New Jersey solar net metering still gives full retail credit in 2026. On PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric and Rockland Electric, each kilowatt-hour (kWh) your panels send to the grid cancels one kWh you would otherwise buy. Unused credits roll forward for 12 months. At the end of that year, whatever is left is paid out at the wholesale price, which was about 5¢ per kWh across the regional grid in 2025.
The rule is set by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), the state utility regulator, in N.J.A.C. 14:8-4 (rule text). Two things are worth knowing before you sign. First, the BPU opened a review of net metering for new customers in November 2024 and has not set any change or change date. Second, you can pick the month your 12-month credit year ends once. Pick it well and you buy less power. The SREC-II payment, $77 for every 1,000 kWh your panels make on a home system registered from July 27, 2026, comes on top of the bill credit. It is not a replacement for it.
How net metering works in New Jersey
Net metering means your utility measures the power you take from the grid and the power you send back, and bills you for the difference. If you are new to the idea, our net metering guide covers the basics. Here is what the New Jersey rule adds.
- Each month: if your panels send out more than you use, you are billed for zero kWh and the extra goes into a kWh bank. If you use more than you make, the bank pays for the gap first (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4.3(c) and (d)).
- Full retail value: a banked kWh offsets a kWh you would have bought, so it is worth the same per-kWh price on your bill. State law calls this a credit “at the full retail rate” (BPU notice quoting the Clean Energy Act).
- Fixed charges stay: the bank only covers kWh. Your monthly customer charge and any minimum charge are still billed. On JCP&L’s standard home rate that charge is $4.27 a month (JCP&L tariff, effective July 15, 2026).
- Once a year, the true-up: at the end of your 12-month “annualized period”, leftover kWh are paid at the supplier’s “avoided cost of wholesale power” and the bank resets to zero (14:8-4.3(e)). The rule defines that rate as the average locational marginal price (LMP) of energy in your utility’s transmission zone, the wholesale price of power in your part of the PJM regional grid (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4.2; JCP&L).
- Size limit: your system cannot be bigger than your home’s yearly electricity needs (NJ Clean Energy Program). Installers size from your last 12 months of bills.
| Where the kWh goes | What it is worth | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Used in your home as it is made | The full price you would have paid: 23.78¢ on average in New Jersey | EIA 12-month average, August 2025 to July 2026 |
| Sent to the grid, used later in the same 12 months | The same full price, as a banked kWh | N.J.A.C. 14:8-4.3(c) and (d) |
| Still in the bank at the true-up | Wholesale only: PJM’s 2025 load-weighted average price was $50.73 per MWh, about 5.1¢ per kWh | N.J.A.C. 14:8-4.3(e); PJM market monitor, 2025 report |
| Every kWh the panels make, wherever it goes | Plus $77 per 1,000 kWh (7.7¢ per kWh) as an SREC-II, for 15 years, to the system owner | BPU order, May 21, 2026 |
So a kWh that sits in the bank until the true-up is worth less than a quarter of one you use. That is why the size limit and the month your year ends both matter.
A New Jersey solar bill, month by month
This example follows one home through a year. It uses 7,944 kWh a year, the 2024 New Jersey average of 662 kWh a month (EIA). Its 5.6 kW system makes about 7,554 kWh a year at 1,349 kWh per kW, the New Jersey output in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index for New Jersey. That is 95% of what the home uses, inside the size limit. The monthly split of output and use is our own illustration of a typical pattern: more sun from April to September, more use in summer heat and winter dark. Your installer’s production estimate gives your real months.
The only difference between the two bank columns is the month the credit year ends. Home A’s year runs March to February. Home B’s runs July to June, which is roughly what you get by default if your system is switched on around the end of June.
| Month | Panels make | Home uses | A: bank (year ends Feb) | A: kWh bought | B: bank (year ends Jun) | B: kWh bought |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 416 | 724 | 0 | 238 | 0 | 308 |
| Feb | 488 | 640 | 0 A true-up: 0 kWh left | 152 | 0 | 152 |
| Mar | 654 | 600 | 54 | 0 | 54 | 0 |
| Apr | 737 | 520 | 271 | 0 | 271 | 0 |
| May | 809 | 540 | 540 | 0 | 540 | 0 |
| Jun | 820 | 700 | 660 | 0 | 660 B true-up: 660 kWh paid at wholesale | 0 |
| Jul | 842 | 880 | 622 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Aug | 776 | 860 | 538 | 0 | 0 | 84 |
| Sep | 665 | 680 | 523 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Oct | 571 | 540 | 554 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Nov | 416 | 560 | 410 | 0 | 0 | 113 |
| Dec | 360 | 700 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 340 |
| Year | 7,554 | 7,944 | 0 left | 390 | 660 cashed out | 1,050 |
-
Home A: year ends in February
- kWh bought from the utility
- 390
- Cost at 23.78¢
- $92.74
- Paid out at the true-up
- $0
- Net cost of power for the year
- $92.74
The summer bank is spent in November, December and January, before the true-up. The home only buys the 390 kWh its panels really fall short by.
