Guide
Texas solar buyback plans vs net metering: how exports get paid
Updated
In most states the utility must credit your exported solar power at a set rate. Texas never mandated that. What you earn for exports depends entirely on the electricity plan you choose, which makes plan choice part of the solar purchase.
No statewide net metering
Texas has no statewide net metering requirement: the Public Utility Commission of Texas does not oblige providers to buy your exports at retail rates (puc.texas.gov). In the deregulated ERCOT market, you buy and sell power through a retail electric provider, and providers compete with optional solar buyback plans. Outside deregulation, municipal utilities and co-ops (Austin Energy, CPS Energy and others) run their own programs with their own rates.
What buyback plans actually look like
- Near-retail credit plans: some plans credit exports at or near the import rate, but often pair that with a higher energy charge or monthly fee, price the whole plan, not the headline.
- Wholesale or real-time plans: exports earn the market rate, which averages far below retail but can spike during scarcity events.
- Credit caps and rollover rules: many plans cap monthly export credits at your consumption or expire unused credits annually, which quietly trims the value of an oversized system.
- Term and churn: buyback plans are typically 12-36 month contracts that get repriced at renewal; assume the plan you sign today is not the plan you hold in year 10.
How to choose without a spreadsheet headache
- Estimate your export share first: a system sized near 100% of usage in a home that is empty on summer afternoons exports a lot; a smaller system in a high-usage home exports little and cares less about buyback rates.
- Compare two or three plans on effective annual cost using your expected import and export volumes, not on the buyback rate alone.
- In deregulated areas, start from the official shopping site, powertochoose.org, then check the provider's own solar buyback terms document.
- On a municipal utility or co-op, ask for its current solar rider in writing; programs change and are not always on the website front page.
Plan terms quoted here are typical 2026 market shapes, not any specific provider's offer; verify the current terms of any plan before signing, and size the system with the calculator first.