PG&E Solar True-Up, NEM and Solar Billing Plan
Understand PG&E solar statements, legacy NEM reconciliation, Solar Billing Plan monthly charges, export credits, and why annual kWh do not predict your bill.
Billing and eligibility at a glance
- Export compensation
- New solar customers use PG&E's Solar Billing Plan, also called the Net Billing Tariff. Exported energy earns hourly credits, not an automatic one-for-one retail credit.
- Billing and settlement
- Monthly charges and export credits are reconciled through the plan's billing process. Remaining annual surplus is handled under PG&E's net-surplus compensation rules.
- Eligibility and important limits
- Export values, rate plans, bonus-credit eligibility, and legacy arrangements can differ. Use the address-specific tariff and interconnection documents when reviewing a production or savings estimate.
- Interconnection
- Submit the utility interconnection application and obtain permission to operate before relying on export-credit treatment. PG&E reviews interconnection applications and provides program information for new solar customers.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-06
Quick answer
- Identify legacy NEM versus Solar Billing Plan before interpreting a statement or comparing a quote.
- Legacy NEM carries eligible energy charges and credits to annual True-Up; monthly bills can still include payable items.
- Solar Billing Plan residential customers receive monthly statements and an annual reconciliation, but that does not make their credits equivalent to legacy NEM.
- A household can generate enough annual solar kWh to match consumption and still owe money because timing, rates and remaining charges matter.
Identify the billing arrangement on the account
Start with the service account, solar agreement, rate schedule and statement heading. PG&E provides separate guidance for Net Energy Metering and Solar Billing Plan customers. A proposal using the term 'NEM 3.0' does not establish that an existing home's account has moved away from legacy NEM, nor does a general statement about a business-customer transition establish your residential enrollment.
Confirm whether PG&E supplies the generation service as well as delivery. Community Choice Aggregator generation charges and credits may be administered separately. Read the official solar statement guidance and the applicable generation-provider materials rather than assuming one utility page describes every line of the bill.
How legacy NEM True-Up works
PG&E describes eligible energy charges and credits carried forward month by month over 12 billing cycles, followed by a True-Up Statement reconciling the final amount. A positive accumulated charge balance can therefore become payable even when several earlier bills looked small. Solar production and household use fluctuate during the year; one unusually productive month does not establish the annual outcome.
Use the statement's accumulated energy balance, True-Up date and actual period charges to follow progress. An original hypothetical sequence of +$40, then -$25, then +$30 changes the eligible accumulated balance to +$45. It is a simplified illustration of addition only, not a PG&E rate calculation, complete bill or average customer result. Source: NEM monthly and annual statement explanation.
Legacy NEM balances and monthly payments are different
- Monthly grid exchanges: The billing meter records electricity purchased and delivered under the assigned schedule.
- Eligible energy balance: Charges and credits accumulate across the reconciliation period.
- Separate monthly payable items: Check fixed or non-offsettable charges rather than assuming every item waits for True-Up.
- Annual reconciliation: PG&E reconciles the eligible accumulated balance on the True-Up Statement.
Diagram sources: www.pge.com
How Solar Billing Plan differs
PG&E's residential Solar Billing Plan explanation describes monthly energy statements and an annual True-Up statement. The monthly result depends on electricity imported, export credits and applicable charges. The annual statement provides a summary and applies available qualifying credits under the plan; some customers' reconciliation periods can be shorter than a year.
Do not use a legacy NEM example as a Solar Billing Plan savings estimate. The latter plan's export treatment and eligible charge offsets need their own terms. Read the residential Solar Billing Plan explanation, select the residential section, and confirm the actual assigned schedule before entering a dollar figure into a proposal.
Read the statement in a consistent order
First identify the billing dates and arrangement. Next find grid electricity purchased, the reported export quantities or credits, current payable charges, and any balance accumulated toward True-Up. Finally identify the reconciliation date and the generation provider. PG&E links official sample statements and explanations on its solar bill pages; sample layouts may change.
This is an annotated reading checklist, not a reproduced customer bill. Match the quantities and charge labels on your own statement to the official PG&E solar bill explanation and sample statements. Do not substitute inverter generation for energy delivered through the utility meter, and do not count the same export credit twice.
Use the correct PG&E solar statement explanation
- Identify NEM or Solar Billing Plan: Use the agreement and statement, not an installer's informal program name.
- Read meter-based quantities and credits: Separate grid imports and exports from total inverter generation.
- Find current payments and carried balances: Check which items are payable now and which are reconciled under the arrangement.
- Check the annual period and provider: Confirm the True-Up date and whether generation is billed by a separate provider.
