Solar Buyback Electricity Plans in Texas

Solar buyback electricity plans put money back in your pocket. It’s called Texas Net Metering. Your electric company pays you for your excess solar power that you generate from the solar panels on your roof. Here’s all about Texas solar buy back rates, and electricity plans that offer net metering.

Jump directly to the list of best solar buyback electricity rates in Texas.

How to Sell Solar Power Back to Grid in Texas

If your solar panels produce more power than you can use during the day, you can sell the excess power back to the grid. This is called solar buyback or net metering.

Net metering or solar buyback is the ability to sell your excess solar power back to the grid.

Your electricity company will buy your excess solar power from you. And you’ll receive the money as a bill credit.

To sell solar power back to the grid in Texas, you will need:

• A smart meter
• An interconnection agreement with your utility company. (Your retail electricity provider will give you all the paperwork.)
• A retail electricity provider that will buy your excess power through a solar buyback or net metering plan.

Here are the best solar buyback rates in Texas.

Best Power Companies for Solar Buy Back in Texas

If you’ve made the investment in solar panels for your home, you’ll want to find the best Texas net metering plan. Here are the companies we recommend.

Sell Excess Solar to the Grid at the Same Price per kWh You Pay

If you want sell excess power back to the grid at the same price per kWh that you pay, then Chariot Energy Rise Solar is our recommendation.

Chariot Energy will buy back your excess electricity at the plan’s electricity rate (excluding delivery). You can not be a net exporter, meaning they will not buy more power than the amount you use.

You’ll get bill credits for your excess solar that you sell back to the grid.

Sell Excess Solar to the Grid at the Market Pice

If you want to sell excess power back to the grid at the market price (wholesale price), then Champion Energy is our top recommendation for solar buyback.

The rate shown here includes our exclusive Champion Energy promo code discount rate. So you’ll get a low price for your power that you purchase, from a company rated number one in customer service.

And this summer when energy prices are peaking as high as 50 cents per kWh (the ERCOT market cap)? You can get rewarded for putting energy onto the grid.

Just make sure you understand, the real time price of electricity changes every 15 minutes. It’s capped at 50 cents per kWh or $5000/MWh, but could be substantially less than that, including times when the wholesale price is 0.

Electric Plans for Solar Owners – Best Solar Buy Back Plan

When you’re a solar owner shopping for an electric plan, it pays to read the fine print. That’s true of any electricity plan, so you make sure you know what you are getting. But it’s especially true of Texas net metering plans.

The rates shown above are based on using 2000 kWh per month on average and include energy plus delivery charges. That’s how electricity rates are marketed, based on the Public Utility Commission of Texas rules.

But the amount you see in the charts above isn’t the buyback payment amount.

You’ll get paid back just based on the energy rate, excluding delivery. Other plans will pay a different energy rate for the power they buy from you vs. the power they sell to you. And another type of plan will l pay you on the real time price of electricity at the time you are selling it back to the grid.

In the chart below, we’ve summarized how each of these plans pay out in net metering, for your solar buyback.

Texas Solar Buyback Rates - Comparison Chart

Solar Buyback Plan	Solar Buyback Rate	Other Details	Renewable Percentage
Chariot Energy Rise Solar	Buyback at the plan's electricity rate, excluding delivery.	Must not be a net-exporter. Solar credits are settled out to cash each month as a bill credit. No cash-out option.	Any power you purchase is 100% backed by RECs.
Champion Energy - all plans	Buyback at the real-time settlement point price of energy at the time you generated excess power, i.e. wholesale power price.	Unlimited buyback. Credits roll month over month. No cash-out option.	Varies by plan purchased.
Chariot Energy Shine Solar	Buyback at the real-time settlement point price of energy at the time you generated excess power, i.e. wholesale power price, capped at 25¢/kWh per interval.	Net exporter systems are allowed. Solar credits are settled out to cash each month as a bill credit. No cash-out option.	Any power you purchase is 100% backed by RECs.
Rhythm Solar Buyback	Buyback is at a fixed rate that is different (less than) the energy rate you pay.	One-to-One buyback up to your monthly usage. No cash-out option. Must not be a net-producer more than 6 consecutive months of the year.	Any power you purchase is 100% backed by RECs.
Shell Energy Solar Buyback	Buyback at the real-time settlement point price of energy at the time you generated excess power, i.e. wholesale power price.	Unlimited buyback. Credits roll month over month, but expire in December of each year. No cash-out option.	Any power you purchase is 100% backed by RECs.
Energy Texas - all plans (opt in to Sun-Jacinto Buyback via online account.)	Buyback at the real-time settlement point price of energy at the time you generated excess power, i.e. wholesale power price, capped at a maximum price equal to your energy rate per kWh.	Unlimited buyback. Solar credits are settled out to cash each month as a bill credit. Credits do not expire, but there is no cash-out option.	Any power you purchase is 100% backed by RECs.

