New Hampshire net metering: how Eversource NH credits your solar
NH net metering credits excess solar at full retail rate — and with no state sales tax on solar equipment, New Hampshire quietly offers one of the cleanest incentive stacks in New England.
New Hampshire net metering is straightforward and fair: when your solar system produces more than your home uses, the excess flows to the Eversource NH (formerly PSNH) grid and you receive a bill credit at the full retail electricity rate. That credit rolls forward month to month, offsetting future consumption in months when solar production falls short of your usage. New Hampshire's net metering law applies to all investor-owned utilities in the state, including Eversource NH and Unitil. The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) also operates a net metering program for its rural members under separate cooperative terms.
How Eversource NH net metering billing works
Eversource NH (the former Public Service of New Hampshire, or PSNH) serves the majority of New Hampshire residential solar customers. Under NH net metering rules, your monthly bill shows two numbers: the electricity you consumed from the grid, and the credits earned from excess solar generation. Credits are applied at the retail rate — approximately $0.22 to $0.26 per kilowatt-hour in 2026 depending on your rate class. Unused credits carry forward to the following month. At year-end, Eversource reconciles any remaining surplus credits; the treatment of year-end surplus is specified in your interconnection agreement.
New Hampshire does not have time-of-use (TOU) rates for most residential customers, which simplifies net metering math: every kilowatt-hour you export earns the same credit regardless of when it is produced. This is a meaningful advantage compared to states like California where export credit rates have been reduced dramatically under NEM 3.0.
The New Hampshire no-sales-tax advantage
New Hampshire has no general sales tax. This means solar panels, inverters, racking systems, and battery storage equipment have no sales tax applied at purchase — an automatic discount of 0% versus the 6.25% Massachusetts sales tax exemption that MA homeowners celebrate. In NH, the exemption is simply the baseline: nobody pays sales tax on anything. On a $25,000 system, this saves approximately $1,500 compared to purchasing the same equipment in Massachusetts before the MA sales tax exemption. It is a quiet but real advantage that rarely gets highlighted in NH solar discussions.
Eversource NH interconnection process
Connecting your NH solar system to the Eversource grid requires a formal interconnection application. Your installer typically handles this process. For residential systems under 100 kW, NH uses a simplified interconnection review process. Steps include: application submission with system specs, technical review by Eversource engineers, interconnection agreement execution, installation and inspection, and permission to operate (PTO). Total timeline for a residential NH system: approximately 6 to 10 weeks. Unitil customers follow a similar process under Unitil's interconnection procedures. NHEC members should contact the cooperative directly for its specific interconnection application process, which differs from investor-owned utility procedures.
Is solar worth it in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire has lower solar irradiance than southern states (approximately 4.0 to 4.5 peak sun hours daily) and moderate electricity rates compared to Massachusetts. The combination produces a longer payback window than FL or PR — typically 7 to 11 years — but solid 25-year lifetime savings in the $25,000 to $50,000 range for most NH systems. The no-sales-tax advantage and strong net metering policy improve the picture. Battery storage is increasingly popular among NH homeowners seeking resilience during winter ice storms and nor'easters that produce multi-day outages in rural areas. Full NH incentives breakdown.