How net metering works in Florida

Net metering in Florida follows the Public Service Commission's Rule 25-6.065, which applies to the investor-owned utilities: FPL, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric.

• During the day, your home uses solar power first. Anything extra flows to the grid and the net meter counts it.
• Each month, exported kWh offset kWh you buy at night or on cloudy days, one for one, at the full retail rate.
• Extra credits roll forward to next month's bill, for up to 12 months.
• At year-end, the utility pays out unused credits at its avoided cost, only a few cents per kWh. FPL pays them after the last billing cycle of the year at an average annual rate based on its as-available energy cost (rate COG-1), which it recalculates each year. Credits are also paid out if you close the account.

The customer charge and any minimum bill still apply, so even a home that makes all its own power pays something each month: $30 at FPL and Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric's basic service charge of about $0.45 a day.

Once you're connected, here's how to read your electric bill after going solar.

About a quarter million FPL, Duke and Tampa Electric customers were on net metering at the end of 2025; see Florida solar statistics.

Two different amounts, depending on when you use the credit. FPL's 2026 net metering tariff spells it out:

• During the year, a full kWh for a kWh. Solar you send to the grid in one billing cycle is credited against your use in the next, so each exported kWh cancels a kWh you'd otherwise buy at the retail rate. Credits keep accumulating for up to 12 months.
• At year-end, a few cents. After the last billing cycle of the calendar year, FPL credits any leftover kWh at an average annual rate based on its as-available energy tariff (COG-1), which is FPL's own avoided cost of making power, mostly fuel. That's a small fraction of what you pay per kWh.
• If you move or close the account, FPL pays out unused credits at that same year-end rate. If you're selling the house, there's little value in banking credits.
• The minimum still applies. However much you export, you pay at least the minimum charge in your rate schedule: $30 a month for FPL homes in 2026.

On your bill, FPL shows the kWh it delivered to you, the kWh it received from your panels, and a reserve of extra kWh that rolls forward to lower next month's bill. Your panels' total output isn't on the bill, because your home uses its solar first and only the extra goes back to the grid.

The tariff also says net metering doesn't change your eligibility for FPL's time-of-use rate, though time-of-use only pays off in specific cases; see FPL time-of-use rates with solar and batteries. To see what a right-sized system would do for your bill, use the savings calculator or get a free quote.

Not as of 2026. In 2022, the Legislature passed HB 741, which would have cut credits for new systems in steps and moved to avoided-cost credits by 2029. Governor DeSantis vetoed it. An earlier PSC workshop in 2020 drew more than 16,000 letters and ended with no change to the rule.

Changes have been discussed since, but as of mid-2026 nothing had passed and the PSC hadn't set a phase-down.

Big enough to cover about a year of your use, and no bigger. Because credits are worth the full retail rate until year-end and only a few cents after, every kWh past your yearly use is worth very little.

If you're adding an EV, a pool pump or a bigger home soon, tell your installer so the system covers your future use, not just last year's bills.

The rule sorts systems into three tiers by size. Most homes are Tier 1.

Duke Energy Florida also charges Tier 2 and Tier 3 application fees; check its current tariff with your installer. Large homes with high bills can land in Tier 2, which adds the fee and the insurance requirement.

• The utility acknowledges your application within 10 business days and confirms whether it's complete.
• It signs the interconnection agreement within 30 calendar days of a complete application.
• After the system is built and passes the local inspection, the utility can inspect it within 30 days of receiving your signed agreement, then swaps in a net meter.

Your installer handles the application. Tampa Electric says approval can take up to 30 calendar days from a complete application.

Yes, a solar system with a battery is still net metered. But because exports already earn the full retail rate, storing your solar instead of exporting it saves little on the bill. In Florida a battery's real value is backup: grid-tied panels shut off in an outage, and a battery keeps chosen circuits running through storms. Ask your installer how adding a battery affects your utility application and tier.

They set their own policies, and some credit exports below the retail rate. If your bill comes from a city-owned utility such as JEA or OUC, or from an electric co-op, check its current net metering terms before you size a system. This guide covers FPL, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric.