Alaska’s solar rules are being rewritten right now, and the regulator is working to a deadline: the Regulatory Commission of Alaska must complete its net metering rulemaking by September 25, 2026. Whatever emerges will shape what a new system is worth for years. Today the rules are unusually good, one-to-one retail netting on systems up to 25 kW against a power price of 26.14¢, roughly 46% above the national average, and anyone reading this in August 2026 is deciding under a clock rather than under settled law.
A Rulemaking With a Deadline on It
The current framework sits in the Commission’s regulations at 3 AAC 50.900 through .949 and binds utilities selling at least 5 GWh a year. Within a month you net kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour at retail; anything left over at the end of the month is credited at a non-firm or avoided-cost rate under 3 AAC 50.930, well below retail. Systems are capped at 25 kW.
Two things are moving. The Commission’s rulemaking carries a statutory completion date of September 25, 2026. Separately, a bill introduced in February 2026 would require net metering rules across the Railbelt utilities. Neither outcome is settled, and we are not going to predict one. What we will say is that in most states a change of this kind protects existing customers on their original terms, which makes the timing of an interconnection application a real variable worth pricing before you sign.
Enter your ZIP code and we will connect you with installers who can tell you where your utility’s queue currently stands.
Find out where your cooperative queue stands
Your Utility Is Almost Certainly a Cooperative
This is the structural fact that makes Alaska different from almost every other state. Four utilities serve most of the state and three of the four are member-owned cooperatives: Chugach Electric about 36% of residential customers, Matanuska Electric about 24%, Golden Valley about 15% and Homer Electric about 11%. There is no dominant investor-owned utility to argue with, and each cooperative sets the specifics of what it pays for surplus.
Utility | Share of homes | What surplus pays |
|---|---|---|
Golden Valley Electric | About 15% | $0.13323/kWh effective June 1, 2026, adjusted quarterly. A $65 application fee has applied since November 1, 2025. |
Matanuska Electric | About 24% | Small Facility Power Purchase Rate, reset quarterly. Ask for the current quarter in writing. |
Chugach Electric | About 36% | Roughly 5.7¢/kWh circulating from early 2025, single-source and unconfirmed. Do not plan on it. |
Homer Electric | About 11% | Sets its own rate; it is not published. Ask Homer for the current figure in writing. |
The Golden Valley rate came from the cooperative’s own program page and carries a date. The Chugach number is a single unconfirmed source; do not plan on it. If you are a Chugach or Homer member, ask your cooperative for the current surplus rate in writing.
Is There an Alaska State Solar Rebate?
There is no Alaska state income tax credit for residential solar, and Alaska levies no state personal income tax for a credit to attach to. There is no statewide residential solar rebate. What Alaska offers instead is the underlying economics: at 26.14¢ per kilowatt-hour, displacing your own consumption is worth roughly twice what it is worth in Idaho or Arkansas, before any program enters the picture.
The federal residential credit is $0 for purchased systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025 under Public Law 119-21. Third-party ownership can still reach the commercial credit in states that permit it, but Alaska’s position on residential power purchase agreements is unsettled, so treat any lease or PPA offer as something to have a lawyer or your cooperative confirm before signing.
You Likely Will Not Qualify If
- Your utility sells under 5 GWh a year. The Commission’s netting regulations bind utilities at or above that threshold. Smaller village and rural utilities are outside them entirely.
- You want a system above 25 kW. That is the cap in the current rules, and it is one of the things the rulemaking could revisit.
- You are counting on the 30% federal credit. It is $0 for purchased systems from January 1, 2026.
- You are relying on a specific surplus rate you read somewhere. Three of the four major utilities here are cooperatives that set and adjust their own, in some cases quarterly.
What to Do While the Rules Are Open
The practical advice in a state mid-rulemaking is not “hurry”, it is “document”. Get your cooperative’s current terms in writing, dated, before you sign anything, so that if the framework changes you can show what you interconnected under. Ask specifically whether the utility intends to honor existing arrangements, and record the answer.
Beyond that, the Alaska case rests on self-consumption at a high retail rate rather than on export income, which is a comfortable position to be in while export rules are unsettled. Our Alaska cost guide covers the pricing side, and the Alaska installer list covers who does the work.
Alaska Solar FAQs
Yes, for now. Under 3 AAC 50.900 to .949, utilities selling at least 5 GWh a year net kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour at retail within each month, with monthly surplus credited at a non-firm or avoided-cost rate and systems capped at 25 kW. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska must complete a net metering rulemaking by September 25, 2026, so the framework is genuinely open.
There is no Alaska state solar tax credit, and Alaska has no state personal income tax for one to attach to, nor a statewide residential rebate. The value here comes from the electricity price: at 26.14¢ per kilowatt-hour, displacing your own use is worth roughly twice what it is in the cheapest states in the country.
It varies by cooperative and several adjust quarterly. Golden Valley Electric pays $0.13323 per kilowatt-hour effective June 1, 2026, with a $65 application fee since November 1, 2025. Matanuska uses a Small Facility Power Purchase Rate reset quarterly. A figure near 5.7¢ circulates for Chugach from early 2025 but is single-source and unconfirmed, so ask your cooperative directly.
We are not going to predict the outcome, and neither should anyone selling to you. What is worth doing either way is documenting your cooperative’s current terms in writing and dated before you sign, and asking directly whether it intends to honor existing arrangements if the framework changes. Changes of this kind commonly protect existing customers, but no rule guarantees it.
Not for a system you buy. Section 25D is $0 for systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025 under Public Law 119-21. The commercial credit can reach residential rooftops through third-party ownership where that is permitted, but Alaska’s position on residential power purchase agreements is unsettled, so confirm any such offer independently before signing.
Your cooperative sets most of what matters here. Enter your ZIP code and we will match you with installers who work with it.
Get terms in writing before the rules change
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed the Regulatory Commission of Alaska’s net metering regulations, cooperative program pages, federal energy data, and IRS guidance for this page. Sources accessed between June 10 and August 20, 2026.
- Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). 3 AAC 50.930 and 3 AAC 50.900 to .949. The retail netting mechanism, the 25 kW cap, and the treatment of monthly surplus, plus the rulemaking with its September 25, 2026 completion date. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- Golden Valley Electric Association. Net metering program page. The surplus rate effective June 1, 2026 and the application fee effective November 1, 2025. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Form EIA-861 (2024) and Electric Power Monthly. Utility customer counts for Chugach, Matanuska, Golden Valley and Homer Electric, and residential price data. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions. Guidance on the Public Law 119-21 termination of the Section 25D residential credit for systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Accessed August 20, 2026.
