Arkansas Solar Incentives (2026): A Small Bill Credit That Resets Every March

How much does Arkansas credit for solar power sent to the grid?

For a new home system this credit is the only solar incentive in Arkansas. The state calls it net metering: your utility measures what you send to the grid and credits your bill for it.

Solar power you use in your home, at the moment your panels make it, never reaches the meter. You simply buy less from the utility.

Power you do not use right away flows to the grid. Entergy Arkansas counts those kWh on a separate meter channel and credits each one at its avoided cost. That is the average price, in the year before, on the regional wholesale market, where utilities buy power in bulk. It is far below the price you pay.

The Entergy Arkansas figure is 3.34 cents per kWh for billing months March 2026 through February 2027. Example: 100 kWh sent to the grid earn $3.34, and 1,000 kWh earn $33.40.

For scale: Entergy Arkansas homes paid about 13 cents per kWh on average in 2024, with fixed charges included. So 100 kWh bought from the grid cost about $13. The credit is about a quarter of that. Your own rate is on your bill.

• The credit is in dollars, not kWh. Entergy Arkansas applies it to your bill and carries any unused amount to the next billing period.
• It cannot pay every charge. The customer charge, the fixed monthly fee for being connected, stays. So does any minimum bill.
• It moves every year. Each utility that credits at avoided cost files a new figure by February 1. It applies from March for one year. At Entergy Arkansas it went from 2.59 cents per kWh to 2.47 cents per kWh, then to 3.34 cents per kWh. The next change is due in March 2027.
• If you leave, the balance is paid out. When you close the account, stop running the system or transfer it, the utility buys your remaining credit at avoided cost.

Watch out: A quote that uses one fixed credit for the whole life of the system does not match the Arkansas rules. The figure has changed at every yearly reset so far, once down and once up. Ask the installer which figure the quote uses and what happens to the numbers if it falls.

Entergy Arkansas, a co-op or a city utility: whose credit applies to you?

The name at the top of your electric bill is your utility. The credit and the connection fee both depend on it.

Entergy Arkansas serves about 4 in 10 Arkansas homes. Electric cooperatives (co-ops), which are member-owned utilities, serve about 1 in 3. City-owned utilities serve about 1 in 8. Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) and Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) serve most of the rest.

Only Entergy Arkansas prints its current figure where we could read it. For every other utility, get the number in writing before you sign.

The state rules come from the Arkansas Public Service Commission, the state’s utility regulator. They cover Entergy Arkansas, SWEPCO, OG&E and the co-ops.

Buying an Arkansas home that already has panels: which rules come with it?

Arkansas changed its rules with Act 278 of 2023. The date of the paperwork decides which set a system is on. That paperwork is the interconnection agreement, the contract that lets a system connect to the grid.

A system whose agreement was submitted before September 30, 2024 is a legacy system. Each kWh it sends to the grid cancels one kWh bought from the utility, so the credit is worth the full price of power. Extra kWh roll forward and do not expire. These terms last until June 1, 2040.

Legacy status belongs to the system at that address, not to the person. If you buy the home, the agreement can be transferred to you and the terms run on.

• Ask the seller for the interconnection agreement. Its date tells you which rules the system carries. Your utility can confirm it. First Electric Co-op, for example, has a transfer form for home buyers.
• Do not move the system. A system taken to another address loses legacy status.
• Ask before you add panels. Normal repairs and replacement parts keep legacy status. A real increase in capacity can put the system on the new rules.
• Old credits can be sold. A legacy customer can ask the utility to buy credits older than 24 months, at avoided cost, if the payment is at least $100.

Watch out: This door is closed for new systems. Applying now cannot get you legacy terms, whatever a sales pitch says.

What Arkansas does not offer, and what your quote should show instead

We found no state or utility rebate for home solar panels or batteries in Arkansas when we checked. That makes the details of the quote matter more.

• Sales tax: the state tax agency’s January 2025 list of sales tax exemptions has none for home solar equipment. The state rate is 6.5%, and cities and counties add their own. Ask if the quoted price already includes sales tax.
• Property tax: county assessors value homes in Arkansas. Ask your county assessor how a solar system affects your assessment before you count on any tax effect.
• Federal tax credit: it ended for systems switched on after December 31, 2025. A quote for a system you buy should not subtract it.
• System size: a home system can be up to 25 kW, and no larger than what covers 100% of your highest monthly use in the past 12 months. A typical Arkansas system is 9.04 kW.
• Leased systems: a leased system can get the same bill credit. The utility asks for a signed form that confirms the lease follows state rules.
• Batteries: a battery can be part of a net-metered system. We found no utility payment for one. Its use is to keep your own solar power for the evening instead of sending it out at the low credit.

Five ways an Arkansas solar quote overstates what you will get

• It credits your extra power at the full price of electricity. Only systems with paperwork in before September 30, 2024 get that. A new Entergy Arkansas system gets 3.34 cents per kWh.
• It uses the Entergy Arkansas figure, but a co-op or a city sends your bill. Co-ops use a figure filed by their power supplier. City utilities set their own terms.
• It keeps the credit the same for the whole life of the system. The figure is reset each March. It was 2.47 cents per kWh the year before.
• It subtracts a tax credit or a rebate. Arkansas has no state solar tax credit, and the federal credit stopped for systems switched on after December 31, 2025.
• The system is sized to send a lot of power to the grid. Extra power earns only the low credit, and a home system may not be larger than your own use allows. First Electric Co-op tells its members not to oversize for this reason.

From site review to first bill: connecting a home system in Arkansas

1. Before you sign: get your utility’s figure in writing. Ask the utility for this year’s credit per kWh, the one-time fee and the month the credit changes. Check that the quote uses them.You.
2. Send the Preliminary Interconnection Site Review Request. This form, with a one-line diagram (a simple wiring sketch of the system), lets the utility check your connection. If the utility needs a study, you pay for it.Your installer, with your signature.
3. Submit the Standard Interconnection Agreement. It must reach the utility at least 30 days before the system connects. Entergy Arkansas also wants a signed disclaimer form, and a lease form if the system is leased. Entergy Arkansas charges its one-time fee of $196.75 when you submit it. First Electric Co-op’s fee of $320 must be paid before the system connects.You and your installer.
4. Wait for the meter and the go-ahead. A new system needs a meter with two channels. One counts power from the grid. The other counts power you send out. First Electric Co-op, for example, requires the system to stay disconnected until the co-op has checked and approved it.Your utility.
5. After switch-on: read your first bills. Look for the kWh you sent out and the dollar credit for them. Check the figure again after each March reset.You.

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