Published November 5, 2025 · Updated May 15, 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
NEM 3.0 (the Net Billing Tariff) cut what utilities pay for exported solar by about 75%. The result: instead of selling power back cheaply, you save by storing your daytime solar in a battery and using it during the expensive 4–9 PM peak.
By Vinnie Curcie, Founder & CEO
The simple version
Your power costs the most from about 4–9 PM — exactly when you're home using it. Under NEM 3.0, the rate the utility pays you for solar you export during the day is much lower than the rate it charges you at night. So exporting is no longer where the value is.
The fix: store it, don't sell it
A battery stores the cheap (free) solar your panels make during the day, then powers your home during the expensive evening peak. That's the whole strategy under NEM 3.0 — and it's why a battery is now part of almost every system we design.
It applies to PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E
If you applied for interconnection after April 15, 2023 with one of California's big three investor-owned utilities, you're on NEM 3.0 (the Net Billing Tariff). Municipal utilities have their own rules, which we navigate for you.
FAQ
NEM 3.0 — the Net Billing Tariff covering SCE, SDG&E, and PG&E interconnections after April 15, 2023 — cut what utilities pay for exported solar by roughly 75%. The savings now come from storing your daytime solar in a battery and using it during the expensive 4–9 PM peak instead of selling it back cheaply. It's why nearly every system we design includes storage.
Sources
- 1.CPUC — Net Energy Metering and Net Billing — California Public Utilities Commission · accessed 2026-07
- 2.CPUC — Net Billing Tariff (NEM Revisit, D.22-12-056) — California Public Utilities Commission · accessed 2026-07
- 3.IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 2026-07
- 4.IRS — FAQs on Termination of Sections 25C, 25D and Other Energy Provisions Under the One Big Beautiful Bill (P.L. 119-21) — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 2026-07
- 5.SCE — Time-of-Use Residential Rate Plans — Southern California Edison · accessed 2026-07
- 6.PG&E — Solar Billing Plan — Pacific Gas and Electric Company · accessed 2026-07
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