Save money while helping the environment. If you have recently installed solar panels or are planning to go solar, now is the time to learn how Southern California Edison’s Solar Billing Plan works.

The  Solar Billing Plan is a new program for customers who install an eligible renewable generating system, such as solar or wind, after April 14, 2023. SCE’s most recent analysis, Countdown to 2045, calls for an additional 15 gigawatts of rooftop solar to help California reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, California customers who don’t have solar are paying almost $5 billion more every year in their electric bills, because under NEM, rooftop solar owners are compensated at rates more than six times their actual value. While the new Solar Billing Plan will not eliminate this cost shift entirely, it will significantly reduce it. And it will save SCE households that don’t have solar about $100 million on their electric bills this year, and that savings will continue to grow each year.

“Southern California Edison supports the growth of rooftop solar and our customers who adopt it,” said Eduyng Castano, senior manager of Customer Generation Programs. “Customer-owned solar plays an important role in the ability of California to achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

Solar panels make energy for your home or business when the sun is out and shining. When it is cloudy or at night, you will use energy from SCE to keep your lights and power on. The Solar Billing Plan works by billing customers monthly for the energy used and providing credits earned for extra solar energy produced and sent back to the grid.

The value of these credits varies hourly as well as by month, weekday and weekend. The price of electricity you use also varies, depending on your rate plan. Your total monthly bill will be your energy charges after your available energy credits have been applied.

The Solar Billing Plan tracks usage and credits on a 12-month cycle, called the Relevant Period. At the end of each Relevant Period, you’ll receive an annual settlement statement that combines any remaining charges, energy credits or adjustments, closing out the period and starting the new one.

While the Solar Billing Plan is a change, it provides a solution that helps all customers. This includes SCE customers who don’t have rooftop solar, many of whom are lower income and pay higher rates resulting from the previous Net Energy Metering program. As part of the clean energy transition, SCE believes customers should pay a fair, market-based price for solar-generated power.

For more information about the clean energy transition, visit edison.com/cleanenergy.

Learn more about the Solar Billing Plan for residential and business customers.