-
Home B: year ends in June
- kWh bought from the utility
- 1,050
- Cost at 23.78¢
- $249.69
- Paid out at the true-up (660 kWh at about 5.1¢)
- −$33.48
- Net cost of power for the year
- $216.21
The spring bank is cashed out at wholesale in June, just before the summer and winter months when the home needs it. It then buys those kWh back at retail.
Same roof, same panels, same use: Home B pays about $123 more a year. Both homes also pay the fixed customer charge, which is $51.24 a year on JCP&L’s standard rate. Without solar, the same 7,944 kWh would cost about $1,889 at the state average price. The EIA average includes some fixed charges, so treat these dollar figures as close estimates, not a bill.
How to pick your month: the rule gives every net metered customer one chance to choose the billing month their annualized period starts (14:8-4.3(f)). If you never choose, it starts with the first full billing month after your system is switched on (14:8-4.3(h)). The utility does not have to accept a start date in the past (14:8-4.3(g)). If you choose after net metering has begun, the months up to your request count as one short credit year, so leftover credits are paid out at wholesale then (14:8-4.3(i); NJ Clean Energy Program). Choose early, or when your bank is near zero. For most New Jersey homes, a year that ends after the winter months, around February or March, keeps the bank working for you. Ask your utility in writing, and keep the confirmation.
PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric and Rockland Electric
Net metering is a BPU rule, so the four regulated utilities follow the same crediting: full retail kWh credit, a 12-month bank and a wholesale-price true-up. What differs is the price of the kWh you offset, the fixed charge that stays on the bill and how the bill shows the bank.
| Utility | Home solar systems on net metering | Average home price, 2024 | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSE&G | 90,063 | 20.4¢ | Largest utility, with the most home solar. PSE&G also has a home battery program; see our New Jersey incentives guide. |
| JCP&L | 54,556 | 15.6¢ | Smart-meter bills list kWh delivered and received on separate lines and a “Net Meter Banked Usage” section. Customer charge $4.27 a month (2026 tariff). |
| Atlantic City Electric | 52,216 | 23.4¢ | Highest 2024 average price of the four, so each kWh offset was worth the most that year. |
| Rockland Electric | 1,430 | 21.0¢ | Smallest of the four. Same state rule. |
| A town-owned utility, such as Vineland | 1,557 (Vineland) | Set by the town | Not covered by the BPU rule. Vineland says parts of its grid cannot support new systems above 5 kW AC, “if at all”, and it makes no payment for surplus credits, which do not carry over from year to year. |
System counts and prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2024 utility survey (EIA-861). Prices are for customers who buy power from the utility, and they have changed since 2024; the statewide average was 25.19¢ in July 2026 (EIA). Vineland’s terms are from its own net metering page and interconnection requirements.
If you buy power from a third-party supplier: the true-up may be paid by your supplier instead of the utility, so ask your supplier how and when it pays (JCP&L). If you switch supplier, the old one treats the switch date as the end of your year: your bank is paid out at wholesale and a new 12-month period starts (14:8-4.3(j); NJ Clean Energy Program). Check your bank balance before you switch, and switch when it is near zero.
Is New Jersey net metering changing?
Not yet, but a change for new customers is possible. State law lets the BPU allow utilities to stop offering net metering “to customers that are not already net metered” once net metered systems pass 5.8% of the electricity sold in the state (N.J.S.A. 48:3-87(e), as quoted by the BPU). BPU staff calculate that this line was crossed in Energy Year 2024.
- May 31, 2024: Energy Year 2024 ends. BPU staff later calculate that net metering customers passed 5.8% of in-state sales that year.
- November 2024: BPU staff announce a proceeding under Docket No. QO24090723 to develop recommendations on “an updated mechanism of net metering for new customers”, with a public workshop on November 19, 2024 (BPU notice).
- February 10, 2025: a technical conference where stakeholders present possible designs for a successor policy, run with the consulting firm Brattle; written comments closed March 3, 2025 (BPU notice).
- May 21, 2026: the Board’s SREC-II program order (the ADI three-year review) records, in responding to comments: “At this time, there are no new developments respecting net metering” (BPU order).
- October 19, 2026: the NJ Clean Energy Program’s net metering page lists no successor proposal, rule change or change date (NJCEP).
What this means for you: a system connected today gets today’s terms. The law’s wording points at customers “not already net metered”, but no BPU order yet promises that existing systems keep full retail credit for a set number of years. Treat savings more than a few years out as an estimate, and ask any installer who says the rule is “guaranteed for 25 years” to show the order.
How net metering and the SREC-II payment fit together
Net metering: lowers your bill
A kWh credit for power you send out, used against power you buy. It shows on your own electric bill, also with a lease or PPA (power purchase agreement, where a company owns the panels and sells you their power).
