground power lines (60 to 80 miles of cable in each of 2027 and 2028), tree trimming, replacing aging equipment, and clean energy projects regulators have already approved. It said the filing includes “more than $225 million in savings from federal tax credits and earnings sharing.”

The company also said data centers would pay nearly $1.9 billion in 2027 and 2028 to serve them, and that “Data center costs will not be passed on to other customers.” That is the company’s position. The PSC decides how costs are allocated among customer classes.

What Consumer Advocates Want

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB), which represents residential customers, has opposed the size of the increase. In an August 25, 2026 update, CUB said its proposals on utility profits would “pare back the increases by more than $200 million” over two years. It asked the PSC to set the return on equity, the profit rate regulators allow on the utility’s investments, at 9.1%. CUB also asked regulators to deny $119 million in profits tied to retired coal plants.

In the last case, the PSC approved less than We Energies requested. Wisconsin Public Radio reported in November 2024 that the commission granted an overall electric increase of 8.79% over two years, about $188 million less than requested, and held the return on equity at 9.8% instead of the 10% the company sought. That shows what the PSC did last time, not what it will do this time.

What It Means for Your Bill

Here is what a home using 660 kWh pays under the standard residential rate (Rg1) in effect since January 1, 2026, for a 30-day month. It leaves out taxes and other charges on the bill.

That is close to the $144 typical bill CUB uses for the same 660 kWh. If the full request were approved:

• 2027: about $157.46 a month ($144.11 + $13.35, the notice’s figure with 2026 fuel costs), or about $160 more over the year.
• 2028: about $166.15 a month, about $22 above today. The 2028 request does not include fuel costs, which will be filed separately.

These are illustrations based on the company’s own estimates for a 660 kWh home. Homes that use more electricity would generally see larger dollar changes. The exact effect depends on how the PSC splits any approved increase between the daily customer charge and the per-kWh charges.

This fall’s credit. Separately, We Energies said on October 8, 2026 that it is returning more than $32 million because 2025 fuel costs came in below the amount the PSC approved. Residential customers get about 2 cents per kWh of October use, about $13.60 for a 660 kWh home, on an October or November bill. The credit is separate from the rate request.

Before the decision:

1. Check your usage. Your bill shows monthly kWh. Compare it with the 660 kWh used in the estimates.
2. Look at time-of-use. We Energies’ Rg2 rate charges $0.30084 per kWh on-peak and $0.10028 off-peak, with a choice of four 12-hour on-peak windows. It tends to save money only if you can move much of your use outside your on-peak window.
3. Ask about help early. If winter bills are already hard to cover, see our guide to LIHEAP and other bill help.

What It Means for Solar Owners

Each kWh of solar you use in your home avoids the per-kWh charges: $0.19593 combined under today’s Rg1 rate ($0.19342 energy, $0.00199 fuel and $0.00052 environmental). A system that covers 500 kWh of your own use a month avoids about $98 of those charges at current rates (500 × $0.19593). Solar does not reduce the $0.49315 daily customer charge.

If the PSC puts most of the increase into per-kWh charges, self-used solar is worth more. If more of it goes into the daily charge, solar is worth less. Credits for power you send back to the grid work differently from power you use yourself. Our Wisconsin guide summarizes each utility’s surplus credit, and our explainer on fixed charges and solar savings shows why the split matters.

What Happens Next

According to CUB’s case calendar, public hearings were held in September and legal briefs were due by early October. The PSC is likely to vote at an open meeting in November and issue a written order in December. We Energies said in April it expected a decision “later this year,” with new rates in January 2027. We will update this article when the PSC votes.

Update, Nov. 7, 2026: The PSC approved rate changes for We Energies on Nov. 5, 2026, according to WEC Energy Group’s SEC filing, with a 9.5% return on equity. WEC’s preliminary estimates, as reported by WPR, are electric increases of 3.9% in 2027 and 3.5% in 2028, about $7 to $8 a month and then $6 to $7 for a typical residential customer, below the request above. The PSC’s written order with final rates is expected in the coming weeks. Our WPS rate increase article covers the companion decision.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We did not open the PSC’s electronic docket for 5-UR-112, so we have not seen PSC staff’s recommended revenue level, and the expected vote timing comes from CUB rather than the commission. Bill figures leave out taxes and other charges, and they use the company’s 660 kWh example.

Charging an electric car at home costs about 6.4 cents a mile at the U.S. average residential electricity price of 18.16 cents per kWh (EIA, August 2026), for an EV that uses 35 kWh per 100 miles. Drive 1,000 miles in a month and that is about $64. Your number depends on three things: how efficient your car is, how far you drive, and what you pay per kWh.

This guide shows the formula, works it for small, mid-size and large EVs, compares it with gasoline, and explains how time-of-use rates and solar change the result. To find your state’s average price, see our electricity rates by state list.

The Formula

The Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center says an EV’s fuel efficiency “may be measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) per 100 miles.” The cost follows from that:

Monthly cost = (miles driven ÷ 100) × kWh per 100 miles × your price per kWh

You will find kWh per 100 miles on the car’s EPA window sticker. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says its ratings “include charging losses,” which “moves the measurement from the vehicle to the outlet in the wall.” So the sticker figure is meant to reflect electricity drawn from your outlet, though your real-world use can differ from the label.

How Efficient EVs Are

The spread is wide. For model year 2024, the Department of Energy reported that EPA combined ratings ranged from 1.49 to 4.17 miles per kWh, which works out to about 24 to 67 kWh per 100 miles (100 ÷ miles per kWh). Midsize cars ranged from 2.17 to 4.17 miles per kWh. Two-wheel-drive standard SUVs ranged from 0.97 to 2.94.

We use three example efficiencies that fall within those ranges:

• 25 kWh per 100 miles: an efficient car (4 miles per kWh).
• 35 kWh per 100 miles: a mid-range figure (about 2.9 miles per kWh).
• 50 kWh per 100 miles: a large SUV (2 miles per kWh).

These are examples, not ratings for specific models. Check your own car’s sticker.

What It Costs at the U.S. Average Rate

Assumptions: 18.16 cents per kWh, EIA’s U.S. average residential price for August 2026 (Electricity Monthly Update, released Oct. 23, 2026); 1,000 miles a month as a round example; all charging at home.

The math for the middle row: 1,000 ÷ 100 × 35 = 350 kWh, and 350 × $0.1816 = $63.56.

EIA’s figure is average revenue per kWh, which includes fixed charges spread across usage. Your extra cost for charging is the per-kWh part of your rate, which on many bills is somewhat lower than the average. Your bill’s energy and delivery lines show your actual per-kWh charges.

What It Costs Where You Live

Rates vary far more than car efficiency. These examples use EIA’s August 2026 state averages (Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, released Oct. 23, 2026) for the 35 kWh per 100 miles example and 1,000 miles.

State averages blend every utility in the state, and EIA’s monthly figures are preliminary. Our state rate pages, such as California, break down what is changing at individual utilities.

EV Charging vs. Gasoline

EPA’s latest Automotive Trends report puts the average new vehicle’s real-world fuel economy at a record 27.2 mpg for model year 2024. EIA’s U.S. average for regular gasoline was $4.269 a gallon for the week of October 26, 2026, including taxes.

The math: 1,000 ÷ 27.2 = about 36.76 gallons, and 1,000 ÷ 27.2 × $4.269 = $156.95.

At those national averages, the gas vehicle costs about 2.5 times as much per mile. The EV in our example would cost the same per mile as the gas vehicle only at about 44.8 cents per kWh ($0.157 ÷ 0.35). That is a little below Hawaii’s August average of 47.18 cents, where gasoline prices also differ from the national figure. This compares energy costs only. Insurance, maintenance, purchase price and public fast charging are not included.

Time-of-Use Rates Can Cut the Cost

The Alternative Fuels Data Center notes that “some utilities offer residential time-of-use rates or other rate incentives for charging infrastructure owners.” Time-of-use rates charge less outside a set peak window, which often covers overnight hours when cars are parked.

Example: We Energies in Wisconsin. Since January 1, 2026, its standard residential energy charge is $0.19342 per kWh. Its time-of-use plan charges $0.10028 per kWh off-peak and $0.30084 on-peak, with customers picking one of four 12-hour on-peak windows. For the 350 kWh in our example:

• Standard rate: 350 × $0.19342 = $67.70.
• Time-of-use, all off-peak: 350 × $0.10028 = $35.10.

These figures cover the energy charge only. They leave out the daily customer charge and smaller per-kWh adjustments. The catch: the rest of your home’s use also moves to time-of-use pricing, and anything you run on-peak costs more. Our explainer on time-of-use rates and solar shows how to check whether a plan fits your household. We Energies is also asking regulators for higher rates in 2027; see our report on the We Energies 2027 rate request.

Level 1 or Level 2: Speed, Not Price

EPA estimates that Level 1 charging (a standard 120-volt outlet) adds about 5 miles of range per hour, and Level 2 (240 volts) about 25, assuming 1.9 kW and 6.6 kW of power. Your price per kWh is the same either way.

At 1,000 miles a month, you need about 33 miles of range a day. That is about 6.7 hours a night on Level 1, or about 1.3 hours on Level 2. The Alternative Fuels Data Center says many owners “are able to meet their daily driving range requirements by charging overnight with Level 1 equipment.” Level 2 helps if you drive more, have a less efficient vehicle, or want to fit all charging into a short off-peak window.

The extra cost of Level 2 is hardware and installation. The Alternative Fuels Data Center says permits may be required and that “electricians can inform homeowners whether their home has adequate electrical capacity for vehicle charging.” Our Level 2 charger guide compares models, and our EV charger calculator works out charge time and cost per session.

Charging With Solar

An EV adds a lot of electricity use. Our 35 kWh per 100 miles example at 1,000 miles a month adds 350 kWh a month, about 4,200 kWh a year. If you have solar or are getting quotes, include that load when you size the system. Our guide to how many solar panels you need shows the method.

Timing matters. Panels produce during the day, and many people charge at night. Unless you can charge at home in the daytime, your panels offset night charging only through net metering credits. How much those credits are worth depends on your utility’s export rules, which differ widely. A home battery can shift solar into the evening, but it adds cost; our guide to batteries on time-of-use rates covers when that pays.

Sources and verification

A home with average U.S. electricity use needs roughly 15 to 23 solar panels to cover its yearly use, assuming 430-watt panels. The exact number comes from three figures: how many kWh you use in a year, how much each kilowatt of panels produces where you live, and the wattage of the panels you buy. The method below takes about ten minutes with a year of electric bills.

This guide works out a national example. Local sunshine, your utility’s credit for exported solar and any size limits will move the answer, so treat it as a way to check an installer’s proposal, not a replacement for a site design.

Step 1: Find Your Yearly Electricity Use

Add up the kWh on your last 12 bills, or find the 12-month total that many utilities print on the bill or show online. Use a full year, because heating and cooling swing usage by season.

For comparison, EIA says the average U.S. residential customer bought 10,791 kWh in 2022, “an average of about 899 kWh per month.” The range between states is wide: from 14,774 kWh a year in Louisiana to 6,178 kWh in Hawaii.

If you plan to add an electric vehicle, heat pump or heat pump water heater, add its expected yearly kWh now. Our guide on why bills climb covers the biggest loads to check.

Step 2: Estimate How Much Each Kilowatt Produces

A solar panel’s watt rating is its output under standard test conditions. Over a year, real output depends on sunshine, roof angle, shading and losses. Planners use a capacity factor: the share of the year’s hours a system would need to run at full rated power to match its actual production.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s 2023 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) models a “7.9-kWDC, fixed tilt, roof-mounted system.” Its first-year capacity factors “range from 12.7% for Class 10” (the least sunny locations) “to 19.6% for Class 1.” The simple average of the ten classes is 15.7%. These are per kW of panels (DC).

Turned into kWh, with 8,760 hours in a year:

For your own address, NREL’s free PVWatts calculator estimates output for your roof’s direction and tilt. That is more accurate than a national class.

Step 3: Turn kWh Into Panels

The math is two divisions:

1. System size (kW) = yearly kWh ÷ kWh per kW per year
2. Number of panels = system size in watts ÷ panel wattage, rounded up

For the example panel we used a 430-watt Qcells Q.TRON BLK M-G2+ module, which a distributor lists at 1,722 by 1,134 mm. Wattage varies by model, so check the panel wattage on your quote.

For an average home using 10,791 kWh a year:

Rounding up to whole panels means each system slightly overshoots 10,791 kWh. All figures are our arithmetic from the EIA and NREL numbers above, before shading or panel aging.

The mid-range answer is close to what installers actually build. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reports that “the median U.S. residential system size was 7.7 kW in 2025,” which is about 18 panels of 430 watts.

Check the Roof

At about 21 square feet per panel (1,722 × 1,134 mm), 19 panels cover roughly 400 square feet of panel surface. Real layouts need more: gaps between rows, fire-code setbacks from ridges and edges, and space around vents and skylights. In the U.S., south-facing roofs usually produce the most per panel and east- or west-facing roofs less, so you need more panels for the same kWh. If your roof is nearing the end of its life, read our guide on whether to replace your roof before solar.

When a Smaller System Makes More Sense

A 100% offset is a common target, not a rule. Size down if:

• Your utility pays less for exports. Some utilities credit power you send to the grid below the retail rate. Panels that mostly export earn less than panels whose output you use. See our export credit comparison.
• Your state caps system size. Michigan, for example, lets solar customers install generation “up to 110% of customer’s electricity consumption for the previous 12 months,” according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
• Fixed charges are a big part of your bill. Solar cannot reduce them, so they cap the savings no matter how many panels you add.
• You want to add a battery. A battery can shift midday output to the evening; size it separately with our home battery sizing guide.

Then compare quotes on the same basis: system size in kW, panel wattage and count, and the estimated first-year kWh. Our guide to comparing solar quotes shows what to ask.

Sources and verification

Limitations

The NREL capacity factors are modeled national classes for a fixed-tilt roof system in its first year; your roof’s direction, tilt, shading and panel aging will change real output. EIA’s usage figure is from 2022 and counts electricity bought from the utility, so it can understate total use in homes that already have solar. We used one example panel; panels with a different wattage change the count but not the system size in kW.

Consumers Energy is asking Michigan regulators for about $456 million a year in higher electric rates, which the utility estimates would add about $13 a month for a home with a typical $155 bill. Nothing is approved. The Michigan Attorney General has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to cut the request by 53%, and the commission has until April 2027 to decide.

If approved, this would be Consumers’ second electric increase in about a year: the last one, $276.6 million, took effect May 1, 2026. Our guide to how DTE and Consumers rates have changed in Michigan this year tracks both utilities’ cases.

What Consumers Energy Is Asking For

Two numbers describe the household impact, and they measure different things. Consumers’ $13 on a $155 bill is about 8.4% of the whole bill (our arithmetic), which news coverage of Consumers’ estimate rounded to “about 9%.” The Attorney General’s 9.8% describes residential electric rates. Neither has been approved.

The surcharge and storm-cost requests are separate from the $456 million base increase, according to the Attorney General. We did not find a household estimate for them.

What the Money Would Pay For

Consumers links the case to its Reliability Action Plan. Coverage of the filing describes that plan as burying 50 miles of power lines underground, more tree trimming near lines, improving circuits with frequent outages and new grid technology. A Consumers spokesperson told Michigan Public that “75 cents of every dollar goes directly back into securing our electric grid.”

The request also asks for a higher return on equity, the profit rate regulators allow on the utility’s investments. Consumers’ return on equity has been 9.9% since 2020, and the company wants 10.25%, according to Michigan Public.

The Attorney General’s Counterproposal

Attorney General Dana Nessel intervened in the case. In an October 6, 2026 release saying she had filed testimony the previous week, her office asked the MPSC to “cut their requested rate hike by 53%” and to “limit Consumers Energy’s return on equity to just 9.20%.” A 53% cut would leave roughly $214 million of the $456 million (our arithmetic). The office also asked regulators to weigh affordability, citing rising residential disconnections.

The Attorney General is one party. MPSC staff and other intervenors file their own positions, and an administrative law judge typically issues a proposal before the commissioners vote. Our explainer on how electric rate cases work walks through those steps.

What Happened Last Time

Consumers’ previous electric case is the best guide to how this one may end. The utility asked for $436 million plus a $24.3 million surcharge. On March 27, 2026, the MPSC approved $276.6 million, about 63% of the base request (our arithmetic), effective May 1, 2026. The Attorney General said that raised residential electricity rates by 8.9%.

If the commission again granted about 63%, this case would come to roughly $290 million. That is an illustration, not a forecast: each case is decided on its own record, and how the increase is split between homes and businesses can change.

What It Means for Your Bill

Using Consumers’ own figures, a home paying $155 a month would pay about $168 if the full request were approved: $13 more a month, or about $156 a year. A smaller approved increase would mean a smaller bill change, though rate design can shift how much lands on homes. Your exact change depends on how much electricity you use and on which rate you are on.

Before the decision:

1. Check your usage. Your bill shows monthly kWh. Homes that use more than average will generally see more than the $13 estimate, depending on rate design.
2. Ask about assistance early. If winter bills are already a stretch, see our guide to LIHEAP and other bill help.
3. Comment if you want to. The MPSC takes written public comments in each docket. Reference Case No. U-22070.

What It Means for Solar Owners

Consumers says on its distributed generation page that excess energy is “credited at power supply rate including transmission.” That credit does not include distribution charges. So when distribution charges rise, every kWh of solar you use in your home saves more, while the export credit does not rise with distribution charges.

If you are sizing a new system for a Consumers home, aim it at your own usage rather than at export credits, and get quotes that model the current outflow credit. Our guide to comparing solar quotes lists the numbers to check.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We could not open the MPSC’s case filings for U-22070, so the $13 household estimate and the April 2027 deadline come from news coverage of Consumers’ filing, and the case number comes from news reports. We did not find MPSC staff’s position or a kWh assumption behind the $155 typical bill. This article will be updated when the administrative law judge’s proposal or the commission’s order is issued.

A 1,500-watt space heater, a common rating, costs about 27 cents an hour to run on high at the U.S. average residential electricity price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026. At 8 hours a day for a month, that is about $65. Your number depends on three things: the heater’s wattage, how many hours it actually runs, and what you pay per kWh.

This guide shows the math, works it at low, average and high electric rates, and explains when a space heater saves money and when it only adds to your bill. For your state’s latest rate, see our electricity rates by state.

The Formula

Your bill charges for kilowatt-hours (kWh). The Energy Information Administration (EIA) defines one watt-hour as “the energy of one Watt used for one hour,” and 1 kWh is 1,000 watt-hours.

Cost per hour = (watts ÷ 1,000) × your rate per kWh

Check the label on your heater for its wattage. In tests published in February 2023, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff evaluated household heaters rated 2,000 watts or less. They included models rated 700 and 1,000 watts, and one advertised as 2,000 watts that drew a maximum of 1,500 watts. We use 1,500 watts on high and an assumed 750 watts on low as examples. Check your own heater’s label.

What It Costs at the U.S. Average Rate

Assumptions: U.S. average residential price of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026 (EIA Electricity Monthly Update, released Oct. 23, 2026); heater running continuously at the stated wattage; 30-day month.

The math for the high setting: 1.5 kWh × $0.1816 = $0.2724 an hour. Then 1.5 kWh × 8 hours × 30 days = 360 kWh, and 360 × $0.1816 = $65.38.

These are maximum figures. Most heaters have a thermostat that switches the element off once the room reaches the set temperature, so the real run time is often shorter than the hours the heater is turned on. A plug-in energy monitor will show your actual kWh.

What It Costs Where You Live

Rates vary widely by state, so the same heater costs very different amounts. These examples use EIA’s July 2026 state averages for residential customers (Electric Power Monthly, released Sept. 24, 2026), with the same 1,500 watts, 8 hours a day, 30 days.

The U.S. row uses August 2026 data and the state rows July 2026 data, so treat them as rough comparisons. Prices in winter can differ from summer. Your own bill shows your rate. Our guide to reading your electric bill shows where to find it. If your utility charges more in some hours, as on a time-of-use rate, running a heater in the evening peak can cost more than these averages.

When a Space Heater Saves Money

A space heater does not make heat more cheaply than other electric resistance heaters, such as baseboards. The Department of Energy (DOE) says electric resistance heating is “100% energy efficient in the sense that all the incoming electric energy is converted to heat.” Ceramic, oil-filled and infrared heaters of the same wattage use the same electricity.

Savings come from heating less space. In its discussion of baseboard heaters, DOE says zone heating, which warms only occupied rooms, “can produce energy savings of more than 20% compared to heating the whole area of your house.” That only works if you lower the main thermostat. If the furnace or heat pump keeps the whole house at the same temperature, the space heater’s cost is added on top.

DOE also notes that the rest of the house still needs enough heat to stay “well above freezing to avoid freezing pipes.”

Compared With a Heat Pump

If you heat with electricity, a heat pump is the efficient choice. DOE says heat pumps “easily cut electricity use by 50% when compared with electric resistance heating.” By that measure, heat a space heater delivers with 360 kWh would take roughly half, about 180 kWh, from a heat pump, about $33 at the U.S. average rate. Real savings vary with the heat pump and the weather.

If space heaters are carrying much of your winter heating, see our guides to choosing a heat pump and to this winter’s heating costs.

What About Solar?

Solar panels do little to offset a space heater. Heaters run most on winter evenings and nights, when panels produce little or nothing, and winter output is lower anyway (see how solar output changes in winter). Where exported solar is credited at less than the retail rate, the power for an evening heater is mostly bought from the grid at full price.

Use It Safely

CPSC estimates that portable heaters, including electric space heaters, were involved in an average of 1,600 fires a year from 2019 to 2021, with about 70 deaths and 160 injuries a year. CPSC advises:

• Keep heaters “at least three feet away” from drapes, furniture and bedding.
• Plug electric heaters “directly into a wall outlet,” never into an extension cord or power strip.
• “Never leave portable heaters turned on while sleeping.”

Sources and verification

Duke Energy solar customers in North Carolina who are still on the original net metering rider will be moved to the Net Metering Bridge rider after December 31, 2026, according to the state’s Public Staff. The Bridge rate nets your use and exports each month and credits any monthly surplus at Duke’s avoided-cost rate, not the retail rate, and it adds a minimum bill. The biggest surprise for many owners is the clock: Bridge time is counted from when you first applied to connect your system, not from 2027.

This covers Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP). The same customers face proposed base rate increases on January 1, 2027, which we track in our guide to Duke’s North Carolina rate cases. Higher retail rates raise the value of solar you use yourself, while exported power earns less under the newer riders.

What the 2023 Order Set Up

The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) issued its Order Approving Revised Net Metering Tariffs on March 23, 2023, in Docket E-100, Sub 180. The North Carolina Court of Appeals “modified and affirmed” that order on September 17, 2024 (No. COA23-760).

The order created three paths for Duke residential solar customers:

Sources: NCUC order (March 23, 2023) and NC Public Staff net metering page, checked Oct. 29, 2026.

What Happens to Original Net Metering Customers

The order’s description of the settlement Duke reached with solar installers says current net metering customers “may remain on their current rate until January 1, 2027.” At that point they move to the Bridge rate or choose the time-of-use net metering rate then in effect.

The NC Public Staff, which represents consumers before the commission, describes the same transition. It says Rider NM customers can stay “until December 31, 2026, at which point they will be automatically transitioned to Rider NMB.”

So if you do nothing, you land on the Bridge rider. Choosing the time-of-use solar rate instead is an option, not a requirement.

Your Bridge Clock Started When You Applied

This is the detail most likely to catch owners of older systems off guard. The order describes the Bridge term this way: customers can stay “for 15 calendar years” counted from “the date on which the customer first submitted an interconnection application,” less any years spent on an alternative net metering rate before January 1, 2027. After that, the customer moves to the time-of-use net metering rate in effect at the time.

By our reading of that formula, here is how it plays out for customers who spent no time on an alternative rate:

These end dates are our arithmetic, not dates Duke has published, and the exact day depends on your application date. Ask Duke to confirm yours. The order does not mention a guaranteed minimum term. It records a witness’s view that customers who installed solar in 2011 or earlier “may receive no benefit from the Proposed Bridge Rate at all.” That was testimony, not a commission finding.

How the Bridge Rate Works

From the order’s description of the Bridge rate:

• Netting: it “includes monthly netting at the applicable avoided cost rate.” By our reading, solar you use in a month offsets your purchases that month. Any surplus left at month’s end is credited at Duke’s avoided-cost rate (the Net Excess Energy Credit), which is typically lower than the retail rate. Check Duke’s current credit rate.
• Minimum bill and other charges: it carries “the same MMB and non-bypassable charge that are included within the NEM tariffs.” MMB is the monthly minimum bill.
• No time-of-use requirement: unlike Residential Solar Choice, the Bridge rate does not require a time-of-use schedule and has no grid access fee.
• Caps: new enrollment is limited by yearly capacity caps, awarded first come, first served.

The order describes the minimum bill as initially proposed at $22 a month for DEC and $28 for DEP. It describes the non-bypassable charges as $0.36 per kW a month for DEC and $0.44 for DEP. Duke’s current rider sheets could not be opened for this article, so confirm today’s amounts with Duke before using them.

What It Means for Your Bill

The change matters most for homes that export a lot of solar in some months. Solar you use yourself still offsets purchases at the retail rate, though the minimum bill sets a floor. If your system produces large monthly surpluses in spring and summer, those surpluses will be credited at avoided cost instead of building up retail-value credits.

A few practical points:

1. Shift use into sunny hours. Every kWh you use when the panels are producing avoids the full retail rate, while monthly surplus is credited at the lower avoided-cost rate. Our guide to how unused solar credits are handled explains why timing matters more under monthly netting.
2. Consider a battery only if the numbers work. Storing midday surplus for evening use can recover some value lost to avoided-cost credits. Size it first with our guide to sizing a home battery.
3. Watch the minimum bill. On months with high solar output, the minimum bill and fixed charges may be most of what you pay. Solar cannot reduce those.

If You Are Thinking About Going Solar Now

The Bridge rate is open to new applicants only through December 31, 2026, and only while caps last. The 2026 caps may already be full, so check with Duke before counting on it. According to the Public Staff, once a cap is reached, new customers must take Rider RSC. That rider requires a time-of-use rate with critical peak pricing, a minimum monthly bill and non-bypassable charges, and it credits net exports at avoided cost each month.

Because the Bridge term would run 15 years from a 2026 application, a new customer who gets in would keep it until about 2041. Do not let a deadline rush a contract, though. Get the installer to model your savings under both riders, and read our guide to comparing solar quotes.

Sources and verification

Limitations

We could not open Duke Energy’s current rider sheets (Rider NM, NMB and RSC) or its avoided-cost credit rates, so dollar amounts for the minimum bill and non-bypassable charges come from the commission’s 2023 order and may have changed. We did not find a Duke customer notice describing the January 2027 transition. Bridge end dates are our arithmetic. This article will be updated if Duke or the commission publishes transition details.

A judge at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has recommended a Tucson Electric Power (TEP) rate increase that would raise average residential bills about 11.2%, according to AZ Luminaria and Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports puts it at an average of about $186 next year for residential customers, roughly $15.50 a month. It is a recommendation, not an approved rate. The commission may vote at an open meeting tentatively set for Nov. 17, 2026, and new rates could start as soon as Dec. 1.

The case is docket E-01933A-25-0103, filed June 17, 2025, and covers TEP’s more than 452,000 customers in the Tucson area. For APS’s pending case and how rooftop solar is credited statewide, see our guide to Arizona electric rates and solar.

The Case at a Glance

We could not open the judge’s Recommended Opinion and Order on the ACC docket. The 11.2% figure and the recommendation details below come from two separate reports of it.

What TEP Asked For

TEP’s legal notice for the case says it requested “an overall increase in retail revenues of $172 million, or approximately 13%.” Non-fuel revenue would rise $220 million, and the notice uses a test year ending December 31, 2024. TEP asked for a 10.50% return on equity and proposed raising the monthly Basic Service Charge for residential and small business customers by $5.00.

For a typical residential customer using 805 kWh a month, the notice estimated the bill would rise from $141.60 to $161.03, an increase of $19.43, or 13.7%.

TEP has also cited lower figures based on a smaller “median” customer. In June 2025 it said its proposal “would add about $16 per month, on average” for households using 638 kWh a month. TEP’s news page says an updated April 2026 filing lowered that to about $14 a month, or about 13%, for median-usage customers on its Basic plan. Arizona Public Media reported that the amended request was $162 million, down from $172 million. The Attorney General’s office told the outlet that at 805 kWh the increase was “closer to 14.6% for most residential customers.”

