Thinking of adopting solar for your home? Think of it this way: Your solar-equipped home will be a mini power station — a scaled-down Con Edison. Through net metering, your home doesn’t just consume energy – it generates, stores, and trades it. Here’s how this ingenious system works and why timing matters more than ever.
The Power Exchange
During sunny days, your solar panels often produce more energy than needed. Instead of letting this excess go to waste, net metering lets you feed it back into the grid. Think of it as depositing energy into a virtual bank account. When your panels produce less (like during cloudy days or at night), you withdraw from these credits.
If your system generates 1,000 kilowatt hours in a month but only uses 500 kWh, you bank the extra 500 kWh with Con Ed. Let’s break it down: Next month, if you need 1,500 kWh, but only generate 1,000 kWh, you can use your banked credits. This will cover the difference.
Why Act Now?
The solar landscape is evolving rapidly in New York. While we still enjoy a favorable 1-to-1 exchange rate for energy credits, several factors make immediate action worthwhile:
Con Ed has proposed an 11.4 percent rate increase for 2026.
The NYSERDA rebate has recently decreased from $0.20 to $0.15 per kW, and funding for this block is extremely limited.
Federal Tax Credit programs face uncertain futures.
