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Solar by stateSeptember 2026

Solar in Alaska: how the rules work

How Alaska credits the power solar panels send back to the grid, what homes there pay for electricity, and what to check when a home with solar is bought or sold.

Export credit
Full retail credit
Full retail
Largest utility
Chugach Electric Association
Home electricity
27.1¢/kWh
Rising ~2.6%/yr over 10 years (EIA)
Typical installed price
$2.60/W
National median; no state figure published (EnergySage)

How exported power is credited

Power sent to the grid is credited at the full retail rate (kWh for kWh), at least within each billing period.

Under RCA net metering regulations (3 AAC 50.900 et seq., adopted 2010; systems of 25 kW or less), consumption and generation are netted over each monthly billing period at the full retail rate. Only the net excess for the month is bought, at the utility's non-firm (avoided-cost) rate, and it does not roll over to later months. At Chugach, reporting in March 2025 put the non-firm buyback at ~5.7 cents/kWh vs ~23.6 cents retail (South District). Chugach's July 1, 2026 residential all-in rate is ~24.41 cents/kWh plus a $12.79/month customer charge. That makes the monthly net excess worth only ~0.24 of retail. The Alaska Energy blog says only ~15% of typical solar output ends up sold at that rate. Chugach raised its net metering cap from 1.5% to 5% of average retail demand in February 2022. Application fee is $270, with no solar-specific monthly fee identified. The Governor's bills HB 164 / SB 150 (2025-26) would move to annual netting, and the House Energy Committee adopted a CS in 2026 that delays, caps and sunsets the annual program. The bill stalled in House Finance (April 2026) and did not pass before the 2026 session ended. There are no grandfathering tiers because the monthly-netting rule has been unchanged since 2010. Classified full_retail because within-month exports offset retail 1:1. Monthly net excess is credited at ~0.24 of retail.

What changes for a home with solar

A savings estimate that counts exported power at the full retail rate matches how exports are credited here. Where only month-end surplus earns a lower rate, homes that use most of their power themselves come closest to that estimate.

Electricity here costs about 27.1¢ per kWh (2026) and has risen about 2.6% a year over the last decade. A lease or PPA escalator above that pace makes the solar payment rise faster than utility rates have.

When a home with solar is sold in Alaska

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Sources

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