Why the numbers differ. A percentage depends on which household you pick. Because TEP also proposed raising the fixed Basic Service Charge by $5.00, the percentage change differs between a smaller median customer and a home using 805 kWh. Check your own kWh on your bill before applying any of these figures.

What the Judge Recommended

According to AZ Luminaria, Administrative Law Judge Julia L. Matter issued her recommendation on Oct. 20, 2026. AZ Luminaria reports that it:

• Raises average residential bills 11.2%. Consumer Reports, which opposes the increase, puts that at an average of about $186 next year.
• Accepts TEP’s Annual Rate Adjustment Mechanism (ARAM). TEP’s notice describes it as a formula that would update rates “each year based on historical changes in its revenue requirement.” AZ Luminaria quotes the recommendation as saying the ARAM “will improve transparency and oversight, reduce administrative costs.” TEP told the outlet annual adjustments would not automatically raise rates and would still need ACC approval.
• Restructures TEP’s Lifeline discount. Customers at or below 100% of the federal poverty level would get a 50% discount, and customers between 101% and 200% a 20% discount.

The Attorney General’s office had argued that “TEP can achieve the same reliability with just a 4% increase,” AZ Luminaria reports, and Pima County, the City of Tucson and the Residential Utility Consumer Office also opposed a double-digit increase. In an Oct. 6 letter to the commission, Consumer Reports asked regulators to reduce TEP’s return on equity rather than raise it.

Our estimate. If 11.2% is applied to the $141.60 current bill in TEP’s notice for 805 kWh, the increase would be about $15.86 a month (0.112 × $141.60). That is our illustration, not a figure from the order. Your result depends on your usage, rate plan and current bill.

What Happens Next

• Tentatively Nov. 17, 2026: the ACC’s five commissioners discuss the recommendation at an open meeting and may vote. They can adopt it, amend it or reject it.
• As soon as Dec. 1, 2026: new rates could take effect if approved, AZ Luminaria reports.
• Later years: if the ARAM is approved, rates would be updated annually under the formula, subject to commission review.

The evidentiary hearing was scheduled to begin April 22, 2026, according to the ACC. Until the commission votes and new rates take effect, TEP’s current rates apply.

What It Means for Your Bill and for Solar

For a typical home: if the commission adopts the recommendation, a home using 805 kWh a month would pay about $16 more a month by our estimate (Consumer Reports puts the average at about $15.50). Under TEP’s original request, that home would pay $19.43 more. Smaller users will see less in dollars, and heavy summer users more. If you are on TEP’s Lifeline program or might qualify, the proposed discount changes could matter more than the base increase.

For rooftop solar owners: A 2016 ACC decision replaced net metering with net billing for new solar customers. Solar you use at home offsets electricity at the full retail price, while exported power earns TEP’s lower export rate, about 5 to 6 cents per kWh as of our Oct. 5 check. A retail increase makes self-consumed solar worth more. The coverage we reviewed did not report any change to the export rate in this case. If you are getting quotes, run them through our solar payback calculator at both today’s rates and roughly 11% higher.

If you’re considering a battery: shifting solar output to the evening is worth more as the gap between retail rates and export credits widens. Our guide to time-of-use rates and solar explains how that math works.

How to Comment

You can submit a public comment to the ACC through its website. Reference docket E-01933A-25-0103 so it is filed in this case.

Limitations

We could not open the judge’s Recommended Opinion and Order or the ACC docket, which require access we did not have. The recommendation’s figures, the open meeting date and the possible Dec. 1 start come from AZ Luminaria and Consumer Reports, and we mark them Qualified. We did not find the recommended return on equity, revenue amount or Basic Service Charge. Consumer Reports and the Attorney General’s office are parties opposing the increase. Salt River Project (SRP) customers are not affected by this case.

Sources and verification

Checked October 28, 2026. Figures are requests or a recommendation, not approved rates.

Heat pump water heater savings come to about $550 a year for a family of four, according to ENERGY STAR, compared with a standard electric tank water heater. That estimate assumes electricity at 14.6 cents per kWh and about 3,760 kWh saved a year. Your real savings depend on how many people use hot water, what you pay per kWh, and whether you are replacing an electric or a gas heater.

This guide shows the ENERGY STAR figures, recalculates them at different electric rates, and covers the costs and installation limits that decide whether one makes sense in your home.

What ENERGY STAR Estimates

ENERGY STAR says a certified heat pump water heater “can save a household of 4 approximately $550 per year on its electric bills” and “more than $5,610 over the HPWH’s lifetime,” compared with a standard electric water heater.

Source: ENERGY STAR, checked Oct. 28, 2026. ENERGY STAR’s assumptions: electricity at 14.6 cents per kWh, an extra $1,503 up front compared with a standard electric water heater, and a 13-year life.

A newer ENERGY STAR fact sheet from September 2025 gives somewhat higher figures, about $600 a year for a family of four and $300 for two, without stating the electricity price used. We use the page with stated assumptions so you can recalculate it.

How It Saves Energy

A standard electric water heater makes heat with resistance elements, like a toaster. A heat pump water heater “uses electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly,” the U.S. Department of Energy explains. It pulls heat from the surrounding air with refrigerant and moves it into the tank. ENERGY STAR’s 2025 fact sheet says they can be “up to 4 times more efficient than conventional electric water heaters.”

Some are “hybrid” models. ENERGY STAR’s buying guide says they “can switch modes to operate like a standard electric model when needed.”

Savings at Your Electric Rate

The kWh saved is the more portable number. Multiply it by your own rate. Find your price per kWh on your bill (total charges divided by kWh used gives a rough all-in figure; our guide to reading your electric bill shows where to look).

Yearly savings by our math, using ENERGY STAR’s kWh estimates:

These rates are examples, not any utility’s tariff. Using an all-in rate slightly overstates savings, because fixed monthly charges do not fall when you use less.

Payback by our math. Using ENERGY STAR’s $1,503 extra up-front cost, a family of four paying 15¢ would recover it in about 2.7 years ($1,503 ÷ $564). A two-person household paying 10¢ would take about 8 years ($1,503 ÷ $188). Your installer’s quote, including any electrical work, replaces ENERGY STAR’s assumption.

When the Savings Shrink

• Small households. Less hot water means fewer kWh to save. Two people save half what four do in ENERGY STAR’s table.
• Low electric rates. Each kWh saved is worth less.
• Replacing gas, not electric. ENERGY STAR’s estimates compare against an electric tank. Against a gas heater, savings depend on your gas and electric prices, and the buying guide warns that “electric panel upgrades may be needed if replacing a gas water heater.”
• Cold installation spots. ENERGY STAR says the units “perform best in spaces that remain between 40º–90ºF.” A garage or basement that often gets colder than that is a poorer fit.
• Where the cool air goes. The unit “creates a small amount of cool, dry air.” ENERGY STAR says that makes it useful in damp basements and hot garages, and the air can be ducted outside or to other rooms. Think about where that cool air will end up in winter.

Installation Requirements

From ENERGY STAR’s buying guide:

• Air volume: “Most models need about 750 to 1000 cubic feet of air, which is about the size of a 10 ft x 10 ft room.” A closet can work with a louvered door or jumper duct.
• Power: the most common type “requires a dedicated 240 Volt outlet.”
• Drain: condensate goes to an existing drain or a condensate pump.
• Noise: “A low soft humming sound is normal.”

Check the model’s dimensions and clearances in its installation manual against your space before you buy.

Tax Credits and Rebates in 2026

The federal energy efficient home improvement credit (25C) used to cover 30% of the cost of a heat pump water heater, up to $2,000 a year. IRS instructions for Form 5695 say it does not apply to property “placed in service after December 31, 2025.” Materials that still mention the credit, including ENERGY STAR’s 2025 fact sheet, predate that cutoff.

What may still be available: rebates from your electric utility and state programs. Amounts and eligibility vary by utility and change often, so check your utility’s rebate page and your state energy office before you buy, and confirm whether the rebate needs pre-approval.

A federal standard is coming. The Department of Energy’s 2024 water heater rule requires compliance “on and after May 6, 2029.” For electric storage water heaters, the rule’s standards for larger products “are met through the use of heat pump technology,” according to the Federal Register notice. The rule covers new products made or imported from that date, not water heaters already in homes.

Heat Pump Water Heaters and Solar

In a home with an electric tank, a heat pump water heater can cut a meaningful share of electric use. For a family of four, ENERGY STAR’s 3,760 kWh a year is about 313 kWh a month. By our math, the 3,760 kWh a year is roughly the yearly output of 2.7 kW of solar panels at the U.S. mean output of about 1,375 kWh per kW used in our solar system size calculator. Cutting that load before you size a system can mean fewer panels.

If you already have solar, timing can matter. ENERGY STAR’s 2025 fact sheet says many units include connectivity; if yours can be scheduled, heating the tank midday, when panels are producing, uses more of your own solar. Where exported solar earns less than the retail rate, using more of your own solar at home saves more. Our guide to time-of-use rates and solar explains why.

How to Decide

1. Check your current heater’s fuel and age. Savings figures above assume replacing an electric tank.
2. Find your rate and household size and read your savings from the table.
3. Measure the space for air volume, height and temperature.
4. Ask for quotes that include the unit, installation, any 240-volt circuit or panel work, and the condensate drain.
5. Subtract rebates that you have confirmed with your utility or state.
6. Divide the extra cost by yearly savings to get your payback.

If you are also weighing a heat pump for space heating, our guide to choosing a heat pump covers sizing and efficiency ratings.

Limitations

ENERGY STAR’s figures are national estimates, not measurements from your home. We did not research gas-to-electric savings, state rebate amounts, or specific models and prices. Savings tables at other electric rates are our calculations from ENERGY STAR’s kWh estimates.

Sources and verification

Checked October 28, 2026.

A high electric bill often comes from using more kilowatt-hours (kWh) rather than from a higher rate. Common causes are hot or cold weather, a billing period with more days, an estimated meter reading that was later corrected, or one appliance running more than you think. Rates matter too: EIA put the U.S. average residential price at 18.16¢ per kWh in August 2026, up 3.4% from a year earlier.

This guide walks through eight causes in the order worth checking, using the numbers already printed on your bill. If you need help with the lines on the bill itself, start with our guide to reading your electric bill.

Step 1: Separate usage from price

Before looking for causes, find two numbers on this bill and on the bill from the same month last year: total kWh and total dollars. Then divide dollars by kWh to get your all-in cost per kWh.

• kWh up, cost per kWh about the same: you used more power. Go to causes 1 to 5.
• kWh about the same, cost per kWh up: something in the price changed. Go to causes 6 to 8.
• Both up: both are in play, which is common in winter and summer.

Compare with the same month last year, not last month. Use swings with the seasons, so a January bill compared with an October bill tells you little.

Usage causes

1. Weather: heating and cooling

Heating and cooling are among the largest home uses of electricity, and they change most with the weather. EIA says the three largest uses of electricity in U.S. homes in 2020 were air conditioning (19%), space heating (12%) and water heating (12%), with lighting and refrigerators next. EIA also notes that homes in the South are more likely to have electric heat and use more air conditioning, and that these shares change from year to year with the weather.

So a hot summer or a cold snap can raise a bill with no change in your habits. Homes heated with electricity feel winter most; our winter heating cost outlook covers what EIA expects this season.

2. A longer billing period

Bills don’t always cover the same number of days. Dominion Energy, for example, tells customers that the number of days “may change from month to month because of weekends and holidays.” The effect is bigger than it sounds:

To compare fairly, divide kWh by the number of days to get kWh per day. A home using EIA’s national average of about 899 kWh a month (2022) uses about 30 kWh a day.

3. An estimated meter reading

Sometimes a utility can’t read the meter. Dominion says this can happen “because of weather, access problems, or technical issues,” and that when an actual reading follows, “your bill may be updated.” If an estimate was too low, the next actual reading picks up the difference, and that bill looks unusually high. Many bills mark estimated reads, sometimes with an “E”; check your utility’s bill guide. If several estimates in a row were followed by a big catch-up bill, ask the utility to review the account and offer a payment plan.

4. One appliance doing more than you think

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives a simple formula:

(Wattage × hours used per day) ÷ 1,000 = kWh per day

Multiply by the days you use it, then by your price per kWh. Two examples at the August 2026 U.S. average of 18.16¢ (your rate will differ):

DOE’s own kettle example used 11¢ per kWh and came to $60.23 a year; at 18.16¢ the same use costs about $99.

For plug-in devices, DOE suggests an electricity usage monitor, which works on standard 120-volt outlets but not on 240-volt appliances. For a refrigerator, which cycles on and off, DOE says to divide the time it’s plugged in by three to estimate hours at full wattage. DOE also notes that many devices draw standby power when switched “off,” which you can avoid by unplugging them or switching off a power strip.

5. Something new in the house

A new electric vehicle, a hot tub, a second refrigerator, a home office or a new household member can each add use that stays on every bill. If your kWh per day rose and stayed up, look for a change that started that month.

Price causes

6. A rate increase or a new rider

Utilities change base rates through rate cases, and many bills also carry riders for fuel, storms or programs that change on their own schedule. EIA’s August 2026 figure, 18.16¢ per kWh, was up 3.4% from August 2025 nationally. If your cost per kWh rose much more than that, look on the bill for a new or larger rider, or check your state’s rate picture on our electric rates by state page. Our explainer on how electric rate cases work shows how increases reach bills.

7. Supply price or a contract that ended

In states with retail choice, the supply (generation) part of your bill can come from a supplier. If a fixed-price contract ended and rolled into a variable rate, the supply line can jump with no change in use. Compare that line with your utility’s price to compare, as we explain in comparing supplier offers.

8. Time-of-use or demand charges

If you are on a time-of-use plan, the same kWh cost more in peak hours, so shifting laundry or EV charging into the peak raises the bill. Some plans also charge for your highest demand in a short interval. See time-of-use rates and residential demand charges to check whether either applies to you.

What to do next

1. Check the bill for errors: the meter number, the read type (actual or estimated), the number of days and the rate plan name.
2. Call the utility if something doesn’t add up. Ask whether the reading was estimated and whether a usage history or interval data is available online.
3. Spread the cost if you need to. Budget billing evens out monthly payments, though it doesn’t lower your annual cost. If you’re behind, see our guide to energy bill assistance.
4. Then consider bigger fixes. Weatherizing, a more efficient heating system or solar can cut use or cost for years. Solar reduces the energy part of the bill but not fixed customer charges, as we explain in fixed charges and solar savings.

Sources and verification

Checked October 27, 2026. Your utility’s rates, billing rules and read schedule will differ from these examples.

