⚠️ 2026 update on the federal tax credit
The 30% federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) expired on December 31, 2025 for systems you buy with cash or a loan. Cost and savings figures on this page that assume that credit may be out of date. Two things still apply: Nevada's sales-tax and property-tax exemptions and NV Energy net metering, and systems on a lease or PPA may still qualify for a federal incentive through the end of 2027. For numbers that reflect today's incentives, book a free review and talk to a tax professional about your situation.
Here's the short version of how NV Energy net metering works in 2026: every kilowatt-hour your panels send to the grid earns you a credit at a fixed percentage of the retail rate, based on which net metering tier was open when you applied. For new applications today, that credit is 75% of retail. Credits roll forward month to month at the kWh level and reset at your annual true-up. That's it — the rest is mechanics.
The Tier System That Determines Your Credit Rate
Nevada's net metering program is broken into capacity tiers. Each tier was filled in order, and each one paid a slightly worse export rate than the last. Tier 1 paid 95% of retail. Tier 2 paid 88%. Tier 3 paid 81%. Tier 4 — which is what every new residential customer gets today — pays 75% of retail. Once a tier hits its cap, it closes for new applicants. Tier 4 is currently open and is the bucket nearly every Las Vegas and Henderson homeowner falls into in 2026.
Critical detail most installers gloss over: the tier you sign up under is locked in for 20 years from your interconnection date. So even if NV Energy adds a Tier 5 at 60% next year, your house keeps its 75% rate until 2046. I tell every homeowner this on the first call — it's the single most valuable thing about going solar now versus waiting. NV Energy publishes the current tier status here.
Retail Rate Math: What 75% of Retail Actually Means
NV Energy's residential rate in 2026 is roughly $0.13–$0.14 per kWh blended (energy charge + base tariff general rate). Seventy-five percent of that is about $0.0975–$0.105 per exported kWh. So when your system pushes a kWh to the grid at 1pm, you're banking roughly a dime. When you pull that kWh back at 7pm, you're paying full retail — call it 13.5 cents. The 25% spread is what NV Energy keeps.
People hear "75%" and think they're losing 25% of their solar value. They're not. They're losing 25% of the value of the kWh that they overproduce and can't self-consume in real time. On a properly sized Las Vegas system, 60–70% of the energy your panels make is consumed in your house immediately at full retail offset. Only the remaining 30–40% gets the 75% haircut.
The Billing Cycle: Monthly Netting, Annual True-Up
Here's exactly how a bill is calculated each month:
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | NV Energy reads your bidirectional meter at month end. |
| 2 | kWh imported from grid is multiplied by full retail rate. |
| 3 | kWh exported to grid is multiplied by 75% of retail (Tier 4). |
| 4 | Export credit offsets your import charge for the month. |
| 5 | If exports exceed imports, the surplus credit rolls forward in dollars. |
| 6 | You always pay the basic service charge (~$18.50/month) regardless. |
Once a year — usually on your solar anniversary month — NV Energy "trues up" your account. Any leftover credit balance is paid out at the avoided-cost wholesale rate (about 3–4 cents/kWh), which is much lower than retail. This is why oversizing your system is a trap: the surplus you couldn't use during the year gets cashed out at pennies.
Why Sizing Matters More Under Tier 4 Than It Did Under Tier 1
Under Tier 1 at 95% of retail, oversizing was nearly free — the spread between import and export was only a nickel. Under Tier 4 at 75%, oversizing costs you real money. When I size systems for LV roofs, I aim for 95–105% of annual usage offset. Not 120%. Not "fill the roof." On a recent Henderson install I had a homeowner who'd been quoted a 14 kW system on a 9,800 kWh annual usage. We dropped to 8.4 kW, saved him $14,000 upfront, and his year-one bill came out to $42 in net charges. The bigger system would have cashed out 5,000 kWh at wholesale — pure waste.
For more on right-sizing, read my Las Vegas solar overview.
What Counts as "Retail Rate" — and Why It's Not Static
The retail rate isn't one number. It's the sum of the base tariff energy charge, the deferred energy adjustment charge, the renewable portfolio standard rider, and a few smaller line items. NV Energy filed multiple rate cases between 2024 and 2026 and the blended rate has crept up roughly 4–6% per year. Your 75% credit floats with that — when retail rates rise, your export credit rises proportionally. That's a quiet hedge against utility inflation that the EIA tracks at eia.gov/state/?sid=NV.
Time-of-Use vs. Standard Tariff Under Net Metering
NV Energy offers an optional time-of-use (TOU) rate for residential solar customers. Under TOU, the retail rate varies by hour: peak (1pm–7pm summer weekdays), mid-peak, and off-peak. Your export credit is then 75% of whatever the rate was at the moment you exported. Solar exports cluster from 10am to 4pm, which catches the back half of mid-peak and the front half of summer peak — so TOU usually pays solar customers slightly better than the standard tariff in summer, slightly worse in winter.
Net effect for a typical Las Vegas solar home: TOU adds $80–$150/year of credit value. Worth opting in if you don't run heavy loads (pool pump, EV charging, AC pre-cool) during the 1–7pm window. Not worth it if you do.
Battery Storage Changes the Math Entirely
If you add a battery, you stop caring about the 75% export rate for the energy you can shift. A Powerwall or Enphase IQ Battery soaks up midday surplus and discharges it during your evening usage — that energy is now offsetting full retail, not earning the 75% credit. The economics flip from "export and credit" to "self-consume and avoid import."
For most Las Vegas homes, batteries don't pencil out on net metering arbitrage alone — Tier 4 at 75% isn't punitive enough. They pencil out on outage protection and EV charging — note the 30% federal credit that used to cover storage ended December 31, 2025 for purchased systems, so don't bank on it anymore. See my battery storage page for the full breakdown.
Common Mistakes I See on NV Energy Bills
- Mistaking the basic service charge for a "solar fee." Every NV Energy customer pays it — solar or not.
- Reading credit balance as cash. Until true-up, it's just a kWh-equivalent rolling forward, not money you can withdraw.
- Comparing pre-solar and post-solar bills in different months. July vs. November tells you nothing. Compare 12-month rolling totals.
- Assuming the credit rate matches the import rate. It doesn't. It's 75% of it.
What Happens If You Sell the House
The net metering agreement transfers with the property, not the homeowner. The new owner inherits the same Tier 4 rate and the remaining years of the 20-year lock-in, provided the system is owned (not leased). This is one reason I push owned systems over PPAs — assignability is cleaner and the appraisal lift is real.
The Bottom Line for Las Vegas and Henderson Homeowners
NV Energy net metering in 2026 isn't as generous as Tier 1 was, but it's still one of the more workable solar billing structures in the West — especially compared to California's NEM 3.0. Seventy-five percent retail credit, 20-year lock, monthly rollover, and an annual true-up gives you predictable returns if your system is sized right.
If you want me to model your actual bill against a properly sized system on your roof, grab a free quote and I'll walk you through the numbers line by line.