We Energies’ solar export credit changes and Wisconsin homeowners

13 November 2026

A rooftop solar owner on We Energies' flat residential rate who sent surplus power to the grid in 2024 earned a flat avoided energy cost rate of $0.03739 per kWh. That is under four cents for each kilowatt-hour exported. The capacity and transmission components of the same export credit were set at zero. Together with a new statewide interconnection rule and a coming change in metering, those numbers shape what a home system is worth and how it gets connected.

We Energies' 2024 export-credit structure

The figures come from We Energies' 2024 customer generation rates, which cover net metered customers under 300 kW. For residential and secondary customers on a flat rate, the schedule sets the avoided energy cost at $0.03739 per kWh. This is the value assigned to excess energy a customer sends back to the utility rather than using on site.

The schedule has other lines, and those are where the credit shrinks. The avoided capacity cost rate is listed at $0.00000 per kWh for all on-peak excess energy. The avoided transmission cost rate is also $0.00000 per kWh for all excess energy. In practical terms, the utility counted only the energy component as an avoided cost for exported power in 2024. It assigned no value to the capacity or transmission side.

A simple calculation shows what that means on a bill. A home that exports 100 kWh in a month would see about $3.74 credited at the flat avoided energy rate. An export total of 1,000 kWh would come to roughly $37.39. These are illustrations of the arithmetic, not predictions of any particular household's bill, because exports depend on system size, roof orientation, season and how much power the household uses while the panels are producing.

The takeaway for homeowners is that the way a system is sized and used matters. Every kilowatt-hour a household consumes directly from its own panels is power it does not have to buy at the retail rate. Every kilowatt-hour it exports is credited at the much lower avoided cost figure. Anyone comparing quotes should ask installers to model the home's actual daytime use rather than assume all production earns the same value.

Wisconsin rule changes for rooftop solar interconnection

On May 15, 2024, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin announced that revised interconnection rules for customer-owned distributed generation facilities were now in effect. The rule took effect on May 1, 2024, so the announcement came two weeks after the new requirements started to apply. Interconnection is the process by which a utility reviews and approves the connection of a customer's generating equipment to its distribution system, and it governs rooftop solar, among other systems.

For a homeowner, this process is the step between signing a contract and switching the panels on. A system generally cannot operate in parallel with the grid until the utility has approved it. A revised statewide rule therefore affects the paperwork an installer files, the steps a utility follows, and the sequence of approvals that has to be complete before the system goes live.

The practical caveat is about timing. A project that was started before May 1, 2024 and one started after may not follow the same path, so a homeowner should not rely on a neighbor's experience from a prior year. Before signing, it is worth asking the installer which version of the rule the application will follow. It is also worth asking who will submit the interconnection paperwork and whether the contract ties payment to utility approval.

The commission's announcement does not change the export credit by itself. The credit values come from each utility's own generation rate schedule, such as the We Energies figures above. The interconnection rule determines how a system gets connected, while the rate schedule, according to CasinoExplain.com, determines what the exported power is worth once it is. Homeowners need both pieces to estimate a payback period, and the two documents come from different places.

Solar rebates and bonuses available in 2024

Upfront cost is the other half of the equation, and in 2024 Focus on Energy offered a modest rebate to reduce it. According to the program's residential solar PV overview, the rebates were effective May 1, 2024, the same date the revised interconnection rule took effect. The amounts for a single-family home were as follows.

• Effective date: May 1, 2024
• Residential solar PV rebate for a single-family home: $300 per system
• Rural residential solar bonus: an additional $300 for installing a system
• Combined for a rural single-family home: $600, the rebate plus the bonus

The rebate is paid per system, not per kilowatt or per panel. A small array and a large one therefore qualify for the same $300, which makes the incentive a bigger share of the cost on a modest installation. It is a small offset against what a typical rooftop system costs, and it should not be the deciding factor in whether to go solar.

The rural bonus adds a further $300 for eligible installations. A homeowner who thinks the bonus applies should confirm eligibility with the installer before the contract is signed, so that the final price reflects it. Program terms can change from one year to the next, so the 2024 amounts should be treated as a snapshot, not a standing offer. Anyone planning a purchase should check the current program materials before relying on them.

PSC rate-case decisions affecting meter setup

The metering side of the picture is also changing. RENEW Wisconsin reported on Dec. 19, 2024 that the Public Service Commission authorized a June 1, 2025 compromise for We Energies' move to single bidirectional metering for net energy metering customers. A bidirectional meter records power flowing in both directions, from the grid to the home and from the home back to the grid, through a single device. The date matters for current and prospective solar owners in We Energies territory, because the way their energy flows are measured and billed is tied to the meter.

The compromise is the kind of detail that decides how a solar customer's bill looks from one month to the next. The reporting describes it as a negotiated outcome tied to the rate-case decisions, and it sets a specific start date instead of leaving the transition open. Customers who install a system ahead of that date should ask We Energies or their installer what the meter change will mean for their account. The aim is to avoid surprises on the first bill after the switch.

The same reporting notes a separate directive aimed at commercial customers. The commission required We Energies and WPS to increase commercial behind-the-meter distributed generation offerings up to 5,000 kW by 2025. Behind-the-meter generation is equipment on the customer's side of the meter, such as a rooftop array at a business. Raising the offering to as much as 5,000 kW widens the range of commercial projects that can fit within the utilities' programs.

Read together, the 2024 and 2025 decisions point in one direction. Interconnection rules were revised in May 2024. The export credit counted only an energy component. Metering for We Energies net metering customers is scheduled to change on June 1, 2025. For a household weighing solar now, the sensible approach is to ask for a quote built on the current rate schedule. It should also say plainly how the 2025 meter change would affect the numbers, and what the installer will handle when the utility sets that date for the home.