Ameren Missouri is asking state regulators to raise its electric base rates by about $343 million a year. Ameren says the average residential bill, for a home using 1,011 kWh a month, would rise by about $13 a month if the request is approved as filed. The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) has not ruled, and Ameren expects new rates in mid-2027, after a PSC review it puts at 11 months.

The case is ER-2026-0291, filed June 26, 2026. It covers Ameren Missouri’s roughly 1.1 million residential electric customers, including customers in the St. Louis area. For Evergy’s pending case and the rest of the state, see our Missouri electric rates and solar overview.

The Request at a Glance

What Ameren Is Asking For

Ameren’s cover letter says its proposed tariffs are designed to raise “electric base rate annual revenues by approximately $343 million.” The filing’s summary schedule puts the total at $342,883,000, or “an overall increase of approximately 10.4% on a pro forma basis.”

Homes would carry about half of that. The filing assigns $171.2 million of the increase to residential service, a 10.2% rise for the class. Spread over 1,107,969 residential customers, Ameren puts the average change at $154.53 a year, or about $12.88 a month. Separately, Ameren estimates about $13 a month for a home using 1,011 kWh.

What the 10.2% implies about today’s bill. If $154.53 is 10.2% of the average residential customer’s annual bill, that bill is about $1,515 a year today, or roughly $126 a month. That is our calculation from Ameren’s two figures, not a number Ameren published, and your bill depends on your own usage.

The filing uses a test year of the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, with costs updated (“trued up”) through December 31, 2026. That means the final figure can move as Ameren’s actual costs through the end of this year are reviewed.

Ameren gives these reasons in its June 26 announcement:

• Storm hardening and grid upgrades: rebuilding lines in North St. Louis and Southeast Missouri after the spring 2025 tornadoes and storms, plus new and upgraded substations and stronger utility poles. Ameren says this kind of work “helped prevent more than 260,000 customer outages” from January 2025 through May 2026.
• Generation: work at the Labadie Energy Center, upgrading the Audrain Energy Center to run on two fuels in extreme weather, and “400 megawatts of new generation” from three new energy centers expected online by the end of 2026.
• Data centers: Ameren says it “is not currently serving any large load data center customers” and that the costs of serving announced data centers are not driving this request. The filing adds a separate large-load customer class, as the PSC ordered in an earlier case (ET-2025-0184).

Ameren also says its residential rates are about 27% below Midwest and national averages, citing an Edison Electric Institute report through June 30, 2025. We have not checked that comparison independently.

Fuel costs stay on a separate track. The filing says 95% of future changes in Ameren’s net energy costs will still pass through its fuel adjustment clause. So fuel-driven bill changes can arrive between rate cases, up or down.

A Proposed Discount for Lower-Income Households

Ameren’s release says it is “establishing a new income-eligible discount rate” meant to offset the increase for the customers who can least afford it. According to St. Louis Public Radio, the proposal would give 20% off to households under 150% of the federal poverty line and 10% off to other eligible customers. The Consumers Council of Missouri told the station it was still reviewing how the relief plan is structured. The PSC has not ruled on the discount, and the eligibility details may change.

Where the Case Stands

The PSC’s case calendar sets out the steps. As of October 27, 2026, we found no settlement and no decision.

The December 4 filing is the first point where the PSC’s staff and other parties, such as consumer advocates, are scheduled to put their own revenue numbers on the record. Those figures can be well below what a utility requests. In Ameren’s last electric case, the PSC approved an agreement for $355 million on April 23, 2025, after Ameren asked for $446 million. The outcome of this case is not known.

The calendar also lists local public hearings, but we could not confirm their dates, so check the PSC’s announcements. To comment, KFVS reported the PSC’s channels: email pscinfo@psc.mo.gov, call 800-392-4211, or write to P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, MO 65102, citing ER-2026-0291.

What It Means for Your Bill and for Solar

For most households: an increase near $13 a month would not start until mid-2027 if approved. The split matters as much as the total. The December 18 rate design testimony will show whether more of the increase lands on the fixed customer charge (now $9 a month for residential customers, unchanged in the 2025 case; we have not checked whether this filing proposes a change) or on per-kWh charges. Our guide to reading your electric bill shows where each line appears.

For solar owners and shoppers: Ameren credits solar in two ways. Solar you use at home avoids buying power at the retail rate. Surplus beyond your usage earns an avoided-cost credit, which Ameren lists at 3.84¢ per kWh in summer (June to September) and 3.39¢ in winter (October to May). Net metering applies to systems of 100 kW or less.

So a base rate increase helps solar in one place: every kWh you produce and use yourself becomes worth more. It does little for surplus. A system sized so production stays near or below your monthly use gets the most from higher rates. If more of the increase goes into the fixed charge, solar offsets less of it, as we explain in fixed charges and solar savings.

If you are getting solar quotes now, ask the installer which Ameren rates the savings estimate assumes. A quote built on today’s rates may understate savings if the increase is approved, and a quote that assumes the full request may overstate them.

What to Watch

1. December 4, 2026: the first testimony from the PSC staff and other parties on how much of the $343 million is justified.
2. December 18, 2026: rate design, including any change to the $9 customer charge.
3. Spring 2027: a settlement or a PSC order, with new rates expected in mid-2027.

For how these steps fit together, see how electric rate cases work.

Limitations

The $13 a month figure is Ameren’s estimate for a home using 1,011 kWh. The details of the income-eligible discount come from a news report of the proposal, not the tariff itself. We could not open the PSC’s suspension order, and the local public hearing dates on the case calendar could not be confirmed. Ameren’s rate comparison with Midwest and national averages is the company’s claim.

Sources and verification

Checked October 27, 2026. Figures in the rate case are requests, not approved rates.

For most homeowners with a good, unshaded roof who plan to stay put, rooftop solar saves more over time, but it costs thousands of dollars up front. Community solar usually costs nothing to start and trims roughly 5% to 20% off the value of your bill credits, according to EnergySage. That makes it the practical choice for renters, shaded homes and people who may move.

Below we compare the two on cost, savings, contracts and who each one suits, with a worked example you can redo with your own bill. If you’re leaning toward rooftop panels, our solar payback guide walks through the math without the federal tax credit.

How each option works

Community solar. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) describes community solar as “any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits flow to multiple customers.” In most cases the panels sit at an off-site array. You “subscribe to—or in some cases own—a portion of the energy generated,” and subscribers receive “an electric bill credit for electricity generated by their share of the community solar system,” usually applied directly to your monthly bill. You typically pay the project less than the credits are worth; in an EnergySage example, $1 of bill credit costs 90 cents. Your utility still delivers your power.

How the credit shows up varies. Minnesota’s Commerce Department describes two models: one where your bill shows “a credit based on the dollar value of your share,” and an energy credit model where your share of output is subtracted from the usage on your bill.

Rooftop solar. You own (or lease) panels on your own home. Power you use as it’s produced directly cuts what you buy from the utility. Power you send to the grid is credited under your utility’s net metering or net billing rules, which differ a lot by state and utility. Our net metering guide by state explains those differences.

Side by side

Availability is the first filter for community solar. NREL says “24 states and the District of Columbia have policies that enable community solar” (as of February 2025), and projects fill up. In New Jersey, for example, Atlantic City notes that capacity “is limited and available on a first come first served basis.”

A worked example: what each could save

These figures are illustrations to show the method. Swap in your own numbers from your bill.

Assumptions

• Usage: 899 kWh a month, EIA’s average for U.S. residential customers (2022, the latest year on EIA’s FAQ).
• Price: 18.16¢ per kWh, EIA’s U.S. average residential price for August 2026 (released October 23, 2026). This average includes fixed charges spread across each kWh.
• Monthly bill equivalent: 899 × $0.1816 = about $163.26.

Community solar at a 10% discount. If your subscription were sized to cover all of your usage and the credits were worth the full 18.16¢ per kWh, a 10% discount would save about $16.33 a month ($163.26 × 10%), or about $196 a year. At 5% it would be about $8.16 a month; at 20%, about $32.65.

That is a best case. In practice:

• The discount applies to the credits, not your whole bill (EnergySage). Fixed customer charges are not discounted.
• The credit may be worth less than the full retail price per kWh, depending on the program, so the dollar savings can be smaller. Treasury’s advisory says the agreement should disclose the expected bill credit rate; ask for it in cents per kWh.
• Savings can vary month to month, because the array produces less in winter.

Rooftop solar. At EnergySage’s median of $2.57 per watt, a 7 kW system would cost about $17,990 before any state or utility incentives (7,000 W × $2.57). With no federal credit for 2026 installs, that is the starting figure. How fast it pays back depends on how much power the system makes on your roof and how your utility credits exports. Suppose, purely as an illustration, the system cut your bill by $120 a month. Simple payback would be about 12.5 years ($17,990 ÷ $1,440 a year), before loan interest, maintenance or rate changes. After that, most of the savings would be yours, which is why rooftop solar usually wins over the long run. If your roof is shaded or your utility pays little for exports, the savings are lower and payback longer. Our solar system size calculator estimates output for your location.

The bottom line of the example. Community solar might save roughly $100 to $400 a year in our example with no investment and little risk. Rooftop solar asks for a large up-front sum (or a loan) but can cut a much bigger share of the bill for decades. EnergySage reaches the same general conclusion: “You’ll save the most in almost every situation by installing solar panels at home,” with community solar as the option when that isn’t feasible.

When community solar makes more sense

• You rent, or live in a condo or apartment where you can’t put panels on the roof. DOE says community solar “can be a great option for people who are unable to install solar panels on their roofs.”
• Your roof won’t work: heavy shade, wrong orientation, too small, or due for replacement. NREL says “42% of households and 44% of businesses are unable to utilize behind-the-meter solar.”
• You may move within a few years and don’t want to recover a large investment.
• You can’t or don’t want to borrow thousands of dollars.

When rooftop solar makes more sense

• You own the home, have a sunny roof in good condition, and plan to stay long enough to pass the payback point.
• Your utility credits rooftop solar reasonably, through net metering or a fair export rate.
• You want backup power. Pairing panels with a home battery can keep some circuits running in an outage; community solar can’t. See whether solar panels work in a power outage.

Contract terms to check before you sign

Community solar contracts vary widely. DOE’s best-practice list says to look for “No exit fees, termination fees, sign-up fees, or other fees included in the contract,” and to check your state’s consumer protections. A Treasury Department consumer advisory suggests asking:

• “Am I ensured a bill credit or monthly electric bill savings?”
• “How long does the contract last?”
• “Can I cancel the contract early? Are there cancellation fees or other charges?”
• “What happens to my contract if I move to a new address?”
• “Will the monthly subscription price stay the same during the contract term?”

Terms differ by program. Minnesota’s Commerce Department says commitments for its community solar gardens are “often 20-25 years, but in limited instances, may be year-to-year,” while EnergySage says many programs don’t require a long commitment and you can typically cancel without a penalty after giving notice. Atlantic City says the New Jersey projects it supports have “no sign up, cancellation fees, or credit requirements.” Get the term, notice period and any fee in writing.

For rooftop solar, the key documents are the installer’s proposal and any loan or lease. Our guide to comparing solar quotes lists the numbers to check, including the cash price and production estimate.

Is community solar still growing?

Yes, but unevenly. Wood Mackenzie said in April 2026 that cumulative U.S. community solar installations reached 10.1 GWdc at the end of 2025, and it expects installations to rebound 12% in 2026, then contract an average of 5% a year through 2030 in existing state programs, though new state programs could add upside. Our earlier report on community solar subscriptions and cancellations covers subscriber trends. What it means for you: if a project in your area is enrolling, compare its written terms now rather than assuming the same offer will be there later.

Sources and verification

All calculations are ours, using the assumptions shown. They are estimates, not quotes.

Evergy Missouri Metro is asking Missouri regulators to raise its base rates by about $137.9 million a year. Evergy says that would add about $17.70 a month for an average residential customer if approved as filed. It is a request, not an approved rate: the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) has not ruled, and Evergy expects new rates in January 2027.

The case is ER-2026-0143, filed February 6, 2026. It covers only Evergy Missouri Metro, which serves parts of the Kansas City area plus Marshall, Salisbury and Carrollton. For Ameren Missouri’s pending case and the statewide picture, see where Missouri electric rates stand in 2026.

The Request at a Glance

What Evergy Is Asking For

Evergy filed new tariffs on February 6, 2026. In its announcement, the utility put the request at 14.9%, or $137.9 million, and said an average residential customer would pay about $17.70 more a month. Over a year, that is about $212.40 ($17.70 × 12). Evergy did not state the monthly kWh behind its “average residential customer,” so your change will differ with your usage.

The percentages differ slightly by source. Evergy’s release says “the request also includes a 0.3% increase to address fuel costs.” A position statement that Google LLC, a party to the case, filed on September 25, 2026 says Evergy “seeks to increase the rates of all customer classes 15.19%.” That is close to 14.9% plus 0.3%, but no source we found confirms how the figures add up, so treat about 15% as the size of the ask across customer classes.

Evergy gives three reasons:

• Investment: more than $500 million in infrastructure, including grid upgrades, since its last Missouri Metro rate review in 2022.
• Offsets: about $110 million in savings and credits, which Evergy says include tax credits from Wolf Creek and solar, lower benefit and pension costs, transmission revenue and projected demand growth.
• Data centers: Evergy says the request is not driven by new data centers, and that it lowered the request by $25 million to reflect expected 2026 data center revenue. The PSC’s notice also says the request does not include the costs of serving Kansas City-area data centers.

The PSC noted that Evergy had to file a rate case because it uses a fuel adjustment clause, and the authority for those adjustments expires after four years without one.

Where the Case Stands

On February 19, 2026, the PSC suspended Evergy’s proposed tariffs “until January 6, 2027” and scheduled the evidentiary hearing for September 28 through October 9, 2026, in Jefferson City. Public hearings were held in Kansas City on July 14, in Marshall on July 15 and online on July 16.

We found no settlement of the overall revenue increase. Google’s September 25 position statement, filed days before the hearing, lists contested issues for the hearing and post-hearing briefs, including its opposition to raising rates for very large customers under the proposal. As of October 25, 2026, we found no PSC decision. The Commission is expected to rule before the January 6, 2027 suspension date. Regulators can approve less than a utility requests: in Ameren Missouri’s last electric case, the PSC approved an agreement for $355 million after Ameren asked for $446 million. The outcome here is not known.

