Georgia net metering: how Georgia Power credits your solar in 2026
Georgia net metering explained: credit rates, interconnection steps, and what Georgia Power and Various municipal utilities offer Georgia solar owners.
Georgia Power’s net metering policy is the most important fact for any Georgia homeowner evaluating solar in 2026. Unlike most states, Georgia Power does not credit excess solar at the retail rate. Understanding exactly how Georgia Power calculates and applies net metering credits is essential before signing an installation contract.
Georgia Power avoided-cost net metering
Georgia Power’s net metering program credits excess residential solar generation at the utility’s avoided cost rate — approximately $0.03 to $0.05 per kilowatt-hour in 2026. This rate represents what Georgia Power would otherwise pay to purchase electricity from wholesale markets. It is dramatically lower than the retail rate of $0.13 to $0.15/kWh that Georgia Power charges you for grid consumption. The practical result: solar electricity your home self-consumes saves you at the retail rate; solar electricity exported to the grid earns approximately 3 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. This asymmetry makes system sizing critical.
What this means for your Georgia solar system size
In states with retail-rate net metering, homeowners can modestly oversize their system and the excess production earns nearly the same credit as self-consumed power. In Georgia, oversizing your system means the excess production earns very little. A properly sized Georgia Power system produces approximately 90 to 100 percent of your annual consumption — right-sized to maximize self-consumption without significant surplus export. Your installer should size to your actual consumption data, not to the maximum your roof will hold. Ask to see the sizing basis if your quote presents a system significantly larger than your historical usage would require.
Municipal utility alternatives
If you are served by a Georgia municipal electric utility rather than Georgia Power, your net metering terms may be considerably more favorable. Contact your municipal utility directly to confirm their net metering credit rate. Municipal utilities in Georgia are not bound by Georgia Power’s avoided-cost policy and some offer retail-rate credits. This distinction can significantly change the financial case for homeowners in municipal utility service areas.