Mississippi built its solar rules around household income rather than around solar. Two households on the same street, with identical roofs and identical systems, are paid different rates for the same exported kilowatt-hour, and the difference is what they earn. That is unusual enough that it changes who should be reading a solar quote here, and it is the first thing to establish before comparing anything else.
The Adder That Depends on Your Income
The Public Service Commission’s distributed generation rule, adopted in 2015 and amended in 2022, builds an export credit in layers. Start with the utility’s avoided cost, add a flat 2.5¢ Non-Quantifiable Expected Benefits Adder that every solar customer receives, then add a further 2.0¢ for low-to-moderate income households. On Entergy Mississippi that arithmetic currently produces about 6.1¢ for a standard customer and about 8.1¢ for a qualifying one.
Layer | Standard customer | Low-to-moderate income |
|---|---|---|
Avoided cost | About 3.6¢ | About 3.6¢ |
Non-quantifiable benefits adder | 2.5¢ | 2.5¢ |
Income adder | None | 2.0¢ |
Total export credit | About 6.1¢ | About 8.1¢ |
A one-third difference in export value is an income-linked gap few states match. If your household might qualify, establishing that before you sign is worth more than negotiating on price, and the income threshold is defined in the tariff, so ask the utility for the current figure in writing rather than accepting a salesperson’s version of it.
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What Entergy Mississippi Actually Credits
Entergy Mississippi’s NEM-2 schedule carries the conditions that decide most residential cases, and two of them constrain system size before price ever enters the conversation.
- 20 kW DC is the residential ceiling. Comfortably above a normal rooftop system, so rarely the binding limit.
- Your system may not offset more than 110% of your prior year’s usage. This one binds often. A household that has just added a heat pump, an electric vehicle or an extension is sized against a year that no longer describes it.
- Low-to-moderate income households have separate installation and battery incentives, running through 2027 on a first-come basis. They are worth up to $3,000 toward installation and $2,000 toward a battery, cash separate from export credits, and they are the largest single sum Mississippi offers a homeowner.
- The program is capped at 3% of the utility’s peak. First come, first served against that ceiling.
The avoided-cost component moves with the utility’s fuel costs. The layered structure, the adders and the conditions come from the Commission rule and Entergy’s own tariff; 6.1¢ and 8.1¢ are per Entergy’s schedule as of February 2026, and the avoided-cost layer is restated periodically, so confirm the current figure on the schedule before anyone builds a model on it.
Mississippi Power Runs a Different Schedule
Mississippi Power, serving the southeast of the state, operates its own net metering schedule under the same Commission rule. The structure is the same, avoided cost plus the 2.5¢ adder plus the income adder where it applies, and the same 3% cap governs. What differs is the avoided-cost component underneath, which on Mississippi Power varies by season.
Mississippi Power’s avoided-cost component varies by season, and the current values live on its filed schedule. A seasonal export rate is exactly the kind of number that is worth nothing if it is a version out of date. Ask Mississippi Power for the current schedule in writing and hold your installer’s quote against it.
Both companies are investor-owned, and the Commission rule reaches investor-owned utilities only. If your power comes from an electric cooperative or a municipal system, none of the rates on this page describe your situation.
You Likely Will Not Qualify If
- Your provider is a cooperative or a municipal utility. The Commission’s rule binds Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power. Everyone else sets their own terms.
- You want a system sized for what you will use next year. The 110% rule measures against your prior year, so a new heat pump or electric vehicle does not count until it has a year of history behind it.
- You are expecting a Mississippi state solar tax credit. There is not one. The income adders and the installation incentives are the whole state offer.
- You are counting on the 30% federal credit. Section 25D is $0 for purchased systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025 under Public Law 119-21.
- You were planning to sell your certificates separately. Under the net metering schedule the renewable energy credits transfer to the utility.
Who Ends Up Owning the Certificates
Every kilowatt-hour a rooftop system generates also creates a renewable energy credit, a separate tradable instrument recording that the power was renewable. In some states the homeowner keeps those and can sell them; Delaware’s market is built on exactly that. In Mississippi they transfer to the utility as a condition of net metering.
That matters mainly as a check on anyone promising certificate income here. It is not available to a Mississippi net metering customer, and a proposal that includes it is describing a different state. What Mississippi offers instead is the layered export credit above and, for qualifying households, cash toward the installation. Our Mississippi cost guide covers pricing and the Mississippi installer list covers who does the work.
Mississippi Solar FAQs
Yes, under the Public Service Commission’s distributed generation rule adopted in 2015 and amended in 2022, but it is net billing rather than one-for-one netting. Exports are credited at the utility’s avoided cost plus a flat 2.5¢ adder, with a further 2.0¢ for low-to-moderate income households. On Entergy Mississippi that currently works out at roughly 6.1¢, or about 8.1¢ for a qualifying household, against Mississippi’s statewide-average residential rate of about 14.95¢ (Entergy’s own retail rate is the number to compare on your bill).
An extra 2.0¢ per exported kilowatt-hour for low-to-moderate income households, on top of the 2.5¢ adder every solar customer receives. Qualifying households also get up to $3,000 toward installation and $2,000 toward a battery through 2027, first come, first served. The income threshold is set in the tariff, so ask the utility for the current definition in writing.
Entergy Mississippi’s residential ceiling is 20 kW DC, but the rule that usually binds first is that your system may not offset more than 110% of your prior year’s electricity usage. If your household has recently added a heat pump, an electric vehicle or an extension, you are being sized against a year that no longer reflects how much power you use.
No. Mississippi offers no state income tax credit for residential solar. What it offers instead is the layered export credit, the income-linked adder, and installation and battery incentives for low-to-moderate income households. With Section 25D at $0 for purchased systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025, those are the whole picture for a buyer. A leasing company that owns the system can still claim the business-side 48E credit, which is why lease pricing may reflect a federal subsidy your own purchase cannot.
No. The Public Service Commission’s rule reaches investor-owned utilities, which means Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power. Electric cooperatives and municipal systems set their own interconnection and export terms, so if your bill comes from one of those you need those terms in writing from your own provider rather than relying on the state rule.
The income question changes the arithmetic here. Enter your ZIP code to see what Mississippi installers are quoting.
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References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s net metering rules and consumer guide, Entergy Mississippi’s filed schedule, federal energy data, and IRS guidance for this page. Sources accessed between June 10 and August 20, 2026.
- Mississippi Public Service Commission. Distributed generator interconnection and net metering rules. Adopted 2015, amended 2022: the layered credit structure, the 2.5¢ benefits adder, the 2.0¢ low-to-moderate income adder, investor-owned scope, and REC transfer. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- Entergy Mississippi. Net metering schedule. The current avoided-cost component and export values as of February 2026, the 20 kW DC residential ceiling, the 110% of prior-year usage limit, the 3% of peak cap, and the low-to-moderate income installation and battery incentives through 2027. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- Mississippi Public Service Commission. Consumer guide to net metering and solar power in Mississippi. Plain-language companion to the Commission rules. Accessed August 20, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Power Monthly. The Mississippi statewide average residential price used for scale. 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.
