If PECO delivers your electricity, a solar system on your house can be net metered as long as it is no larger than 50 kilowatts (kW), the measure of a system’s size. Under Pennsylvania’s rules, PECO credits each kilowatt-hour, the unit of energy on an electric bill, that the panels produce at the full retail rate, up to what you use in the billing period, and carries any extra forward. Your installer usually files the connection application. PECO’s fee for a certified inverter-based system of 10 kW or less is $100.
How net metering works in Pennsylvania
Net metering means the utility bills you for the difference between the electricity it delivers and the electricity your system sends back. The rules are in Chapter 75 of Title 52 of the Pennsylvania Code, which the Public Utility Commission enforces.
Section 75.13 requires electric distribution companies such as PECO to offer net metering to customers who generate power on their side of the meter from qualifying alternative energy sources, solar among them. A system at a home qualifies up to 50 kW of nameplate capacity. The credit is at the full retail rate, which the rule says includes generation, transmission and distribution charges, for every kilowatt-hour produced up to the customer’s use in that billing period.
When the system produces more than you use in a month, the extra kilowatt-hours carry forward at the full retail rate and keep accumulating until the end of the year. The rules define the year as June 1 through May 31. At the end of that year, the default service provider pays for any kilowatt-hours still left over at its price to compare, the default supply rate. The utility may not charge a net-metered customer a fee that other customers do not pay unless the rules or a Commission order authorize it.
If you buy electricity from a competitive supplier instead of PECO, the supplier’s own agreement sets what it pays for your extra power. In that case the rule has PECO credit you only at its distribution rate, and unused distribution credits drop to zero at the end of the year. PECO’s page says suppliers are not obligated to honor excess kilowatt-hours and tells shopping customers to ask their supplier.
PECO’s limits
PECO’s net metering page repeats the 50 kW cap for homes. It adds a limit for leased systems, which may not be sized to produce more than 110% of the customer’s expected annual use. The 110% limit does not apply to a system the customer owns. PECO’s net metering terms are in its Rate RS-2 tariff, linked from that page.
Under the state rule, a net-metered homeowner owns the alternative energy credits the system earns unless a contract assigns them to someone else. PECO says these credits, often called SRECs, are created for each 1,000 kilowatt-hours a qualified system produces, and their price rises and falls with supply and demand. To earn them, PECO says, a customer must apply to the Public Utility Commission’s Alternative Energy Credit Administrator to be qualified as an alternative energy facility and register with the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System.
The rules also allow virtual meter aggregation, where one owner’s solar credits apply to other accounts. The accounts must belong to the same owner, sit within 2 miles of the property with the panels and be served by the same utility.
Applying to connect
PECO lists the steps on its solar getting-started page. You or your contractor check the property’s solar potential and PECO’s interconnection viability map, the contractor submits an interconnection application, and the system is installed. Once PECO approves the application, it issues a Permission to Operate and sets up net metering where it applies.
PECO takes applications through its online tool, Connect-The-Grid, and says it no longer accepts them by email. Contractors usually file, though a customer can apply directly. PECO’s fees depend on the review level.
| Level | What it covers | Base fee | Per-kW fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Certified inverter-based systems of 10 kW or less | $100 | None |
| 2 | Certified inverter-based systems of 2,000 kW or less | $250 | $1.00 per kW |
| 3 | Non-certified, non-inverter systems of 2,000 kW or less | $350 | $2.00 per kW |
| 4 | Systems of 2,000 kW or less with reverse power relays, or that do not meet Level 1 or 2 | $350 | $2.00 per kW |
PECO’s fee table adds engineering charges of up to $100 an hour for additional review at Levels 2 and 3. For systems of 50 kW or less, PECO’s technical requirements are in its “Yellow Book,” linked from its smaller generators page. PECO lists 1-833-732-6334 for interconnection questions. Fees and requirements checked October 3, 2026.
The roof under the panels
InterNACHI, the home inspectors’ association, estimates that solar panels last 20 to 30 years. Its estimates for asphalt shingles are 20 years for 3-tab and 30 years for architectural shingles. If the roof has fewer years left than the panels, the panels will have to come off and go back on when the roof is replaced. The guide to roofing materials covers the other estimates, and replacing a roof in Conshohocken takes a borough building permit, which the roofing permits guide explains.
A buyer should know what a home inspection leaves out. InterNACHI’s standards of practice say an inspector is not required to inspect solar systems or photovoltaic collectors.
The federal tax credit for home solar has ended for new systems. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit covered 30% of qualified costs for property installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025, and is not available for property placed in service after that date. The IRS also says roof trusses and ordinary shingles that support panels generally do not qualify, while solar shingles do. For a system installed in 2025 or earlier, ask a tax professional how the credit applies.
Where the numbers on local solar come from
Each utility reports its number of net-metered customers and their total generating capacity to the Public Utility Commission by July 30 each year, under section 75.13. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory publishes project-level data on distributed solar systems across the country. Its latest update covers about 5.3 million systems installed through the end of 2025, with system size, installed price and permitting timelines.