When you decide you want to go solar, understanding how your relationship with your utility provider will change is important. One of the biggest changes will be your annual (or monthly*) statement called a true-up bill. This bill breaks down annual charges and/or credits for each month's usage. This bill can be confusing for a consumer if you don't understand what you are looking for.
The big question.
What IS a TRUE-UP Bill?
A true-up bill (or a True-Up statement) is a solar utility statement that you receive after a 12-month billing period. This statement calculates all the cumulative energy charges, credits, and compensation for an entire 12-month period. If your system has produced MORE energy you will see a NEGATIVE amount due, also known as a "credit". If a balance for the 12-month average has an amount "due" it will appear on this specific statement. If you have an amount due, this means that your overall average usage did not stay under your production amount. You can also log in to your utility provider and see what your usage is anytime in your 12-month period.
*This image is from SCE as an example.
Important Things to Know!
Some key things to pay attention to on your statement include the electricity that your system produced over the course of the 12 month period. This will be measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh. HOW much electricity you purchased from the grid and how much was covered from your system credits (when your system over produces and stores that production for future use).
The Difference Between a Monthly Bill and a True-up Bill
So why are you still receiving a monthly utility statement after going solar? Monthly statements from the utility include minimum monthly connection charges. This is also where you can track where you are in your annual True-Up year-to-date. Monthly connection charges are the fee's associated with connecting your system to the power grid. This is also something increasing with NEM 3.0 in April of 2023.
If you find you still have lingering questions regarding how your true-up bill looks or understanding charges and usage- reach out for additional guidance to ensure you are confident. Give us a call today to get you set up to start saving now.
*True-up statements may very on year end or monthly depending on NEM structure.