The short answer

Oncor doesn't offer net metering. In its own words, it "operates in a deregulated electric market where net metering is not applicable." Solar your home uses as it's made saves you your plan's full price for those kWh, delivery included. What happens to the surplus depends on your retail plan: some credit it at close to their energy charge, some at wholesale prices, and some pay nothing. Oncor does run a solar incentive, paid through the companies that install the systems, and its 2026 round closes November 30.

Aerial view of a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb at golden hour, solar panels on several roofs and a power line at the horizon

Your bill has two parts

In the Oncor area, 3,477,215 homes (2024, federal EIA data) get their power over Oncor's lines but buy it from a retail electric provider they choose. The bill comes from the provider, and it carries Oncor's delivery charges inside it:

Oncor charges 6.03 cents for every kWh it delivers. A kWh your panels make and your home uses right away is never delivered, so it saves Oncor's charge as well as your provider's. Oncor points out the other side of that: most solar homes still draw power from the grid at night and on cloudy days, so the delivery charges never go away completely.

Oncor's meter can't see how much your panels make. Once it's reprogrammed, it counts two things: power you take from the grid and surplus you send to it.

What a kWh of solar is worth

That split gives every kWh of solar one of two values. Used at home, it's worth your full plan price. Sent out, it's worth whatever your plan's buyback says. Texas regulators note that buyback rates are "usually lower than the retail price that you pay."

The more of your solar you use as it's made, the less the buyback matters. In our model of 200 Texas homes built from NREL data, a system sized to 85% of a home's yearly use sends a little over half its output to the grid, so the plan you pick moves the savings a lot. Our Texas buyback plans guide walks through the plan types in detail.

What a monthly bill in the Oncor area needs

Here's what our calculator works out for an average month at each bill size, with the average Texas plan price, Oncor's delivery charges and NREL's sun data for Dallas:

Average monthly billYearly use (kWh)System to cover 75% to 95%Yearly savings
$1006,9003.6 to 4.5 kW$490 to $860
$15010,5005.4 to 6.9 kW$740 to $1,310
$20014,1007.3 to 9.3 kW$990 to $1,760
$25017,7009.2 to 11.6 kW$1,250 to $2,220
$30021,30011.0 to 14.0 kW$1,500 to $2,670

Yearly use backs out Oncor's $4.06 in fixed monthly charges and divides by 16.66¢ per kWh, the 2024 average for Texas retail plans (federal EIA data). Systems produce 1,447 kWh per kW a year (PVWatts for a south-facing roof in Dallas, less 5%). The low end assumes a smaller system and a wholesale-linked buyback; the high end, a larger system and a credit equal to the plan's energy charge.

The average home on Oncor's lines used about 1,118 kWh a month in 2024. If your plan has a monthly base charge, or a price well above or below the average, enter your own bill in the calculator; it scales your numbers the same way.

Picking a plan that works with solar

Oncor leaves the buyback to you and your provider: "It is the customer's responsibility to communicate with their retail electric provider about buy-back plans or energy credits," and you aren't required to join one. Oncor points customers to the state's Power to Choose site to compare plans, and suggests asking a provider these questions:

  • Will I be charged for changing my current plan?
  • How do buyback credits offset my overall energy costs?
  • What savings can I expect with solar?

Three more worth asking: does the credit cover only the energy charge, or Oncor's delivery charges too; does unused credit carry over or expire; and is the buyback rate fixed for the contract or tied to wholesale prices? A plan with a low price per kWh but no buyback can still beat a buyback plan with a high price, if your home uses most of its own solar.

Two-story red brick home with a dark shingle roof and a neat row of solar panels on a quiet Dallas-Fort Worth suburban street at dusk

Oncor's solar incentive

Oncor runs a solar incentive program each year under the state's energy efficiency rules. The 2026 manual, dated January 15, 2026, sets these rules for homes:

Budget

$1,774,000 for homes in 2026

First come, first served across Oncor's whole area, so the money can run out before the year does.

Who gets paid

The service provider

Oncor pays the incentive to the participating company that sells and installs the system, in one payment after approval, and never more than half the project's cost.

Size limits

Up to 20 kW DC

And no more than 75% of the home's highest demand over the past 12 months. Systems can be with or without a battery.

Who qualifies

Homes without solar yet

Self-installed systems don't qualify, and neither do additions to an existing system or homes in developments classified as solar or renewable communities.

