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.
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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.