If you are a ComEd customer going solar in 2026, the most useful thing to understand before you look at a single quote is how ComEd net metering works today. It is the mechanism that credits the electricity your system sends to the grid, and it decides what that extra power is worth on your bill. The rules every new system is on took effect January 1, 2025, and a lot of what is still written about net metering in Illinois describes the older version.
This guide explains how net metering works for systems that apply in 2026: what the credit covers, what it does not, the choice you make when you apply, and what happens to your credits if you sell the house. Windfree Solar has been designing and building solar in ComEd territory since 2009, and walking customers through this is part of every project.
Summary
- Customers who registered for net metering before January 1, 2025 keep the earlier rules for the lifetime of their system. Everyone applying now is on the newer rules.
- Under the newer rules, credits for exported power cover the supply side of your bill: energy, capacity, transmission and, where it applies, the purchased energy adjustment.
- Delivery charges, along with the taxes and fees tied to them, are still paid on all the electricity you pull from the grid. Your bill will not go to zero.
- If your supply is not priced hourly, you choose between a kWh credit and a monetary credit when you apply. Unused credits carry forward to later bills.
- Net metering eligibility and banked credits transfer to a new owner if you sell your home.
What Net Metering Does
Your panels produce the most power in the middle of the day, which is usually not when your home uses the most. When the system produces more than you are using in that moment, the extra flows out through your meter to the grid. Net metering is how ComEd accounts for that power: it records what you export and applies a credit against electricity you pull from the grid later, in the evening, overnight or through a gray stretch in January.
Power your home uses as it is produced never passes through the meter, so it never shows up on your bill at all. Net metering only concerns the difference between what you export and what you import.
The Rules New Systems Are On
Illinois net metering is set by state law, in Section 16-107.5 of the Public Utilities Act, and carried out through each utility’s approved tariff. On January 1, 2025, the earlier version of net metering closed to new applicants.
If You Already Have Solar
If you registered for net metering before January 1, 2025, nothing changes for you. The law keeps those systems on the earlier rules for the lifetime of the system, even if you switch electricity suppliers.
If You Are Going Solar Now
New customers are credited under the newer rules. The credit for the power you export applies to what the law calls kilowatt-hour supply charges: the energy itself, capacity, transmission and, if it applies to your account, the purchased energy adjustment. It does not offset delivery charges. You remain responsible for delivery charges on the full amount of electricity you take from the grid, plus the taxes and fees tied to them.
That is the single biggest reason a new solar customer’s bill looks different from a neighbor’s who went solar years ago. Neither bill is wrong. They are on different rules.
kWh Credits or Monetary Credits
How your credit is calculated depends on how your electricity supply is priced.
If Your Supply Is Not Priced Hourly
Usage and production are netted over the monthly billing period. If you produced more than you used, the extra is credited to your next bill as either a 1:1 kWh credit or a monetary credit, and you choose which one at the time you apply. Any excess credit carries forward to later billing periods. If you are on a payment plan or budget billing, credits are still applied monthly.
If Your Supply Is Priced Hourly
On hourly or time-of-use pricing, such as ComEd’s hourly pricing rate, Rate BESH, the netting happens hour by hour instead. When you export more than you use in a given hour, you receive a monetary credit valued at the same price per kWh you would have paid for energy in that hour, plus values for capacity and transmission. Hourly pricing also comes up if you are adding a battery: our post on virtual power plants in Illinois explains why ComEd’s virtual power plant program requires it.
Which option fits depends on when your household uses power and whether a battery is part of the plan. Solar is custom, and this is one of the decisions we talk through with you before the application goes in.
The Distributed Generation Rebate
Illinois law also provides a one-time distributed generation rebate, set in Section 16-107.6 of the Public Utilities Act. For systems that would have qualified for the earlier net metering rules, the base rebate is $300 per kW of nameplate DC capacity through December 31, 2029, and $250 per kW from January 1, 2030. Battery storage is compensated separately under the same section. The details of how the rebate is paid sit in ComEd’s tariff, so ask how it applies to your specific system.
