Selling solar power back to the grid in Alberta: credits and solar plans

A home solar system is a small micro-generator. The electricity you send to the grid is credited on your bill at the energy rate your retailer’s plan sets. Delivery charges stay. The credit is a dollar amount that offsets your bill, so the rate on your plan decides what the panels are worth to you.

Am I a micro-generator?

If you make your own electricity from solar or another renewable source and connect to the grid, yes. The Micro-Generation Regulation has two size classes.

Small micro-generation is under 150 kW total nameplate capacity (from 27 September 2024) [source]. Large micro-generation is at least 150 kW and up to 5 MW total nameplate capacity (from 27 September 2024) [source]. Most homes, farms and small businesses are small micro-generators.

Size matters for what you may build. A system is sized on the last twelve months of the site’s consumption, or on the projected load for a new or upgraded service (read 15 October 2026) [source]. Also, the annual production of the proposed system must not exceed the site’s consumption, so you can offset up to all of your use (read 15 October 2026) [source].

If your use has grown, or will: if equipment bought in the last twelve months raises your use, such as an electric vehicle or air conditioning, you apply with proof of purchase; for an expected increase you give last year’s kWh use and proof of the new equipment (read 15 October 2026) [source].

How is the power I export credited?

For a small micro-generator, the credit is at the rate the retailer charged for the electricity supplied to the site, unless the customer and retailer agree in writing to a different rate (from 27 September 2024) [source].

The regulation also says the rate is agreed between you and your electricity retailer, and the government does not decide it (read 15 October 2026) [source]. A large micro-generator is credited at the pool price for each settlement interval in the billing period (from 27 September 2024) [source].

Your bill shows the credit as a line that reduces your charges. Each month the retailer reports what you exported and the rate used. a credit carries forward for up to 12 months, and unused credits must be settled at least once in each calendar year (from 27 September 2024) [source].

Delivery does not go away. the distribution tariff is based on the electricity supplied into the site and is the same as if the customer were not a micro-generator (from 27 September 2024) [source]. Your bill keeps its distribution, transmission and local access charges. See our guide to the town fee for that line.

Is it net metering?

No. Net metering is a name used in other places for netting energy in kilowatt-hours. Alberta uses net billing: the service provider must provide net billing to the micro-generator (from 27 September 2024) [source].

Net billing works in dollars. Exports are valued at a rate, imports at a rate, and the difference lands on your bill. If your plan has a low import rate and a low credit, or a high import rate and a high credit, the two can look different on paper and similar at the end. Compare both together.

Why does my credit not match what my panels made?

Because only the energy produced in excess of consumption over a billing interval earns a credit (read 15 October 2026) [source]. Power you use while the panels run is a saving, but it never shows as a credit.

The meter works the same way: the distribution company updates the meter to a bi-directional meter that records both the energy consumed and the energy produced, and you should not turn the system on until that meter is installed (read 15 October 2026) [source]. Also, the distribution company provides the meter readings to your retailer, and your retailer manages all billing and credits (read 15 October 2026) [source].

Other reasons are timing and rate. A credit shows against the billing period it was earned in, and an unused credit rolls forward. A different credit rate than you expected can also come from a plan that sets its own rate. Check the rate on your plan.

For whether a system pays over its life, see our solar economics guide.

What is a seasonal solar plan, or solar club?

A solar plan, sometimes called a solar club, is a retailer plan written for homes with panels. It is a plan type, not a programme run by the government. It may set an import rate, an export credit and switching rules that differ from a standard plan, and it may change them by season.

The regulation allows this: a retailer and a micro-generator may agree in writing to a credit rate other than the default. That agreement is your contract, so read it.

A green energy plan is a different product. It buys environmental attributes to support renewable power and does not credit your exports. The Utilities Consumer Advocate describes the difference.

How do I compare solar plans fairly?

Do not compare the export rate alone. Check these five points, in this order:

1. Import rate. What you pay for each kilowatt-hour you draw, in every month, including winter.
2. Export rate. What you are credited, and whether it changes by season or caps.
3. Switching rules. Fees to leave, whether you can leave in a season, and what happens to unused credit if you do.
4. Admin fee. Any monthly or one-time charge that is not an energy rate.
5. Term. How long the rates hold and what the plan renews to.

Then test the plan on two months that look like yours: one with a lot of export and one with a lot of import.

Never take a summer export rate and multiply it across all months. Panels make far less in winter, so the import rate usually carries more of the year. Our fixed and floating guide and electricity rates guide explain the plan types.

What are the steps to connect?

1. Find your distribution company on your electricity bill, and tell it you plan to become a micro-generator.
2. Follow the Alberta Utilities Commission guideline, and gather your documents: your 13-digit site ID from your retail bill, a single line diagram, a site plan and the manufacturer’s spec sheets for the inverters and panels, plus municipal permits (read 15 October 2026) [source]. Each distribution company has its own form.
3. Send the application to your distribution company. your distribution company approves or denies the notice; the AUC does not approve individual sites (read 15 October 2026) [source]. Some companies add their own steps. In the Edmonton distribution area, for a project of 20 kW or more, or any system on the network, the distribution company asks you to email it before you start your design (read 15 October 2026) [source]. In the Calgary distribution area, from 1 January 2025, new inverters connected to the distribution system need UL 1741 SB Category II certification, with ride-through settings the distribution company specifies (from 1 January 2025) [source]. Ask your own distribution company what it needs.
4. Wait for approval, then build: do not install before the distribution company has reviewed and confirmed the system as proposed, because installing first risks sizing and design errors and extra cost (read 15 October 2026) [source].
5. Sign the interconnection agreement with your distribution company. Afterwards, the distribution company updates the meter to a bi-directional meter that records both the energy consumed and the energy produced, and you should not turn the system on until that meter is installed (read 15 October 2026) [source].
6. Give your retailer written notice and agree how credits are paid and billed. You may need to change your current contract first.

Do not buy panels before you know the credit terms on your plan.

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