Two dates, not one
The transition had two gates rather than one. An application had to be filed by March 1, 2026, and for residential systems an order of completion had to be issued by September 1, 2026.
That two-stage structure is worth noting because it is the pattern that catches people out. Filing in time is not sufficient if the completion order does not follow within the second window.
Systems outside the window earn approximately 12.4 cents per kWh for generation, which is roughly 67 to 75 percent of the full retail rate rather than the one-to-one crediting that preceded it.
Given both dates have now passed or are at their edge, confirm your actual position directly with Appalachian Power rather than relying on any published guide, including this one.
The outcome was less severe than the proposal
Appalachian Power filed with the Public Service Commission in 2025 proposing to reduce net metering by approximately two-thirds of its full retail value.
What emerged, at roughly 67 to 75 percent of retail, is a considerably smaller reduction than that proposal sought.
The Commission also denied the bulk of a rate increase Appalachian Power requested in 2025, so the regulatory posture has not been uniformly in the utility favour.
That history is worth knowing because it means the current arrangement is the outcome of a contested process rather than a settled consensus, and further filings are plausible.
What reduced crediting changes about a design
Electricity you consume at the moment it is generated still offsets a purchase at the full retail rate. That half is unchanged and it is now the more valuable half.
Generation credited at roughly 67 to 75 percent of retail is still substantially better than the avoided-cost arrangements in Georgia, Louisiana or Indiana, so the design implications are moderate rather than severe.
Ask what self-consumption share the savings model assumed, and ask for the savings split into two lines: avoided purchases at retail and credited generation at the applicable rate.
Ask which rate the projection used, and confirm it with Appalachian Power, since the figure depends on which side of the transition your system falls.
Building the number from the meter and the credit
The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase in Charleston receives no federal tax credit, and West Virginia has no state solar tax credit.
Section 48E survives at 30 percent for third-party owners under leases and power purchase agreements, so ask what a provider claims and what reaches you in the rate.
What exists is retail value for electricity consumed as it is generated, and credited generation at the rate applicable to your side of the 2026 transition.
Confirm which side that is with Appalachian Power, then ask for the projection rebuilt on the correct rate with the two values shown separately.