Connecticut's New $0.0402 Solar Energy Adjustment
What It Costs You, and Who's Grandfathered
If you go solar in Connecticut in 2026 on the netting tariff, the state quietly added a charge to every kilowatt-hour your panels make. It is small per unit and large over 20 years. Here is exactly what it is, what it costs, and why your neighbor who went solar last year does not pay it.
Connecticut's solar compensation runs through the RRES program, short for Residential Renewable Energy Solutions. PURA, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, launched it in January 2022 to replace the old net metering program, and it is administered by Eversource and United Illuminating, the state's two electric distribution companies.
RRES has two tracks. We break the full choice down in our Connecticut RRES program guide. This page is about one line item inside the Netting Tariff that changed sharply for 2026: the Solar Energy Adjustment.
The short version: new 2026 netting projects pay $0.0402 on every kilowatt-hour produced. Earlier enrollees keep their lower locked rate. The number on its own does not tell you whether solar still pays in CT. It usually does. It just changes the math.
What the Solar Energy Adjustment Actually Is
per kWh of total production
Applied to new RRES Netting enrollments in 2026, on everything your system makes, not only the excess you send back to the grid.
In Eversource's own words, “Netting projects that apply in 2026 will be subject to a $0.0402/kWh on-bill charge for total solar production.” The utility's RRES rate documents describe it as a charge on total generation used to offset program costs, separate from the REC incentive rate, which PURA set at $0.00 for 2026 netting.
The detail that catches homeowners off guard is the word “total.” A self-consumption kilowatt-hour, the power your panels feed your own home, is still credited at the full retail rate. But the Solar Energy Adjustment is then charged back on that same kilowatt-hour. So it nibbles at the value of every unit you produce, whether you use it or export it.
What it costs in real dollars
Here is a worked example, with the assumptions stated plainly so you can swap in your own numbers. Take an 11 kW system producing roughly 12,900 kWh a year, a reasonable figure for a clear southern Connecticut roof. At $0.0402 per kWh, that is about $520 a year in Solar Energy Adjustment charges. A smaller 7 kW system making around 8,200 kWh lands closer to $330 a year. Over a 20-year tariff term, the 11 kW case adds up to more than $10,000 in nominal charges before any rate changes.
That is real money, and it is exactly why the panel brand matters far less than the production estimate, the contract, and the all-in price of a solar system in Connecticut. An honest production number changes this line more than any equipment upgrade a salesperson will pitch you.
Who Is Grandfathered, and Why
This is the part that matters if you already went solar, or if you are weighing whether to move fast. PURA reviews the RRES rates every year, but the rate you get is not a moving target once you are in. Eversource's program materials are explicit that once a system receives its Statement of Qualification, the incentive rate is locked for the 20-year term. So the $0.0402 charge only applies to netting systems whose applications are received in 2026.
Pre-2022 net metering
If you enrolled in CT's old net metering before it closed to new homes in 2022, you stay on it until your system is removed. No Solar Energy Adjustment applies.
2025 RRES netting
Homeowners who enrolled the netting tariff in 2025 are locked at that year's far lower charge, $0.005/kWh per Eversource's 2025 RRES tariff schedule, for their full 20-year term.
2026 RRES netting
New netting applications in 2026 carry the $0.0402/kWh charge, locked for 20 years. That is the roughly eightfold jump everyone is talking about.
Note one thing the grandfathering does not do: it does not move with you to a new house in the simple way people assume, and it does not let you switch tariffs later. When a home with an RRES system sells, the prevailing incentive structure for that property stays in place for the new owner. The lock is attached to the system and the program year, not to you personally.
What This Means for Your Payback
Solar still works for most Connecticut homeowners, because the value it offsets is so high to begin with. Connecticut's average retail electricity price reached 24.37 cents per kWh in 2024, among the steepest in the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Against rates like that, even a $520-a-year adjustment is a haircut on the savings, not a reversal of them. PURA designed the 2026 RRES rates to target roughly a 9 to 11 percent return for participating homeowners across both tariff tracks.
Two things move the needle more than the adjustment itself. First, which tariff you pick. Buy-All is not subject to the Solar Energy Adjustment at all, so for an oversized, heavy-export system it can pencil out better than it used to. For most homes sized to their own usage, netting still wins because self-consumption is valued at the full retail rate. Run both. Our RRES tariff comparison walks through how to decide.
Second, how you pay for the system. The residential federal credit, Section 25D, expired on December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan buyer gets no direct federal credit in 2026. The 30 percent is still reachable, but only through a prepaid lease: a financing partner owns the system, claims the Section 48E commercial credit, and passes the value back to you as a lower prepaid price. That is a real lever on payback, and it is worth understanding before you compare quotes. We lay out the tradeoffs in our guides on leasing versus buying in Connecticut and the full set of solar payment options, and we cover the rest of the stack in our 2026 Connecticut incentives breakdown.
What to demand from any installer: a quote that models the $0.0402 Solar Energy Adjustment against your real production estimate, shows both the Netting and Buy-All outcomes, and states your payback with the adjustment included, not a pre-2026 number quietly left in the spreadsheet. Hold every bid to that standard when you weigh which Connecticut solar companies to trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Connecticut Solar Energy Adjustment?
The Solar Energy Adjustment, sometimes printed on your bill as the Solar Production Charge, is a per-kilowatt-hour fee applied to homes on the RRES (Residential Renewable Energy Solutions) Netting Tariff. For netting projects whose applications are received in 2026, Eversource and United Illuminating apply a $0.0402/kWh charge on total solar generation, not only on the excess you export to the grid. It shows up as a line item and is used to offset program costs.
How much will the 2026 Solar Energy Adjustment cost me?
It depends on how much your system produces, because the charge applies to every kilowatt-hour you generate. As an estimate, take an 11 kW system producing roughly 12,900 kWh a year, which is typical for a well-sited southern Connecticut roof. At $0.0402/kWh that works out to about $520 a year. A smaller 7 kW system producing around 8,200 kWh would see closer to $330 a year. Your installer should model this against your specific production estimate before you sign.
Am I grandfathered if I already have solar?
Most likely, yes. Once your system receives its Statement of Qualification, your rate is fixed for the full 20-year tariff term, so the 2026 charge only hits netting systems whose applications land in 2026. Homeowners who enrolled the netting tariff in an earlier program year keep that year's lower charge for their entire term. And if you were on Connecticut's old net metering before it closed to new enrollments in 2022, you stay on that program until your system is removed, with no Solar Energy Adjustment at all.
Does the Solar Energy Adjustment apply to the Buy-All tariff?
No. The charge applies only to the Netting Tariff. Buy-All customers sell all of their production to the utility at a fixed $0.3289/kWh and are not subject to the Solar Energy Adjustment. That does not automatically make Buy-All the better deal, since netting still values the power your panels feed your own home at the full retail rate, but it is one more reason to have both options modeled against your real usage.
Sources
- [1] Eversource, Connecticut Residential Solar Incentives (RRES): $0.0402/kWh on-bill charge for 2026 netting projects
- [2] Eversource, Residential Renewable Energy Solutions FAQ (published 1/1/2026): netting charge on total generation, $0.3289 Buy-All rate, 20-year term, 9 to 11 percent target return
- [3] Connecticut PURA, Residential Renewable Energy Solutions Program: program structure, January 2022 launch, updated 2026 tariff rates
- [4] U.S. Energy Information Administration, Connecticut Electricity Profile: average retail price 24.37 cents/kWh (2024)
Rates and program rules are set by PURA and may change at annual review. Confirm current figures with Eversource, United Illuminating, or PURA before signing. This page is educational and is not financial or tax advice.