SREC-II: pays the system owner
One certificate for every 1,000 kWh the panels make, used or exported, worth $77 for 15 years for home systems registered from July 27, 2026 ($85 before). It goes to the system owner, so with a lease or PPA it usually goes to the company (ADI Program; ADI FAQs).
The program behind the SREC-II, the Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program, is for net metered systems, and the system must be registered before the utility gives permission to switch it on. In the example above, 7,554 kWh a year makes about 7.6 SREC-IIs, or about $582 in the first year. The bill credit and the SREC-II count the same kWh but are two separate payments; a quote that adds them is right, one that counts either twice is not. Registration steps, payment timing and tax breaks are in our New Jersey solar incentives guide. What both add up to over time, with and without the SREC-II, is in is solar worth it in New Jersey.
Before you sign, and after switch-on
- Size to your bills. Ask for the expected yearly kWh next to your last 12 months of use. More panels than you need add kWh that end up paid at about 5¢.
- Ask for the production estimate by month. That is what tells you when your bank fills and empties.
- Check the SREC-II line. $77 for a registration from July 27, 2026, who is named to receive it, and the planned registration date.
- Choose your annualized period. After switch-on, ask your utility, or your supplier if you have one, to set the start month you want. You get one choice.
- Read the first bills. Look for kWh delivered, kWh received and the bank balance. If the bank does not show, ask the utility.
- Watch the bank before switching supplier. A switch cashes it out at wholesale.
- Town utility? Get its terms in writing before you sign anything.
Compare New Jersey solar quotes sized to your past 12 months of bills
Already have solar? Quotes are for new systems. Your next step is your own bill: find the bank balance and ask your utility which month your annualized period ends.
New Jersey net metering questions
Does New Jersey still have full retail net metering in 2026?
Yes, for customers of PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric and Rockland Electric. Each exported kWh offsets one kWh you buy. The BPU has an open review of net metering for new customers, but it has set no change and no date.
Can I sell solar power back to the grid in New Jersey?
Not as a monthly sale. Exported power earns kWh credits on your bill. Only the credits left at the end of your 12-month period are paid in money, at the wholesale price, which averaged about 5¢ per kWh across PJM in 2025.
What is the true-up, or anniversary month?
It is the last month of your 12-month annualized period. After that bill, leftover kWh credits are paid at wholesale and the bank resets to zero. By default the period starts when your system is switched on, but you can choose a different start month once.
Why is my electric bill not zero with solar?
Credits only cover kWh. The monthly customer charge stays, and in winter your home may use more than the bank holds. A bank cashed out just before winter, or a supplier switch, can also leave you buying power at retail.
Do net metering credits expire?
Not month to month. They expire at the true-up, when they are paid at wholesale, and also when you switch electric supplier.
What are the downsides of net metering in New Jersey?
The year-end payout is low, the system cannot be larger than your yearly use, fixed charges stay, and the rule for new customers may change after the BPU review. Town-owned utilities such as Vineland set their own, weaker terms.
Do I get net metering with a solar lease or PPA?
Yes. The bill credits show on your own electric bill. The SREC-II usually goes to the company that owns the system, so check the contract.
Is there a federal solar tax credit in 2026?
Not for homeowners who buy a system. The Residential Clean Energy Credit does not apply to systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025 (IRS). Net metering is a state rule and does not depend on it.
Sources
- N.J.A.C. 14:8-4.2 (definitions, including avoided cost of wholesale power) and 14:8-4.3, net metering: monthly credit, annualized period, year-end compensation, period selection and supplier switch (Legal Information Institute copy of the New Jersey Administrative Code, read October 19, 2026).
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Notice, Net Metering for Class I Renewable Energy Systems, Docket No. QO24090723 (November 2024), quoting N.J.S.A. 48:3-87(e) and the Energy Year 2024 calculation.
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, revised notice of the net metering technical conference (2025).
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Order of May 21, 2026, ADI Program three-year review (SREC-II values; 15-year term; net metering status).
- NJ Clean Energy Program, Net Metering and Interconnection, and Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program and ADI Program FAQ pages (read October 19, 2026).
- JCP&L, Net Metering Billing (smart meters) and Tariff BPU No. 14, Part III, Service Classification RS (effective July 15, 2026).
- Monitoring Analytics, 2025 State of the Market Report for PJM (real-time load-weighted average LMP).
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: 2024 Average Monthly Bill, Residential (Table 5.A); Form EIA-861 2024 (net metering and sales by utility); Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (July 2026).
- Vineland Municipal Utilities, Net Metering page (read October 19, 2026), and generator interconnection requirements (July 2024).
- IRS, FAQs on Public Law 119-21, Residential Clean Energy Credit.
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: New Jersey output per kW (methodology).
- Read how we work in our editorial standards and how we make money.