How any rebate is treated for tax purposes is a question for your tax advisor. We don’t give tax advice.
What Is New for Illinois Solar in 2026
The net metering rules above have not changed in 2026, but two things around them have.
- Illinois Shines incentives for residential systems changed on June 1, 2026. Our guide to Illinois solar incentives walks through what is different now.
- Batteries have their own incentive and a new ComEd program. Illinois’s Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (SB25) added support for home battery storage and required ComEd to set up a virtual power plant program. Our post on virtual power plants in Illinois covers how it works.
Solar is custom, so which of these applies to you depends on your system, your usage and whether a battery is part of the plan.
Illinois Shines Is a Separate Program
Net metering is about the electricity your system sends to the grid. Illinois Shines, the Adjustable Block Program administered by the Illinois Power Agency, is about something different: the renewable energy credits (RECs) your system generates. The Illinois Shines program is a state incentive that supports solar PV development through the purchase of RECs. If your application to the program is successful, your system will be part of Illinois Shines, and the RECs will be sold to keep the cost of your panels affordable. Windfree Solar is an Approved Vendor under the Illinois Shines program.
The two work side by side, and a ComEd customer can take part in both.
How Net Metering Gets Set Up on a ComEd Project
- Design. We look at your roof or site, your sun exposure, your electrical service and your usage, and design a system around them.
- Credit choice. If your supply is not priced hourly, you decide between kWh and monetary credits, because that choice is made with the application.
- Interconnection application. We submit the application to ComEd with the system design and equipment details.
- ComEd review. ComEd reviews the application and approves it or asks for changes or more information.
- Permits and installation. Local permits are pulled and the system is installed.
- Inspection and permission to operate. The work is inspected, ComEd completes its metering steps, and the utility grants permission to operate (PTO). Only then is the system turned on.
- Crediting begins. Under state law, net metering credits start from the system’s commercial operation date.
For how this process compares across utilities, see our guide to ComEd solar versus Ameren solar.
How Windfree Solar Handles the Utility Side
Windfree Solar has installed 1,200+ systems across Illinois and the Midwest since 2009. We manage the full scope of every project: sales, engineering, permitting, procurement of materials, interconnection, inspection and permission to operate. We hire small contractors for the on-site installation, so they can focus on the physical work while we make sure the project is complete every step of the way, including all of the back and forth with ComEd.
We are also a Solar Insure certified provider, which not every installer can be. On qualifying systems that means a 30-year warranty covering equipment and labor. You can see the kind of work we do on our projects page.
Frequently Asked Questions
I went solar before 2025. Do the new net metering rules apply to me?
No. If you registered for net metering before January 1, 2025, Illinois law keeps your system on the earlier rules for its lifetime, including if you change electricity suppliers.
Will my ComEd bill go to zero with net metering?
No. Credits offset the supply side of your bill, but delivery charges and the taxes and fees tied to them are still paid on the electricity you pull from the grid. The cost will never be zero, though it can be significantly reduced.
Should I pick kWh credits or monetary credits?
It depends on how your supply is priced and how your household uses power. If your supply is priced hourly, the credit is monetary. If it is not, you make the choice when you apply, so we walk through it with you before the application is submitted.
What happens to my net metering credits if I sell my house?
Net metering eligibility stays with the utility billing address, so it transfers to the new owner, and the law requires banked credits to transfer with it.
I buy my electricity from an alternative supplier. Can I still net meter?
Yes. ComEd processes net metering applications and manages net metering billing even when your supply comes from an alternative retail supplier. Ask us how your supplier’s pricing affects the credit before you finalize a design.
Does Windfree handle the net metering paperwork with ComEd?
Yes. We submit the interconnection application, follow up with ComEd through review, and see the project through to permission to operate.
Talk Through Your ComEd Account
Every ComEd account is a little different, and solar is custom. If you want to know how net metering would work for your home, contact Windfree Solar or call 312-588-6953, and we will walk through your specific situation. You can also stop by the Solar Cafe at 517 Dempster Street, Evanston, IL 60201, and ask in person.