A Small Decrease Already on October Bills

A separate change has already reached bills. On September 14, 2026, the PSC approved a new fuel adjustment rate for Evergy Missouri Metro, effective October 1, 2026 (cases EO-2027-0031 and ER-2027-0032).

The order lists a fuel adjustment rate of ($0.00084) per kWh; it does not explain how that rate produces the $0.21 residential figure, so rely on the monthly amounts above. Fuel adjustments are reset on a schedule and are subject to later true-up and prudence review, so this line can move again.

What the two changes mean together. Using Evergy’s own numbers, and only as a rough comparison: the October fuel change takes about $1.63 off a 1,000 kWh bill, while the base rate request, if approved in full, would add about $17.70 for an average customer. The two figures may assume different usage, and fuel adjustments change periodically, so you cannot simply net them for future months.

What It Means for Your Bill and for Solar

For most households: a base rate case changes the parts of your bill that do not depend on fuel prices, such as the customer charge and the per-kWh energy and delivery charges. Our guide to reading your electric bill shows where each appears. If you are on a tight budget, the base rate change would not start until 2027, which leaves time to look at budget billing or bill assistance.

For solar owners and shoppers: Missouri’s Net Metering and Easy Connection Act applies to Evergy Missouri Metro. According to the Missouri Division of Energy, solar output first offsets the power you would buy in the same billing period. Any net surplus earns a credit based on the utility’s avoided fuel cost, which is far below the retail rate.

That split matters here. A base rate increase raises the value of every solar kWh you use in your own home, because each one avoids a higher retail charge. It does little for kWh you send back as a monthly surplus. A system sized so production stays at or below your monthly use gets the most out of a higher rate. Fixed customer charges are the one part solar cannot reduce, as we explain in fixed charges and solar savings.

We could not open Evergy’s own net metering tariff page to confirm its current avoided-cost credit, so ask Evergy for the current figure before relying on a quote’s export assumptions.

What to Watch

1. A PSC decision before January 6, 2027. The final increase, and the residential monthly figure, may differ from the $17.70 request.
2. Rate design. Watch whether the customer charge or the per-kWh charges carry more of any increase. That changes how much solar can offset.
3. The next fuel adjustment. It can move in either direction.

For the step-by-step process, see how electric rate cases work.

Limitations

The $17.70 a month figure is Evergy’s estimate and does not state a usage level. We did not find a PSC Staff or Office of the Public Counsel recommended revenue figure in the public documents we could open, and we did not find a hearing transcript confirming the hearing concluded on schedule. The fuel adjustment order has internal inconsistencies in its file numbers, so we cite both case numbers shown in its caption.

Sources and verification

Checked October 25, 2026. Figures in the rate case are requests, not approved rates.

Selling a house with a solar lease usually comes down to one step: transferring the lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) to your buyer. Tesla says its agreements transfer to the new owner about 98% of the time. When a buyer won’t take the contract, you can usually prepay or buy out the rest of it, or in some cases move the panels. The key is starting early, as soon as you have an offer.

This guide covers leases and PPAs, where a solar company owns the panels on your roof. If you own your system outright or with a loan, the questions are different; see whether solar panels increase home value for how owned systems are appraised. For how leases compare with buying in the first place, see solar lease vs. buying.

Your Four Options at a Glance

The options come from the providers’ and the FTC’s guidance cited below. Your contract decides which you actually have, so read it first.

Option 1: Transfer the Lease or PPA

Transfer is the default, and the big providers have dedicated teams for it. Here is how two of them describe the process:

Tesla. The company says the transfer “should be initiated as soon as you are in contract with a buyer,” and only the system owner can start it. You request it in your Tesla account and enter the buyer’s and escrow details. Tesla then contacts the buyer to review the agreement, sends a transfer agreement to sign electronically, releases any title filing once it receives the signed agreement and any fee, and the seller confirms the closing with Tesla through escrow. Any balance or prepayment due “is due before or at the time of closing.”

Sunrun. Sunrun asks sellers to contact its service transfer team “as soon as you receive an offer on your home.” The buyer completes an online application with a soft credit check, which Sunrun says “will not impact their credit or affect their home loan.” Both parties sign a transfer form, and after closing you send Sunrun the settlement statement, closing disclosure or recorded deed. Sunrun says customers on prepaid yearly leases skip the credit step.

What the FTC says to check in your contract: whether you are allowed to transfer it, whether you must give written notice first, and whether the buyer will have to “meet credit requirements or pay any fees before taking over the contract.”

Making the transfer easy for a buyer

Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that helps homeowners go solar, links most buyer refusals to poor disclosure and missing savings information. Give your agent, and the buyer, these numbers up front:

1. The monthly payment, and the yearly escalator if there is one.
2. The years left on the contract.
3. Your past 12 months of electric bills, so the buyer can see what the system saves.
4. Who maintains the system. Under a lease or PPA, the company that owns it handles operations and maintenance, which can be a selling point.

Solar United Neighbors also suggests making the transfer a contingency in the sale contract, so a problem shows up before closing rather than at it.

Option 2: Prepay or Buy Out the Contract

If the buyer won’t take over the contract, or doesn’t qualify, you can usually pay it off.

• Prepay the rest. Sunrun says you “can prepay for the remainder of your service and bundle it into the price of your home.” The buyer then gets the power with no monthly bill. Sunrun says it can remove the system at no extra cost when the agreement ends.
• Buy out the system. Some contracts let you buy the panels, after which they convey with the house like any other owned equipment. Solar United Neighbors notes that buying the system may not be possible until typically five years into the contract.

What a payoff can cost: an illustration. Suppose your lease costs $120 a month, rises 2.9% a year, and has eight years left. The remaining payments add up to about $12,760 ($120 × 12 in the first year, growing 2.9% a year for eight years). Without the escalator, it would be $11,520 ($120 × 96). These are hypothetical figures, not any company’s terms. Your company may offer a discount for paying early, so ask for the actual payoff figure in writing.

That number is the reason to start early: a buyer who takes over the contract saves you from paying it.

Option 3: Move the Panels

Some providers let you take the system with you. The FTC tells consumers to check whether the contract “let[s] you move the system to your new home” and “what will that cost.” Solar United Neighbors puts removal and reinstallation at $500 to $2,500, and notes that the new roof must suit the system and that you need new utility approval to connect it. Your provider decides whether your new roof qualifies.

The Paperwork: UCC-1 Filings and Notices

Many solar companies record a UCC-1 fixture filing or a notice of solar contract in the county property records. It tells the world that the company, not you, owns the equipment. It is not a mortgage on your house, but a buyer’s lender or title company will see it and want it dealt with.

Typically the company releases the filing for the closing and re-files it under the new owner after a transfer. Tesla’s terms show the time and cost involved:

• Fee: a $150 document processing fee to temporarily release or subordinate a UCC-1 or similar recorded solar contract notice.
• Time: “approximately 15 to 20 business days” if you ask Tesla to record the release.
• If the sale falls through: Tesla begins re-filing 60 days after sending a release, so tell the company if closing is delayed or canceled.

Sunrun says it will temporarily remove its lien-related filing during the transfer process “at no cost to you.”

How Leased Panels Affect Appraisal and Price

Fannie Mae’s appraisal guidance says the appraiser “may not include the value of the solar panels in the appraised value of the property” when the panels are leased or covered by a PPA. In practice, price the home as if the panels were not there, and use the savings, not the equipment, as the selling point.

Research backs that up. As we covered in our solar and home value guide, a Berkeley Lab study of California sales found no evidence that buyers paid more for homes with third-party-owned solar.

A Timeline That Works

If Your Solar Company Has Gone Out of Business

If the company that sold you the lease has failed, your contract may now be serviced by a different company. The transfer steps are similar, but finding the right contact can take longer, so start earlier still. See our guide to what happens when your solar installer goes out of business.

Limitations

Contract terms vary by company, state and contract date; this guide describes the published processes of Tesla and Sunrun and general guidance from the FTC and Solar United Neighbors. We did not review individual contracts. The payoff illustration is hypothetical. Mortgage lenders apply their own rules to how a buyer’s lease payment counts against their loan; the buyer should ask their lender. This is not legal advice.

Sources and verification

Checked October 25, 2026.

Entergy Arkansas says its pending rate case would raise a typical household bill by about $1.16 a month at 1,000 kWh, less than 1%. A clean energy business group in the case projects 4.9%. Neither figure is approved: the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) holds its final public comment hearing on October 27, 2026, and an evidentiary hearing on November 4 and 5, and any change would start with January 2027 bills.

The filing is Docket No. 26-001-U, which the Southern Renewable Energy Association describes as Entergy Arkansas’s first full rate case in a decade. It covers base rates for Entergy Arkansas’s approximately 735,000 customers. It does not cover the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider, fuel costs, SWEPCO or the cooperatives; our overview of Arkansas electric rates and the state’s solar rules covers those 2026 changes.

The Request at a Glance

Why the Rate Notice Looks So Much Worse Than $1.16

Entergy’s legal notice lists present and proposed residential charges. At first glance every line jumps by about half:

The catch is the “present” column. Since 2016, Entergy Arkansas has adjusted rates through annual formula rate plan (FRP) filings rather than full rate cases. Those adjustments sit in a separate rider billed as a percentage of base revenue: 52.4369% for residential customers, according to the notice. The proposal folds that rider into base rates and resets it to zero.

So today’s real base charge is the listed rate plus 52.4369%. The customer charge is $8.40 × 1.524369 = about $12.80, against $12.92 proposed. The winter energy charge for the first 1,500 kWh is 6.990¢ × 1.524369 = about 10.66¢, against 10.758¢ proposed. Each line rises about 1% in practice, not 54%.

Our check of the $1.16 figure

We recalculated a 1,000 kWh residential bill from the notice’s rates. Assumptions: Rate RS, 1,000 kWh every month, the FRP rider applied to both the customer charge and energy charges (the notice calls it a percent of base revenue), and four summer months (June to September) and eight winter months. We left out fuel and other riders that this case does not change.

That matches Entergy’s figure. The increase is about 0.96% of these base charges, and a smaller share of the whole bill once fuel and other riders are added. The same math gives about +$0.63 a month at 500 kWh in winter and +$2.04 at 2,000 kWh in winter.

Why Critics Put It Closer to 5%

The AAEA, a trade group of clean energy and efficiency businesses that has intervened in the case, projects a 4.9% increase under Entergy’s formula rate proposal, according to Arkansas Business. We could not read the group’s full analysis or the paywalled article, so we cannot say exactly what the 4.9% includes.

Two other charges move alongside the rate case, and neither is in the $1.16 figure:

• The January 2027 FRP adjustment. The rate notice said Entergy would file an FRP netting adjustment in July 2026, effective January 2027, which it then anticipated would be greater than zero. The FRP filing Entergy made on July 7, 2026, in Docket No. 16-036-FR, for the same January 2027 start, instead proposes a decrease: $8.8 million (−0.34%) overall and $4.2 million (−0.37%) for residential customers, with the residential rider set at −0.4885%, down from 52.4369%. It is pending. If the commission has not ruled by December 15, 2026, it takes effect January 4, 2027, subject to refund. Our rough estimate, if both filings were approved as filed: 0.4885% of an average proposed 1,000 kWh base bill of about $122.56 is about $0.60, which would cut the $1.16 increase to roughly $0.56 a month. Entergy is also proposing a new version of the formula rate plan for later years, according to AAEA’s summary of testimony.
• The Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider. This separate charge for power plants under construction was filed to start with June 2026 bills and is updated each year. Our Arkansas hub puts the 2026 step at about $4.22 a month at 1,000 kWh after a nuclear tax credit, based on Talk Business & Politics reporting. We have not confirmed that it was approved as filed.

AAEA’s Lauren Waldrip told Powering Arkansas that the residential increase is “likely closer to five percent.” The gap between that and Entergy’s figure may come down to which riders and later adjustments each side counts, but we could not confirm AAEA’s method.

Entergy has said that the combined change from the rider and this rate review is expected to be at or below past FRP changes.

What Other Parties Are Asking For

Written testimony was filed on August 19, 2026, according to AAEA’s summary, which we could not check against the testimony itself:

• Attorney General’s office: witness Greg Meyer proposed adjustments that would cut Entergy’s updated deficiency by about $106.7 million, and said current rates would produce “excessive earnings.” Witness Christopher Walters recommended a return on equity no higher than 9.35%, against Entergy’s 9.9%.
• Hospitals and Higher Education Group: recommended about $120.5 million in adjustments, which would turn the request into a $75.8 million decrease, with a 9.3% return on equity.
• APSC General Staff: recommended rejecting Entergy’s proposed increases by customer class and setting rates from Staff’s own cost-of-service study, according to AAEA. Its dollar figure was not in the summary we read.

Other parties have raised planning issues rather than numbers. The Southern Renewable Energy Association filed testimony arguing that Entergy’s resource and transmission planning needs competitive procurement and longer horizons.

Who Else Pays More

Entergy’s notice shows the residential class as a whole essentially flat over the test period (a $243 change), even though our 1,000 kWh example rises about 1%; the notice’s class totals reflect the whole class under test-year conditions and are not a per-household bill estimate. The increase lands elsewhere: about 7.03% for the small general service class (small businesses) and 0.94% for the large general service class. Powering Arkansas reports AAEA’s estimate that agricultural irrigation customers could see increases approaching 12%; we did not verify that figure.

Entergy also proposes a new optional residential time-of-use rate, with on-peak energy at 31.041¢/kWh, off-peak at 10.347¢ and a discount period at 6.208¢, plus the $12.92 customer charge. The notice shows no proposed rates for the two existing residential time-of-use schedules.

What It Means for Your Bill and for Solar

For most households, the base rate reset itself is a small change. Proposed charges track today’s charges-plus-rider at about +1% on every line, so the bill shape stays the same: no big shift from energy charges to the fixed customer charge. The larger questions for 2027 bills are what the commission approves in both pending filings and the size of the next Jobs Act rider step.

For solar owners and shoppers:

• Fixed charge: the customer charge you pay with or without panels goes from about $12.80 to $12.92 in effect, about 12 cents.
• Self-consumed solar: each kWh you produce and use yourself avoids the energy charge, which rises about 1%. That nudges solar savings up slightly.
• Exports: Arkansas systems installed after September 30, 2024, are on net billing, with surplus paid at the utility’s avoided cost, so this case does little for exported power. Our explainer on fixed charges and solar savings shows why the fixed part of a bill matters.
• Time of use: if you add a battery, the proposed time-of-use rate’s 31¢ peak and 6.2¢ discount period could reward shifting use. Run the numbers on your own load before switching.

