Smart Solar Billing is set to begin in Illinois on January 1, 2025, and solar industry partners have launched a new webpage for consumers and companies to learn everything they need to know about the new billing system. Solar customers and businesses can visit the Solar Powers Illinois website to learn more about the changes to net metering and the new Smart Solar Billing system that will change the way residential solar and storage owners are reimbursed for the energy they sell back to their utilities.
Current residential solar and storage customers will be considered “legacy” customers and will continue to receive the same net metering benefits throughout the lifetime of their systems. Current Ameren customers are also able to expand their system by 100% and retain the “legacy” Net Metering benefit for the lifetime of the system expansion.
“The solar industry is committed to educating households about how Smart Solar Billing will impact them,” said Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs for SEIA. “While the new system will result in a slightly smaller monthly benefit, customers who invest in solar energy will continue to receive significant energy bill savings.”
Notable changes under Smart Solar Billing include that energy credits from surplus power will now be applied to the supply portion of a customer’s energy bill, rather than the entire bill, as they currently are under full retail net metering. As a result, monthly bill credits may be slightly reduced, though consumers will still have the opportunity to see savings by going solar. Bill credits can also now be rolled over year-over-year and last the lifetime of the installation.
Consumers still have access to major upfront discounts on solar installations, helping make the investment more affordable and accessible than ever before, with additional support for battery storage. The existing Distributed Generation Rebate is available for all solar systems and consumers can access a Storage Rebate if their solar system is paired with a battery. Both rebates provide $300 per kilowatt of capacity for a given system. That means a 10 kW solar system paired with 10 kW-hours of battery storage would result in a $6,000 upfront rebate on top of other existing federal and state incentives. Customers may also receive additional incentives for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) produced by their home solar systems through the Illinois Shines program.
Legacy customers will continue to receive the existing full net metering reimbursement rate throughout the lifetime of their system. New customers can also qualify for supply-only net metering for the lifetime of their system as long as their system has filed a completed Certificate of Completion Application (for ComEd and Ameren customers) and Witness Test Request application (for Ameren Illinois customers only) as well as a net metering application before 5 p.m. CT on December 31, 2024.
Due to record levels of demand, local permitting delays, installation scheduling and potential supply chain issues, new customers are not guaranteed to qualify for full retail net metering even if they have already decided to go solar. Any new customers who are unable to meet the deadline, in addition to all other new customers in 2025 and beyond, will automatically be enrolled in Smart Solar Billing. Residential customers are encouraged to confirm estimated timelines — this means it is important for residential customers to ask questions of their potential installer and ensure their solar provider is providing timely and accurate estimates.
“It is a great time to go solar,” said Lesley McCain, executive director of the Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association. “The monthly savings Smart Solar Billing will continue to provide — in addition to significant rebates from the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and tax breaks from the Federal Inflation Reduction Act — greatly lower the barrier to entry for individuals to invest in solar power and storage. This is an exciting time to join the clean energy economy and be a part of helping the environment.”
News item from Solar Powers Illinois