How Much Can I Make Selling Solar Power Back to the Grid?

How much your electric company pays for your excess solar power depends on your electricity plan. Because you can’t literally sell power back to the grid. You’ll be selling it to your retail electricity provider.

Most companies will pay you on net metering at the same rate per kilowatt hour (kWh) that they charge you for electricity.

Remember though, your net metering credit will be equal to the price you pay per kWh for the electricity portion of your bill. That’s important.

Unless the plan you pick explicitly says they pay you back at the bundled rate of energy plus delivery? They don’t. So don’t use the average price per kilowatt hour from the electricity facts label when you’re figuring out what you’ll make selling solar back to the grid.

You need to look at the energy only or electricity only price. That’s the energy rate excluding delivery charges.

Other companies will buy your excess solar power based on their avoided costs. That means they’ll pay you what they would have spent buying wholesale power on the Texas electricity spot market. Simply stated? When you sell your excess power to the grid, your provider pays you the wholesale price of energy.

So, to be clear, to sell solar power back to the grid in Texas, not just any electricity plan will do. To sell solar power back to the grid in Texas, you need to pick a special solar buyback or net metering plan for your electricity. That’s the only way to get the best solar buy back rate.

Solar Panels Return on Investment in Texas

If you are considering rooftop solar panels, you may be shopping around to see solar buyback rates. That’s important to calculate your ROI and payback period for your solar panels.

You can get a custom proposal for your home solar panels by completing the form below.

We’ll connect you with Freedom Solar Power, the number one SunPower dealer in Texas. They’ll contact you to schedule an appointment.

Then an energy consultant will meet with you virtually or at your home.

You’ll get a custom proposal with system size, design, cost, financing and estimated electricity bill savings.

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Oncor Texas Net Metering Programs

Oncor is the delivery company in North Texas and parts of Central and West Texas. Since they are no longer a retail electricity provider, they do not offer Oncor Texas net metering programs.

The only way to get paid for your excess solar power in Oncor is by picking an electricity supplier with solar buyback.

However, if you are installing a new solar panels and battery storage system on your home, you should look into Oncor solar rebates.

Your Oncor solar installation rebate depends on the size of your system. But a 7.2 kW system installation could be eligible for a rebate as high as $5,000. Talk to your installer about the Oncor solar rebate before you proceed with your new installation.

Net Metering in Regulated Texas Electricity Markets

The information above refers to solar buyback and net metering programs in Dallas, Houston and other deregulated areas of Texas. Here are resources on solar buyback if you live in a regulated area of Texas.

Solar Buyback Programs in Austin. Austin Energy offers a Value of Solar (VoS) Rate. In addition to your standard electrical meter, they’ll install a second meter on your home. This meter will measure your solar output. You’ll receive a bill credit for your solar generation at the applicable Austin Energy VoS rate.

Net Metering Programs in San Antonio. CPS Energy’s net metering program will pay you the current market wholesale electricity price for your excess solar power. You should contact CPS Energy directly to inquire about their program

Solar Buyback Programs in The Woodlands. Some areas of The Woodlands, just north of Houston, are in the Centerpoint electricity market (deregulated). Other areas of the Woodlands are in the Entergy electricity delivery market. If Entergy serves your home, you can find information on net metering in The Woodlands on their website.