Deadline

5 p.m. on November 30, 2026

Projects must be finished and ready for inspection by then, or sooner if the budget runs out. Oncor says its programs typically run February to November each year.

Oncor works out the incentive from the system's expected energy and peak-demand savings, using the state's technical reference manual and PVWatts, and the company selling the system applies for it. If a price you're quoted includes the Oncor incentive, the contract should show it. One note: Oncor's program web page still lists an older rule set, a required battery and a 15 kW limit. The 2026 manual is newer and is what we've used here.

Connecting to Oncor

Every system that connects to Oncor's lines needs an interconnection agreement, whether or not you take the incentive. Oncor lays out the steps:

  1. Your installer sends you a tariff application to sign.
  2. The installer files the system in Oncor's online interconnection portal.
  3. Oncor reviews the application and documents, runs a study to make sure the connection is safe, and drafts an interconnection agreement.
  4. Everyone signs the agreement, and Oncor sends you and the installer a permission to operate letter. Don't switch the system on before it arrives.
  5. Oncor reprograms your meter to count surplus power, and the readings start flowing to your provider.

Oncor says there are generally no study fees before connection for small inverter-based systems like home solar. A battery that charges and discharges while connected to the grid needs an interconnection agreement too.

Then comes the wait most people don't expect. Credits can't start until Oncor's readings reach your provider:

Add it up and the readings reach your provider about 7 to 12 weeks after permission to operate. If a buyback credit still hasn't appeared after that, Oncor lists the usual reasons: the home used all of its own solar, the meter hasn't been reprogrammed yet, or the provider isn't receiving the surplus readings. In that last case, Oncor says to ask your provider to contact Oncor.

Before you sign

Oncor delivers power; it doesn't sell solar. Its program manual says it "is not involved in the sale or installation" of solar systems, and that a company's place in its incentive program isn't an Oncor endorsement. Anyone at your door claiming to be from Oncor, or to be selling an Oncor solar program, deserves a hard look.

Texas law gives you time to back out. Since September 1, 2025, Occupations Code 1806.156 lets you cancel a home solar purchase or lease in writing, without penalty, until the end of the fifth business day after you sign, and since September 1, 2026 the seller has to be registered with the state. Our Texas solar laws guide has the details.

How it works

Your estimate in three steps

  1. Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
  2. See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and the sun where you live.
  3. Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.

See what solar could save you

It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.

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Common questions

Does Oncor offer net metering?

No. Oncor says it operates in a deregulated market where net metering is not applicable. Some retail electric providers offer plans that credit the surplus solar power you send to the grid, at rates they set.

Who pays me for solar power I send back in the Oncor area?

Your retail electric provider, under the terms of your plan. Oncor only measures the surplus and sends the readings to your provider. Some plans credit close to their energy charge, some pay wholesale-linked rates, and some pay nothing.

Does Oncor have a solar incentive in 2026?

Yes. Oncor's 2026 solar program has a $1,774,000 budget for homes, first come, first served. Oncor pays the incentive to the participating company that installs the system, and projects must be finished and ready for inspection by 5 p.m. on November 30, 2026, or sooner if the money runs out.

How long until solar credits show up on my bill?

After Oncor gives permission to operate, reprogramming the meter generally takes about three weeks, and the readings need one full billing cycle, 30 to 60 days, to reach your provider. Credits appear on your provider's bill after that.

Does Oncor charge a fee to connect solar?

Oncor says there are generally no pre-interconnection study fees for small inverter-based systems such as home solar. Systems that aren't certified, or that need grid upgrades, can involve study fees and costs.

I bought a home with solar in the Oncor area. What do I do?

Email Oncor's distributed generation team at dg@oncor.com with your address, phone number and email. Oncor sends you a tariff application and a new interconnection agreement to sign, then updates your meter data for your provider within one full billing cycle.

Oncor's delivery charges change with PUCT decisions, retail plan prices and buyback terms change often, and Oncor's incentive budget can run out. Check current terms before relying on a figure. Sources: Oncor: thinking about solar? · Oncor: renewables and solar FAQ · Oncor: residential solar program · PUCT: Oncor monthly rate report · PUCT: thinking about solar panels for your home? · Potomac Economics: 2025 State of the Market Report for ERCOT · Occupations Code chapter 1806 · EIA Form 861 · PVWatts v8, National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL). Reviewed October 2026.

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