How to Comment

• Public comment hearing: 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, 2026, El Dorado Conference Center, 311 S. West Avenue, El Dorado, AR 71730.
• Evidentiary hearing: set for 9:30 a.m. November 4 and 5, 2026, APSC Hearing Room, 1000 Center Street, Little Rock.
• In writing: send comments referencing Docket No. 26-001-U to the APSC Secretary, P.O. Box 400, Little Rock, AR 72201, as listed in Entergy’s notice, or check the APSC website for online filing.

To see which lines on your bill this case touches, use our guide to reading your electric bill. Our explainer on how electric rate cases work covers what happens after the hearings.

Limitations

We could not open the APSC docket, the testimony, or the AAEA and Arkansas Times analyses directly; party positions come from AAEA’s published summary and are labeled as such. Our bill math assumes the FRP rider applies to all base charges and excludes fuel and other riders. The combined $0.56 estimate assumes the July FRP filing’s −0.4885% applies to the proposed base rates; the commission may change either filing.

Sources and verification

Checked October 24, 2026. Figures are requests, not approved rates.

Owned solar panels usually make a house worth more. The largest U.S. study found buyers paid about $4 per watt of solar, roughly $15,000 for an average 3.6 kW system, and Zillow found homes with solar sold for 4.1% more on average. Leased panels are different: research has found no premium for homes with third-party-owned systems, and mortgage rules leave them out of the appraisal entirely.

This guide covers what the research found, why ownership matters more than anything else, how appraisers value solar, and what to check before you buy or sell a home with panels. It applies to rooftop systems on single-family homes in the U.S.

What the Research Found

Three patterns run through these studies.

Premiums are real but local. Berkeley Lab found premiums “across various states, housing and PV markets and home types.” Zillow’s premium ranged from 3.6% to 5.4% across the metro areas it named. A buyer in a high-rate state with retail net metering has more reason to pay for panels than one in a low-rate state with low export credits.

Value fades with age. Berkeley Lab found the market depreciates solar value over a system’s first 10 years faster than the panels lose output or than straight-line depreciation over their useful life would suggest. A two-year-old system is worth more to a buyer than a 12-year-old one.

The data is old. The largest studies cover sales before 2014, when solar cost far more per watt than today. Berkeley Lab noted in 2015 that premiums for individual homes were likely getting smaller as installed prices fell, and that the net cost of a system after incentives was a good predictor of the premium. The newest figures above come from a solar company’s analysis of California sales, which we could only read in summary, so treat its 5–10% range as indicative.

Owned vs. Leased: The Part That Decides It

How the panels are owned matters more than their size or brand.

• Owned outright or paid off. The panels are part of the house. Appraisers count them and buyers inherit the savings with no contract.
• Owned with a solar loan. You own the panels, but the loan may carry a lien or a UCC-1 fixture filing, a public notice of the lender’s claim on the equipment. Depending on what it covers, the buyer’s lender may require it to be paid off or released at closing, which would come out of your sale proceeds.
• Leased or on a power purchase agreement (PPA). A company owns the panels. The buyer has to qualify for and take over the contract, or you buy it out or pay to remove the system. Berkeley Lab’s 2017 study suggested that the contract’s obligations may offset the savings, which would explain why buyers paid neither more nor less.

The Federal Trade Commission tells shoppers to ask, before signing a lease or PPA, whether the contract can be transferred to a buyer, whether the buyer must meet credit requirements or pay fees, and whether the system can be moved. Since the 30% homeowner tax credit ended for systems installed after 2025, more installers are offering leases, so these questions matter more in 2026. Our guide to solar leases vs. buying compares the total costs.

How Appraisers Value Solar

Most U.S. mortgages follow Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules, and both draw the same line.

Leased and PPA panels are excluded. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide says panels that are leased or financed through a PPA “must be considered personal property and not be included in the appraised value.” Freddie Mac’s guide says the same, and also excludes panels a lender could repossess if their financing went unpaid.

Owned panels must be recognized. Fannie Mae requires appraisers to compare the home’s energy features with those of comparable sales. They may use cost or income estimates to support that comparison, but they may not add value dollar for dollar from the equipment and installation cost, and they may not rely on cost or savings estimates alone.

That last rule is why a seller who paid $25,000 for panels should not expect a $25,000 bump in the appraisal. If few nearby sales include solar, the appraiser has little market evidence to work with. Sellers can help by giving the appraiser the system’s size, age, ownership papers and production records.

Lease payments and buyer qualification. Freddie Mac lets a lender leave a lease payment out of the buyer’s debt-to-income ratio only if the lease delivers a set amount of energy with a production guarantee, and a PPA payment only if it is based solely on energy produced. Payments on financed panels count as debt.

Does the Premium Cover the Cost?

Nobody has measured that for today’s market. Here is what the numbers do and don’t show:

• Berkeley Lab premium: about $4 per watt × 3,600 watts = $14,400, which the report rounds to roughly $15,000, for sales from 2002 to 2013, when installed prices were far higher than today.
• Today’s price: EnergySage reports a marketplace median of $2.57 per watt in the first half of 2026. A 7.6 kW system at that price would cost 7,600 × $2.57 = $19,532.

Per watt, the old $4 premium is higher than today’s $2.57 price, but that does not mean a new system would add $4 a watt now. Berkeley Lab found premiums tracked a system’s net cost after incentives, so as prices have fallen, premiums have likely fallen with them. Add fast depreciation in the first years and the rule against dollar-for-dollar appraisals, and installing solar just before a sale is a weak bet on resale value alone. Solar pays mostly through bill savings while you live in the house; our guide to the solar payback period shows how to estimate that, and the solar system size calculator estimates the system you would need.

Property Taxes

Added value can mean a higher assessment, but many states exempt it. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says 36 states offer property tax exemptions that let homeowners leave the added value of a solar system out of their taxable valuation. Rules differ on how long the exemption lasts and whether you must apply, so check with your county assessor.

Checklist for Sellers

1. Find the ownership papers. Purchase contract, loan payoff letter, or lease or PPA with its transfer and buyout terms.
2. Search for a UCC-1 filing or lien on the property and arrange for it to be released or paid off at closing.
3. Gather 12 months of production data and utility bills to show buyers what the system saves.
4. Collect the warranties for panels, inverter and workmanship, and confirm who honors them. If your installer has closed, see our guide to what to do when a solar installer goes out of business.
5. Tell your agent to list the system as owned with its size in kW and year installed, so appraisers and buyers can find it.

Checklist for Buyers

1. Ask whether the system is owned, financed or leased, and get the documents before you make an offer.
2. For a lease or PPA, read the remaining term, monthly payment, yearly escalator and transfer requirements, and ask your lender how it will be treated.
3. Check the system’s age and remaining warranties for panels, inverter and workmanship, and who honors them.
4. Ask the utility whether the system’s current solar credit terms carry over to a new owner. Export credit rules vary by state and utility.

Limitations

The largest studies use sales from before 2014 and may overstate today’s premiums. The 2026 California figures come from a company analysis we read only in summary. None of these studies can predict your home’s value; a local appraiser or agent can. This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.

Sources and verification

Checked October 24, 2026.

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

Buy the Tesla Powerwall 3 if you want the most continuous power from one unit, the FranklinWH aPower 2 if you want the biggest single battery with a 15-year warranty, and an Enphase IQ Battery if you want to add capacity in small steps or already run Enphase microinverters. These are our reading of manufacturer documents and published analyses as of October 24, 2026. We did not test any of them. See how we pick products.

Side-by-side

Sources: Tesla datasheet, FranklinWH, Enphase 10C, Enphase 5P, EnergySage (updated Apr 29, 2026). A third-party comparison by NuWatt Energy describes the 10C as AC-coupled; we did not confirm that on Enphase’s page. “Not stated” means the manufacturer page we read did not state it, not that the product lacks it.

Which should you buy?

If you want the most power from one box: Powerwall 3

Its 11.5 kW continuous discharge is the highest here, and the datasheet lists UL 1741, UL 9540, UL 9540A and UL 1973. Tesla’s page says the unit includes an integrated solar inverter, and the datasheet lists up to 20 kW of PV input. In a new solar-plus-storage install that can mean fewer boxes. The trade-off is the 10-year warranty, five years shorter than the other two.

Check Powerwall 3 price

If you want capacity and a long warranty: aPower 2

FranklinWH lists 15 kWh, 10 kW continuous, 15 years or 60 MWh, and IP67 protection. Its stacking limit of 15 units per aGate gives a ceiling of 225 kWh. The product page we read did not state a UL listing; ask for the document for the exact model.

Check aPower 2 price

If you want modular steps or already have Enphase: IQ Battery

The 5P adds 5.0 kWh and 3.84 kW per unit; the 10C adds 10 kWh and 7.08 kW. Both carry a 15-year warranty up to 6,000 cycles. The 5P requires an IQ System Controller 3 or 3G for backup and Enphase-certified commissioning. Per kWh, EnergySage lists the 10C at the highest price of the batteries in its table, so compare full quotes, not spec sheets.

Check IQ Battery price

Price check

EnergySage’s per-kWh figures (Apr 2026) are $998 for Powerwall 3, $1,177 for aPower 2 and $1,404 for IQ Battery 10C. Solar.com’s September 2026 installer price lists show medians of about $15,000 (Powerwall 3), $17,250 (aPower 2) and $14,250 (IQ Battery 10C) installed with solar, before incentives. These are marketplace medians and per-kWh averages, not quotes, and the 10C is smaller, so a lower total can still mean a higher price per kWh. Prices checked October 24, 2026.

Worked example (our math): $998 per kWh × 13.5 kWh = $13,473 for a Powerwall 3 at EnergySage’s per-kWh figure; $1,404 × 10 kWh = $14,040 for one 10C. The 10C costs more in total for 3.5 kWh less capacity at those figures.

Who should skip all three

• Homes with rare short outages and no time-of-use rate; a battery rarely pays back on bill savings alone.
• Buyers who need weeks of backup; solar recharge or a generator matters more than battery brand.
• Anyone counting on a federal credit; see below.

Incentives

The IRS says the residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. State, local and utility programs vary; check Rates by State and your utility. Leased or financed arrangements can be taxed differently; ask the provider for the written basis.

How to decide

1. Decide required kW (loads at once) and kWh (hours). See how to size a home battery.
2. If you already have Enphase microinverters, price an IQ Battery first; otherwise price all three.
3. Ask each installer for model numbers, warranty documents and UL certification for the exact unit.
4. Compare total installed price, not price per kWh alone.
5. Read the time-of-use guide if your utility has peak pricing.

Limitations

Specs are manufacturer-stated and sometimes nominal rather than usable. We found no independent owner-satisfaction data for these batteries; the Solar.com review analysis rates installers, not products. This is not tax or engineering advice.

Sources

• Tesla Powerwall 3 datasheet · FranklinWH aPower 2 · Enphase IQ Battery 10C · Enphase IQ Battery 5P (all accessed Oct 24, 2026)
• EnergySage (Apr 29, 2026) · Solar.com (Oct 1, 2026) · IRS
• NuWatt Energy (secondary)

Related: Best home batteries for backup power · Enphase IQ8 review

Affiliate disclosure. Solar Examiner may earn a commission from affiliate links on some guides. This article contains none, but our commercial relationships never decide what we recommend. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

To size a home battery, decide which loads must run, add up their kW (power at one moment), then multiply the average load by the hours you need to get kWh (energy). Buy enough units to cover both numbers. This guide gives the method, worked examples with assumed loads, and how many Tesla, Enphase and FranklinWH units each example needs. We did not test these batteries; specs are from manufacturer documents as of October 24, 2026. See how we pick products.

Want the arithmetic done for you? Use our home battery size calculator.

Step 1: Decide the goal

• Essential-load backup: refrigerator, lights, internet, some outlets, maybe a furnace blower or a well pump.
• Whole-home backup: everything, including air conditioning and an electric range.
• Bill management: shifting solar or off-peak energy into the evening on a time-of-use rate.

The goal changes the answer by a factor of several.

Step 2: List loads and kW

Use nameplates, a plug-in watt meter, a circuit-level monitor or your utility’s interval data. The loads below are assumed round numbers for illustration, not measurements. Your equipment will differ.

Add a margin for motor starts. A compressor, well pump or air conditioner needs a short surge above its running power. Manufacturer starting-current data is the right input; Tesla’s datasheet lists the ability to start loads up to 185 LRA, and FranklinWH says one aPower 2 can start a 5-ton air conditioner, so use your equipment’s own data and ask your installer.

Step 3: Convert to energy

Formula: kWh needed = average kW × hours.

Do not use the simultaneous total from step 2 as your average if loads cycle. A refrigerator runs part of the time. For a rough estimate use measured daily kWh, or estimate average kW at 50 to 70 percent of the simultaneous total for cycling loads, and say so.

Example A (essential loads, assumed): 1.2 kW average × 12 hours = 14.4 kWh.

Example B (larger, assumed): 2.5 kW average × 24 hours = 60 kWh.

For context, EIA’s residential consumption data show average annual electricity purchased per US residential customer of 10,791 kWh in 2022, about 899 kWh a month. Our math: 10,791 ÷ 365 = 29.6 kWh a day. EIA notes these are electricity purchases, which may understate use for homes with on-site solar, and the average varies widely by state (Louisiana 14,774 kWh; Hawaii 6,178 kWh).

Step 4: Adjust for real-world losses

• Usable vs nominal. Enphase states 5.0 kWh usable for the IQ Battery 5P; Tesla’s datasheet states 13.5 kWh nominal and does not state usable energy. Treat nominal as an upper bound.
• Round-trip losses. Energy you store is not all energy you get back. We use no single efficiency here; ask for the datasheet figure.
• Solar recharge. If panels cannot refill the battery on a cloudy day, plan for the battery as one-shot energy.
• Reserve. Leaving some capacity unused is common practice; ask how each system’s reserve setting works.

Step 5: Match the battery

Specs used (manufacturer sources, Oct 24, 2026):

Number of units = round up of the larger of (kWh needed ÷ capacity) and (peak kW ÷ continuous kW).

Example A (14.4 kWh, 2.05 kW peak, no surge margin):

• Powerwall 3: 14.4 ÷ 13.5 = 1.07 → 2 units (one unit comes up slightly short on nominal energy; a bit of solar recharge or lighter loads might make one workable, so ask).
• aPower 2: 14.4 ÷ 15 = 0.96 → 1 unit on paper, with little margin.
• IQ Battery 10C: 14.4 ÷ 10 = 1.44 → 2 units.
• IQ Battery 5P: 14.4 ÷ 5.0 = 2.88 → 3 units; power: 3 × 3.84 = 11.5 kW, plenty.

