Solar Panel Cost in Vermont (2026)

Net metering: Rule 5.100: blended residential rate plus REC and siting adjustors

Vermont net metering under Public Utility Commission Rule 5.100 is more explicitly constructed than most, which is useful because it means every component can be questioned separately. Compensation begins from a blended residential rate, calculated by each utility and reviewed through a biennial process. In the 2026 biennial update the Department provided worksheets recommending a statewide blended residential rate of $0.2071 per kWh, an increase of $0.0231 per kWh, and the Commission directed electric distribution utilities to file tariffs no later than June 15, 2026 to take effect on August 1, 2026. Two adjustors then modify that base. The siting adjustor reflects where and how the system is sited. The REC adjustor reflects what happens to the Renewable Energy Credits your system generates: if you keep them, the adjustor is minus 3 cents per kWh as of 2026, and if you transfer them to the utility you avoid that reduction. That is a genuine decision with a price on it, and it is one most states never put to a homeowner at all. Keeping your RECs means you can accurately say your household runs on renewable energy you generated; transferring them means three cents more per kilowatt hour. The Commission has steadily reduced the adjustor values over successive biennial reviews, so the terms a system receives depend on when it enrols, and a long projection should state what it assumes about that. Vermont is served by Green Mountain Power alongside municipal utilities and cooperatives, each filing its own tariff, so confirm the figures that apply at your address.