Diagram sources: www.pge.com, www.pge.com
Why a bill remains when annual energy matches
Consider an original hypothetical household generating 8,000 kWh and consuming 8,000 kWh over a year. That annual equality does not reveal how much solar was used directly, how much was exported during particular hours, or how much power was imported in expensive periods. It also says nothing about fixed or otherwise non-offsettable charges.
PG&E's reviewed NEM guidance describes a residential Base Services Charge transition effective March 2026 and says monthly generation credits do not offset that charge. The relevant charge, account eligibility and provider treatment should be verified on the current statement. See PG&E's current solar bill explanation; this guide does not assign a universal monthly dollar amount.
Distinguish export credits from net surplus compensation
A monthly export credit, an accumulated annual billing balance and Net Surplus Compensation are not three names for the same quantity. Eligibility and the applicable solar agreement determine how annual surplus is treated. Producing more total inverter kWh than the home uses does not itself identify the meter-based quantity or the payment due.
Before accepting a forecast, ask the installer to show where export credits are applied, which charges they can offset, and how remaining annual surplus is settled. The Solar Billing Plan True-Up explanation identifies qualifying credits, including NSC, without making all credits interchangeable or guaranteeing a cash payout.
Batteries can change timing, but savings need a model
A battery can store some solar energy for later use instead of exporting it immediately. That physical capability does not establish the financial result. Charging losses, usable capacity, power limits, reserve settings, export opportunities, import prices and installed cost all affect whether the equipment reduces a bill enough to justify its price.
PG&E discusses storage in its Solar Billing Plan guidance. This guide provides no battery-payback forecast and assumes no automatic incentive. Request a dated dispatch and tariff calculation that distinguishes backup capability from bill savings before agreeing to a battery proposal.
Documents to obtain before accepting a savings estimate
Keep a full year of bills, the confirmed rate and solar arrangement, interval import/export data if available, the interconnection approval and the installer's production assumptions. Ask for separate import charges, export credits, remaining monthly charges and annual settlement assumptions. A calculation that simply multiplies annual solar production by a retail rate leaves important terms unexplained.
The PG&E getting-started materials explain the interconnection path; completed installation is not a replacement for approval. Use our quote analyzer to compare a proposal's equipment and price assumptions. The annual energy-flow calculator is not a PG&E bill simulator.
Keep PG&E solar billing concepts separate
| Concept | What to check | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|
| Inverter generation | Total energy produced by equipment | Every produced kWh earns an export credit |
| Grid exports | Metered deliveries and their timing | Export value always equals the import retail rate |
| Monthly amount due | Current payable charges and applied credits | A small monthly bill means annual charges are zero |
| True-Up balance | Arrangement, period and carried eligible items | NEM and Solar Billing Plan reconcile identically |
| Net Surplus Compensation | Eligible surplus and current applicable rules | All remaining credits are paid in cash |
Legacy NEM and Solar Billing Plan reading checklist
| Question | Legacy NEM | Residential Solar Billing Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Where is eligible energy reconciliation explained? | NEM monthly carry-forward and True-Up guidance | SBP monthly statement and annual True-Up guidance |
| Is the underlying rate relevant? | Yes, including usage timing and provider treatment | Yes, including imports, export values and credit eligibility |
| Can a bill remain? | Yes, monthly payable items and final energy balance can remain | Yes, monthly charges and annual settlement require separate review |
| Can annual generation alone predict the bill? | No | No |
Frequently asked questions
Why is my monthly solar bill small but my True-Up large?
Under legacy NEM, eligible energy charges and credits can accumulate toward annual reconciliation while some items are paid monthly. Read the accumulated balance and the underlying rate, not only the latest amount due.
Does every PG&E solar customer use Solar Billing Plan?
No. Confirm the account's actual arrangement and eligibility. An existing NEM agreement and a new Solar Billing Plan enrollment must not be treated as identical.
Does Solar Billing Plan still have annual True-Up?
PG&E's residential explanation describes monthly statements and annual True-Up, with some reconciliation cycles shorter than a year. That does not mean its credit mechanics match legacy NEM.
Will matching my annual usage with solar make the bill zero?
Not necessarily. Imports and exports can occur in different periods and have different values; fixed or non-offsettable items can remain.
What if my electricity generation comes from a CCA?
Check the generation provider's billing materials as well as PG&E delivery charges. The provider's generation charges and credits should not be inferred from a PG&E-only example.
Can this guide calculate my battery payback?
No. It explains why tariff timing and remaining charges matter. Personalized battery economics require interval data, current tariffs, dispatch assumptions and installed cost.