Example B (60 kWh, 2.5 kW average, assume 8 kW peak with surges):

• Powerwall 3: 60 ÷ 13.5 = 4.44 → 5 units; power 5 × 11.5 = 57.5 kW.
• aPower 2: 60 ÷ 15 = 4 → 4 units; power 4 × 10 = 40 kW.
• IQ Battery 10C: 60 ÷ 10 = 6 → 6 units; power 6 × 7.08 = 42.5 kW.

Notice that in Example B energy, not power, decides the count. A whole-home, multi-day goal is mainly a kWh problem, which is why solar recharge and load shedding matter more than a bigger battery. Also check whether the manufacturer limits how many units can stack.

Quick sizing summary

Who should skip oversizing

• If outages last a few hours, a larger battery buys little. See Do solar panels work in a power outage?.
• If you only want peak shaving, size to the peak window’s kWh, not the day.

Incentives

The IRS says the residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so more capacity is paid for at full price unless a state or utility program applies. Check Rates by State.

Checklist

1. Choose a goal and list loads.
2. Record running kW and starting surges.
3. Convert to kWh with hours.
4. Adjust for usable energy and losses.
5. Divide by capacity and round up on both kW and kWh.
6. Confirm stacking limits and electrical panel capacity with an installer.
7. Compare quotes. See how to compare solar quotes and our earlier battery sizing guide.

Limitations

Loads in the examples are assumed, not measured. Capacities are manufacturer-stated, partly nominal. Sizing is not engineering advice; have a licensed installer verify your electrical system.

Sources

• EIA, average residential electricity consumption (FAQ) (2022 data)
• Tesla Powerwall 3 datasheet · FranklinWH aPower 2 · Enphase 10C · Enphase 5P
• IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit

Related: Best home batteries for backup power

Affiliate disclosure. Solar Examiner may earn a commission from affiliate links on some guides. This article contains none, but our commercial relationships never decide what we recommend. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

To choose a heat pump, size it first (a Manual J load calculation), then compare HSPF2 (heating) and SEER2 (cooling) for the climate you live in, then compare installers and incentives. A bigger or “higher-SEER” unit is not automatically better. Figures here come from DOE, ENERGY STAR, NEEP and EnergySage, read October 24, 2026. See how we pick products and the model-by-model view in best heat pumps for cold climates.

The short answer

What SEER2 and HSPF2 mean

• SEER2: seasonal cooling efficiency, from DOE’s revised test procedure, designed to better reflect real installations.
• HSPF2: seasonal heating efficiency for heat pumps under the same revised procedure.
• Comparability: DOE says SEER2 and SEER are similar but “not directly comparable.” Compare new ratings to new ratings.

Minimums. DOE’s FAQ on the 2023 standards says split-system heat pumps must meet 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2 nationwide, effective January 1, 2023, with regional standards applying only to air conditioners. ENERGY STAR’s page links to its own criteria, which we did not read in full, so check the current ENERGY STAR product list for your model.

Which number to prioritize. DOE says in colder climates get the highest HSPF feasible and in warmer climates SEER matters more. For cold climates, the NEEP specification (v3.1) requires COP above 1.75 at 5°F, HSPF above 10 (non-ducted) or above 9 (ducted) and SEER above 15, and ENERGY STAR cold-climate units are tested down to 5°F.

Sizing

ENERGY STAR says a contractor should verify system size using Manual J. DOE’s Building America sizing guideline (2012) says equipment must be selected to meet the peak load without grossly oversizing, and for heat pumps limits capacity to 15% over the Manual J load in cooling-dominated climates, with heating capacity up to 25% over in heating-dominated climates. It also recommends a balance-point diagram to size supplemental and emergency heat.

What to ask for:

1. A written Manual J (heating and cooling loads) using your home’s real insulation, windows and air leakage.
2. Rated capacity at your design temperature from the manufacturer’s performance tables.
3. The plan for backup heat.
4. Duct condition and airflow. DOE recommends about 400 to 500 cfm per ton of cooling capacity and notes efficiency drops well below 350 cfm per ton.

Be wary of a quote that sizes by “rule of thumb” or by what your old system was. Our math for a sanity check (illustration only): if Manual J says your design heating load is 36,000 BTU/h, the 25% ceiling in a heating-dominated climate is 36,000 × 1.25 = 45,000 BTU/h of heating capacity at your design temperature.

Pick the type

DOE says mini-splits are generally the best retrofit option for homes without ductwork and allow zone heating. It estimates roughly 12 to 25 percent of homes in warmer climate zones and about 32 percent in colder zones lack ductwork. Ducted systems suit homes with good, sealed ducts.

Costs

EnergySage’s June 29, 2026 guide puts the average new heat pump at $15,393 before incentives and most installations at $14,353 to $25,957, based on marketplace quotes. Its November 2025 cold-climate guide reported whole-home installs averaging about $19,000 in 2025. Different scopes, so expect your quote to vary. See how to compare solar quotes for a similar quote checklist and winter heating costs for energy cost context.

Incentives

• Federal credit: the IRS says the energy efficient home improvement credit applies to improvements made through December 31, 2025 (with a $2,000 annual heat pump limit). EnergySage’s June 2026 guide says it is gone.
• State Home Energy Rebates: a June 2026 factsheet reports twelve states and DC had launched programs (it says thirteen in one place), targeted to low- and moderate-income households, with HEEHR rebates capped at $14,000 per household (Georgia and North Carolina up to $16,000).
• Utility and state rebates: vary widely. Check your state in Rates by State and your utility’s site.

Confirm eligibility with your state energy office and a tax professional.

Who should skip or delay

• Homes with severe air leakage or duct problems.
• Buyers whose installer won’t provide Manual J.
• Households with a very recent efficient system.
• Anyone relying on a federal credit.

Buying checklist

1. Written Manual J and design temperature.
2. Ducted or ductless.
3. HSPF2 and SEER2 for the exact model, and AHRI rating.
4. Capacity at low temperatures; cold-climate listing if you need it.
5. Backup heat and controls.
6. Panel capacity and electrical work.
7. Warranty terms in writing.
8. Rebates applied before or after purchase.

Limitations

We could not read every manufacturer or ENERGY STAR criteria page. Prices are marketplace averages. Not HVAC, tax or legal advice.

Sources

• DOE, 2023 CAC standards FAQ
• ENERGY STAR, air-source heat pumps · DOE, air-source heat pumps · DOE, heat pump systems
• DOE Building America, HVAC equipment sizing (2012)
• NEEP cold climate ASHP specification v3.1
• EnergySage, best heat pumps · IRS, energy efficient home improvement credit · State Home Energy Rebates factsheet, June 2026

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

Choose a plug-in charger if you want portability and 40 amps (9.6 kW) is enough. Choose hardwired if you want up to 48 or 50 amps, a permanent install or no receptacle. The charger is only part of the answer: your panel, wire and breaker set the real limit. Specs are from manufacturer pages and DOE material read on October 24, 2026. We did not test these chargers. See how we pick products.

Side-by-side

Sources: ChargePoint, Wallbox, Tesla, Emporia (NEMA plug or hardwire, up to 48 A).

Estimate charge time, cost per charge and breaker size with our EV charger calculator.

The math: amps, kW and breakers

Power (kW) = volts × amps ÷ 1,000.

• 240 × 40 = 9.6 kW
• 240 × 48 = 11.52 kW

Breaker. DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center says the National Electrical Code treats EV charging as a continuous load, and NEC Article 625 covers most charging-equipment requirements. In practice that commonly means the breaker is rated for 125% of the charger’s current: 40 × 1.25 = 50 A and 48 × 1.25 = 60 A. A licensed electrician confirms the sizing, wire gauge and panel capacity for your home. ChargePoint says its hardwired model works with circuits rated 20 to 80 A and its plug models with 40 A or 50 A circuits.

When plug-in makes sense

• You may move and want to take the charger.
• The outlet already exists (a dryer or RV outlet) and is in good condition.
• 40 A is enough: at 9.6 kW, adding 40 kWh takes 40 ÷ 9.6 = about 4.2 hours (if your car accepts that rate).
• You want to unplug and swap units easily.

Plug-in options: ChargePoint Home Flex (NEMA 6-50 or 14-50, 40 A, listed as UL listed and ENERGY STAR certified on ChargePoint’s page, 3-year warranty), Wallbox Pulsar Plus 40A (NEMA 14-50 plug install, from $649.99), Grizzl-E Classic 40A ($299.99), Emporia Pro ($599, NEMA plug or hardwire). Prices checked October 24, 2026.

Check ChargePoint price · Check Wallbox price

When hardwired makes sense

• You want the highest rate your car and panel allow: 48 A on a 60 A circuit.
• You are installing outdoors or in a damp garage and want fewer exposed connections. DOE says outdoor installation is allowed with outdoor-rated equipment.
• The charger will stay put for years.
• You want a Tesla Wall Connector (up to 11.5 kW, 48-month residential warranty per Tesla) or a hardwired ChargePoint.

Check Tesla Wall Connector price

Costs

We are not giving an installation price. We looked for a reliable, current US figure from a neutral source and did not find one we could verify, and costs depend on distance from the panel, panel capacity, wall type, permit fees and local labor. Ask each electrician for a written quote that lists materials, labor, permit fees and whether a panel upgrade is needed. Compare equipment prices (above) separately. Running cost: DOE’s example of 10.7¢ per kWh implies about $6 to fill a depleted 54 kWh battery; our math at EIA’s 18.2¢ forecast gives 54 × 0.182 = $9.83. See our EIA summary and Rates by State.

Who should skip the upgrade

• If Level 1 meets your needs. DOE says it does for many owners with an outlet on a dedicated circuit.
• If you rent; see renter and apartment options.
• If your panel is full and an upgrade isn’t in budget; get a load calculation first.

Incentives

The IRS lists the 30C credit for property placed in service through June 30, 2026, so it does not cover a charger installed now. State and utility rebates vary by location; check your utility and see our rate guides. Confirm eligibility with a tax professional.

Decision checklist

1. Car’s maximum AC charge rate and connector type.
2. Panel capacity and spare breaker slots.
3. Distance from panel to the charger location.
4. Portability needs.
5. Indoor or outdoor mounting.
6. Permits and inspection requirements.
7. Two or more written quotes.
8. Stated UL listing for the exact model. See best Level 2 chargers for home.

Limitations

Current limits and warranties are manufacturer-stated; certifications not stated on a page are not confirmed. Installation costs are intentionally omitted. This is not electrical advice; hire a licensed electrician.

Sources

• ChargePoint · Wallbox Pulsar Plus · Tesla Wall Connector · Emporia · Grizzl-E
• DOE AFDC, Charging at home
• IRS, 30C credit

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

There is no single best inverter. On published figures, the SolarEdge HD Wave leads on efficiency, Enphase IQ8 and the Qcells microinverter module lead on warranty, and hybrid inverters such as Tesla’s and EcoFlow’s matter if you are adding a battery. Choose by roof shape, shading, battery plans and installer support. Figures below come from EnergySage’s May 26, 2026 ranking and manufacturer documents read October 24, 2026. We did not test any inverter. See how we pick products.

Quick picks

Source: EnergySage, best solar inverters of 2026 (updated May 26, 2026). EnergySage says it evaluated the top 30 inverter models quoted through its marketplace from October 2025 through March 2026, scoring performance, warranty, intelligence, and value and popularity. The page lists average costs of $2.45 per watt (SolarEdge), $2.62 (Enphase), $2.20 (EcoFlow), $2.22 (Qcells) and $2.23 (Tesla), but we could not confirm whether those are inverter-only or full-system costs, so we do not rely on them for comparison.

String, optimizer or microinverter?

• String inverter: one central unit converts DC from a series of panels. Simple and compact; if one panel is shaded, the string can be affected unless optimizers are used.
• String inverter plus power optimizers (SolarEdge, Tigo): each panel gets a module-level device. Tigo’s TS4-A-O provides optimization, module-level monitoring and rapid shutdown (NEC 2014, 2017 and 2020 per Tigo) and lists a 25-year warranty; it requires a Cloud Connect Advanced and Tigo Access Point and works with a list of compatible inverters.
• Microinverters (Enphase, Qcells): each panel has its own inverter, which suits roofs with multiple orientations or shading and provides per-panel monitoring.
• Hybrid inverters (Tesla, EcoFlow): one unit handles solar and a battery.

None of these is automatically more efficient in your home. Real output depends on shading, orientation, sizing and wiring.

Product notes

SolarEdge HD Wave 7600H — highest stated efficiency

EnergySage lists 99% CEC efficiency and a 12-year warranty, ranking it first. A string inverter used with SolarEdge optimizers. We could not read SolarEdge’s product pages, so confirm the optimizer warranty and the exact model’s documents with your installer. Pros: stated 99% CEC efficiency. Cons: shorter inverter warranty than the microinverters. Check price

Enphase IQ8M — long warranty, grid-forming option

Enphase’s datasheet lists the IQ8 (245 VA peak, 240 VA continuous) and IQ8+ (300 VA peak, 290 VA continuous) at 97% CEC efficiency, a limited warranty of up to 25 years, certification to CA Rule 21 (UL 1741-SA), UL 62109-1 and IEEE 1547:2018 (UL 1741-SB), and UL listing as PV rapid shutdown equipment. It describes the line as grid-forming and says it meets UL 1741 only when installed with an IQ System Controller 2 or 3; installations are split-phase 240 V only. EnergySage ranks the IQ8M 72-2 second. Pros: 25-year warranty; module-level design. Cons: more devices on the roof; backup features need Enphase’s controller. See our earlier IQ8M piece and do solar panels work in a power outage?. Check price

Qcells Q.MI.349-G1 — inverter built into the panel

EnergySage lists a microinverter module at 97% CEC efficiency and a 25-year warranty. Pros: warranty; fewer separate parts. Cons: you commit to the module and microinverter together. Check price

Tesla Powerwall 3 hybrid inverter and EcoFlow Ocean Pro — hybrids

EnergySage lists Tesla’s at 97% and 10 years with six solar inputs, and EcoFlow’s at 97.5% and 15 years with eight. Pros: one box for solar and storage. Cons: ties your solar to that battery ecosystem; check warranty terms and compatibility. See best home batteries for backup power. Check price

How much does efficiency matter?

CEC efficiency is a weighted average of conversion efficiency. Our math (illustration, not a forecast): a 7.6 kW system producing 10,000 kWh a year at 97% conversion would produce about 10,000 × (0.99 ÷ 0.97) = 10,206 kWh at 99% conversion, a gap of about 206 kWh a year, or about $37 a year at 18¢ per kWh (206 × $0.18). The assumptions are ours: same panels, same sun, 18¢ is near EIA’s 2026 national forecast but your rate differs. That gap is small next to shading, orientation and a 25-year warranty difference, which is why we weight warranty and roof fit more heavily here.

Who should skip fancy electronics

• Simple, unshaded, single-orientation roofs often do well with a basic string inverter; compare quotes with and without module-level electronics.
• If you want no battery now, a hybrid inverter may be unnecessary, though some owners add storage later.
• If your installer cannot support a brand long-term, a 25-year warranty depends on the company standing behind it. See solar installer out of business.

Incentives

The IRS says the residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Rules for leased or financed systems differ and state programs vary; see Rates by State and net metering by state. Confirm eligibility with a tax professional.

Buying checklist

1. Roof orientations, shading and panel count.
2. Battery now, later or never.
3. Model numbers, CEC efficiency and warranty terms in writing.
4. Rapid-shutdown and monitoring approach.
5. Local utility’s interconnection rules and approved equipment.
6. Installer’s service record; see how to compare solar quotes.
7. What the warranty covers (parts, labor, shipping).

Limitations

We could not read all manufacturer pages (SolarEdge, parts of Enphase’s site). The SMA string inverter we looked at is shown as discontinued on the retailer page, so we did not include it. Price-per-watt figures have an unstated basis. This is not engineering or tax advice.

Sources

• EnergySage, best solar inverters of 2026 (May 26, 2026)
• Enphase IQ8 datasheet (Krannich Solar copy)
• Tigo TS4-A-O
• IRS, residential clean energy credit

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

The best Level 2 home charger is the one that matches your car’s AC charging rate and your panel’s spare capacity. For most households the ChargePoint Home Flex is the most flexible pick, the Tesla Wall Connector suits Tesla-first homes, and the Emporia Pro and Grizzl-E Classic are lower-cost options. Details below come from manufacturer pages read on October 24, 2026. We did not test these chargers. See how we pick products.

Quick picks

Sources: ChargePoint, Tesla, Wallbox, Emporia, Grizzl-E. “Not stated on page” means we did not find it on the manufacturer page we read.

Estimate charge time, cost per charge and breaker size with our EV charger calculator.

How fast is Level 2?

Power (kW) = volts × amps ÷ 1,000.

• 240 V × 48 A = 11,520 W = 11.5 kW
• 240 V × 40 A = 9,600 W = 9.6 kW

Charging time (our illustration): adding 60 kWh at 9.6 kW takes 60 ÷ 9.6 = 6.25 hours, if your car accepts that rate. Many cars accept less on AC, so the car, not the charger, may set the limit.

ChargePoint says its plug-in 40 A Home Flex models add about 30 miles of range per hour and the hardwired 50 A model up to 37.

Breaker sizing. The DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center notes the National Electrical Code treats EV charging as a continuous load. In practice that commonly means the breaker is rated for 125% of the charger’s amps: 48 A needs 60 A; 40 A needs 50 A. Our math: 48 × 1.25 = 60; 40 × 1.25 = 50. Have a licensed electrician check your panel, since an older panel may need an upgrade.

Product cards

ChargePoint Home Flex — best for flexibility

ChargePoint says the hardwired model delivers up to 50 A on circuits rated 20 to 80 A, while NEMA 6-50 and 14-50 plug versions deliver up to 40 A. Both J1772 and NACS connectors are offered. The page states it is UL listed and ENERGY STAR certified, with a 3-year warranty and an app for home and public charging.

Pros: adjustable current for different circuits; stated UL listing and ENERGY STAR; hardwire or plug options. Cons: price not shown on the page we read; shortest-looking warranty of the group at 3 years (Tesla’s is 4).

Check price

Tesla Wall Connector — best for Tesla-first homes

Tesla says the Wall Connector provides up to 11.5 kW / 48 A. Its warranty is 48 months for normal residential use. Tesla tells buyers to make sure the plug matches the vehicle’s inlet. The page we read did not state cable length, install options, UL listing or price.

Pros: up to 11.5 kW; 4-year residential warranty. Cons: several specs not stated on the page we read; confirm connector type for non-Tesla vehicles.

Check price

Wallbox Pulsar Plus — best compact option

Wallbox lists 40 A or 48 A, up to 11.5 kW, a 25-foot cable, J1772 or NACS connectors, and a price starting at $649.99. The 40 A model offers NEMA 14-50 plug installation. The page did not state warranty, certifications or whether the 48 A model plugs in.

Pros: high power in a compact unit; 25-foot cable. Cons: highest listed starting price here; warranty and certifications not stated on the page we read.

Check price

Emporia Pro — best for smart-energy value

Emporia lists $599, up to 48 A, a NEMA plug or hardwire, a 25-foot cable and a 3-year warranty. The page did not confirm UL or ENERGY STAR for the Pro; those details appear only in the Classic’s FAQ.

Pros: price; both plug and hardwire options; 25-foot cable. Cons: certification not confirmed for this model on the page; verify before buying.

Check price

Grizzl-E Classic 40A — best budget plug-in

Grizzl-E lists the Classic 40A at $299.99 (plug-in) and the Classic Connect 40A at $349.99. The page says “Certified for Safety & Performance” without naming a body, and does not list warranty, cable length or kW.

Pros: lowest price here; plug-in. Cons: limited stated specs; confirm UL listing and warranty before purchase.

Check price

What does it cost to run?

DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center example uses 10.7¢ per kWh and 27 kWh per 100 miles, about $0.03 a mile, and about $6 to fill a depleted 54 kWh battery. Your rate differs. EIA’s September 2026 outlook put the 2026 average US residential price at 18.2¢ per kWh (see our summary), and rates vary by state and utility. Our math at 18.2¢: 54 kWh × $0.182 = $9.83. Check your own rate in Rates by State or on your bill, and see time-of-use rates if charging overnight is cheaper for you.

Who should skip a Level 2 charger

• Drivers who cover short daily distances may be fine on Level 1. DOE says overnight Level 1 meets many owners’ needs when a dedicated circuit outlet is near the parking spot.
• Renters; see best EV chargers for renters and apartments.
• Homes with a full panel and no budget for an upgrade.

Incentives

The IRS lists the 30C credit at 30% up to $1,000 per item for individuals, in eligible census tracts, for property placed in service through June 30, 2026. It does not cover a charger placed in service after that. Utility and state rebates vary; check your utility.

Buying checklist

1. Your car’s maximum AC charge rate and connector (J1772 or NACS).
2. Spare panel capacity and breaker size; electrician quote.
3. Indoor or outdoor install; outdoor-rated equipment for outdoors.
4. Plug-in or hardwired; see hardwired vs plug-in chargers.
5. Stated UL listing for the exact model.
6. Warranty length and who services it.
7. Utility rate plan and rebates.
8. Permit requirements; AFDC notes permits may be required.

Limitations

Specs are manufacturer-stated. Prices are as shown on manufacturer sites October 24, 2026 and change. We found no large independent owner-review dataset we could cite for these chargers. This is not electrical or tax advice.

Sources

• ChargePoint Home · Tesla Wall Connector · Wallbox Pulsar Plus · Emporia · Grizzl-E
• DOE AFDC, Charging at home
• IRS, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit
• Solar Examiner: EIA price forecast

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

If you have solar and a time-of-use (TOU) rate, the best battery is the one that lets you schedule when it charges and discharges, delivers enough continuous power for your evening loads, and fits your utility’s export and interconnection rules. The Tesla Powerwall 3, FranklinWH aPower 2 and Enphase IQ Battery 10C are the three we compare, using manufacturer documents and published analyses as of October 24, 2026. We did not test them. See how we pick products.

Before you buy for the spread alone, read the math below. In our worked example it is real but small.

What a TOU battery earns

Our time-of-use guide uses Idaho Power’s 2026 optional TOU rate for on-site generation customers: a summer on-peak kWh costs 29.9185¢ and an off-peak kWh costs 7.4797¢. It also uses a midday export value of 3.4¢ per kWh for illustration. We rely on that guide for the tariff figures and did not re-pull the tariff today.

Formula (our math): value per stored kWh = (round-trip efficiency × on-peak price) − (price of the energy you stored).

Inputs: 90% round-trip efficiency (an assumption, not a manufacturer figure), 29.9185¢ on-peak, 3.4¢ for the solar kWh you give up exporting.

• 0.90 × 29.9185¢ = 26.93¢
• 26.93¢ − 3.4¢ = 23.53¢ per stored kWh

Scale it (illustration): shifting 10 kWh a day on summer on-peak days. Idaho Power’s summer period runs June 1 to September 30, Monday to Saturday except holidays. By our count that is about 103 days in 2026 (122 days, minus 17 Sundays, minus July 4 and Labor Day).

• 10 kWh × $0.2353 = $2.35 a day
• $2.35 × 103 days = about $242 for the summer

That ignores the rest of the year, battery degradation and any demand charges. Against installed prices in the five figures (see below), TOU arbitrage alone is a slow payback, which is why we do not pitch a battery as a bill-saver by itself. See our payback guide for how to build your own estimate.

Quick picks

Sources: Tesla, FranklinWH, Enphase. A fuller comparison is in Powerwall vs Enphase vs FranklinWH.

What to look for on a TOU rate

Schedule and mode control

You need to tell the battery when to charge and when to hold energy for the peak. We did not verify each manufacturer’s TOU scheduling features in the documents we read, so ask your installer to show the app or controller settings for your exact tariff before you sign.

Enough kW for the evening

Peak windows are when ovens, dryers, air conditioners and EV chargers run together. If continuous output is lower than your simultaneous load, the grid covers the difference at peak prices. Compare the continuous kW above to your own load.

Enough usable kWh for the window

Idaho Power’s summer on-peak runs 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., four hours. Hours covered = usable kWh ÷ average kW. A 2.5 kW evening load over four hours needs 10 kWh.

Export rules

Some utilities pay different export credits by hour. Hawaiian Electric’s credits in our TOU guide are 13.5¢ for daytime exports on Oahu and 32.9¢ from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Where evening exports pay well, discharging to the grid in the peak can beat self-use. Check your tariff and see export credit rates by utility and net metering by state.

Round-trip efficiency

Our example assumes 90%. We did not find a round-trip efficiency figure in the manufacturer documents we read for all three batteries, so treat 90% as an assumption and ask for the datasheet figure.

Product notes

Tesla Powerwall 3. 11.5 kW continuous, 13.5 kWh nominal, 10-year warranty, integrated solar inverter per Tesla’s pages, UL 9540 and related listings per the datasheet. Strength: output. Weakness: shortest warranty here. Approx. price: $998 per kWh (EnergySage, Apr 2026); about $15,000 median installed with solar (Solar.com, Sept 2026). Check price

FranklinWH aPower 2. 15 kWh, 10 kW, 15 years or 60 MWh, IP67. Strength: capacity for long windows. Weakness: UL listing not stated on the product page we read. Approx. price: $1,177 per kWh; about $17,250 median installed with solar. Check price

Enphase IQ Battery 10C. 10 kWh, 7.08 kW, 15 years up to 6,000 cycles. Strength: pairs with Enphase microinverters; modular. Weakness: lower output; highest per-kWh price in EnergySage’s table. Approx. price: $1,404 per kWh; about $14,250 median installed with solar. Check price

Price sources: EnergySage (updated Apr 29, 2026) and Solar.com (updated Oct 1, 2026, before incentives). Prices checked October 24, 2026.

Who should skip a battery for TOU savings

• Your peak and off-peak prices are close.
• Your peak window is short and your evening load is small.
• You already shift loads (laundry, dishwasher, EV charging) into cheap hours.
• Your utility is switching to a flat or net-billing structure that changes the value; check the latest rules.

Incentives

The IRS says the residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Utility demand-response or battery programs may still pay for discharge during grid events; ask your utility. Use Rates by State to find your state’s page.

Buying checklist

1. Get your tariff’s hourly prices and your own hourly use from the utility.
2. Estimate shiftable kWh per day by season.
3. Confirm the battery can follow your schedule and your utility allows it.
4. Compare continuous kW and usable kWh to your evening load.
5. Ask for datasheet round-trip efficiency and warranty terms.
6. Get three installed quotes and compute payback with your inputs.

Limitations

The Idaho example is an illustration, not a forecast; tariffs change, and our efficiency figure is an assumption. We did not verify each battery’s TOU features. This is not financial or tax advice.

Sources

• Time-of-Use Rates and Solar (Solar Examiner, Oct 8, 2026; Idaho Power and Hawaiian Electric figures)
• Tesla datasheet · FranklinWH · Enphase
• EnergySage · Solar.com · IRS

Contains affiliate links. Solar Examiner may earn a commission if you buy through links marked “Check price.” Commissions do not affect which products we pick. See our affiliate disclosure and how we pick products.

The best home battery for backup power is the one whose continuous output (kW) covers the loads you run at the same time and whose capacity (kWh) covers the hours you want to ride through. Among the batteries we reviewed, the Tesla Powerwall 3 and FranklinWH aPower 2 offer the highest output from a single unit, and Enphase IQ Batteries are the most modular. All figures below come from manufacturer documents or the published analyses we name, as of October 24, 2026.

We have not tested these batteries. Our picks rest on specs, certifications, warranties and published expert and installer-marketplace analyses. See how we pick products.

Quick picks

Sources: Tesla Powerwall 3 datasheet (nominal energy; the datasheet does not state usable energy), FranklinWH aPower 2 product page (15 kWh stated without specifying usable), Enphase IQ Battery 10C and IQ Battery 5P.

What does a backup battery actually have to do?

Two numbers decide backup performance:

• Power (kW): the most the battery can deliver at one moment. Add up everything that might run together: refrigerator, lights, internet, well pump, furnace blower, an air conditioner.
• Energy (kWh): how long that power lasts. Hours of backup = usable kWh ÷ average kW load.

Example (an illustration with assumed numbers, not a measurement): a home that averages 1.5 kW of essential loads for a 12-hour overnight outage needs 1.5 × 12 = 18 kWh. One 13.5 kWh battery would run out in about 9 hours (13.5 ÷ 1.5) before any solar recharge. See how to size a home battery for the full method, and our earlier battery sizing guide for a lighter-load example.