Pacific Power net metering is still available to Oregon customers with qualifying residential solar in 2026. Pacific Power's Schedule 135 — Net Metering Service covers residential renewable systems up to 25 kW. The system's main purpose has to be offsetting part or all of your own electricity use.
That last point is the central design principle. Net metering rewards a system sized to your home, not one built to produce as much electricity as possible. Here's how the credits, interconnection, Time of Use and battery incentives work.
How Does Pacific Power Net Metering Work?
Your solar system supplies the house first. When the home needs more than the panels are producing, Pacific Power supplies the difference. When the panels produce more than the house needs, the excess flows back to the grid. A bidirectional meter tracks both directions, and the exported kWh become credits that offset future electricity use.
Who Pays for the Meter?
Pacific Power installs, owns and maintains the bidirectional meter at its own expense. That's one less line item to worry about in a solar quote.
Excess Credits Carry Forward
Excess generation becomes kWh credits that carry forward from month to month. A sunny July can build up credits that offset what you buy from the grid in November or January. That's especially useful in Oregon, where solar output is very seasonal: long, bright summers and short, cloudy winters.
What Happens at the Annual True-Up?
Credits don't carry forward forever. Any unused credits left at the end of the March billing period go to low-income assistance. They aren't paid out to you as cash at retail value.
That gives you a clear reason to avoid producing far more than you use over a year.
How Big Can a Residential System Be?
Schedule 135 allows residential systems up to 25 kW, but for nearly every home the right financial size is well below that. Size the system around your current annual usage, any planned load changes, HVAC improvements and what your roof can realistically produce. Don't size it to the maximum number of panels that will fit.
Why Oversizing Hurts the Economics
Suppose your home uses 11,000 kWh a year and you install a system that produces 16,000 kWh. If you can't use those extra 5,000 kWh of credits before the true-up, you've paid for production that doesn't come back to you as savings.
The goal is to offset your own efficient energy use, not to produce as much electricity as physically possible.
Planning for an EV or Heat Pump
Future load should be part of the design. Maybe you're planning an EV, a heat pump, an electric water heater or a home addition. Then you may need noticeably more electricity in a few years. That can justify a larger system. The analysis should be built on realistic future usage, not just last year's bills.
HVAC Still Comes Before Solar
Pacific Power serves parts of Oregon with very different climates. Many homes use a lot of electricity for air conditioning, heat pumps, electric resistance heat or water heating. Suppose a home uses 18,000 kWh a year today, and HVAC and insulation improvements bring that down to 14,000 kWh.
That 4,000-kWh reduction could take several panels out of the solar design. You save twice: once on the energy you no longer use, and again on a smaller solar system.
You Need Interconnection Approval First
Every system has to meet Oregon's net-metering rules, Schedule 135 and Pacific Power's technical requirements. It also needs approval before it can operate connected to the grid. Your installer should handle the application, but make sure approval is part of the timeline before anyone promises a turn-on date.
Smart Inverters Are Required
Since June 1, 2024, new inverter-based applications in Pacific Power's Oregon territory must use UL 1741 SB certified inverters meeting the IEEE 1547-2018 standard. A 2026 proposal should use equipment that meets the current standard, not older inventory that doesn't.
Can Solar Customers Use Time of Use?
Yes. Pacific Power's optional Time of Use plan charges 28.769¢/kWh on-peak, 5–9 p.m. every day, and 10.709¢/kWh off-peak, before other adjustments. Schedule 135 spells out how credits work on Time of Use: credits are applied first within the same time period, then to other periods.
That makes the math more detailed. Solar produces mostly in the middle of the day, but many households use the most electricity in the evening. How well your production lines up with your usage affects what Time of Use is worth. That's where load shifting and batteries can add value.
Pacific Power's Wattsmart Battery Program
Oregon customers with a qualifying battery can join Pacific Power's Wattsmart Battery program. Current terms:
- Upfront incentive: $600 per kW, up to $3,000 per household, for new batteries
- Annual credit: $15 per kW per year, starting in year two
- Commitment: 4 years
- Net metering: existing solar customers keep their net-metering arrangement
For example, a battery enrolled at 5 kW would reach the $3,000 upfront cap. It would also earn about $75 a year in credits starting in year two. Pacific Power can change incentives with 30 days' notice, so confirm the current amounts when your project is quoted.
Standalone Batteries and Export Rules
You don't need solar to participate. Standalone batteries are allowed, but those customers must be on Time of Use.
There's one important limit: participants can't export battery energy to the grid unless Pacific Power dispatches the battery. In other words, the battery serves your home and supports the grid when called on. It isn't a tool for selling stored energy whenever you like.
Energy Trust Solar and Battery Incentives
Energy Trust of Oregon raised its 2026 solar and battery incentives after the federal tax credit ended. For Pacific Power customers, the current step is $2,500 per home for solar and $240 per kWh, up to $3,000, for a battery. A 10-kWh battery, for example, would qualify for about $2,400.
Energy Trust incentives step down quarterly (January, April, July and October), so the amount depends on when you apply. Verify it at quote, and ask how it combines with Wattsmart Battery.
Oregon's State Solar + Storage Rebate
The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) Solar + Storage Rebate offers homeowners up to $5,000 for solar and $2,500 for storage. Low- and moderate-income homeowners have the same caps but higher coverage, up to 60% of costs. SB 827 (2025) also allows storage added to existing solar to qualify.
The catch is funding. The program reopened June 15, 2026 with $1.1 million and was fully reserved within minutes. It's currently closed, and no new funding has been announced, so don't count it as guaranteed money in a current proposal.
The Federal Solar Credit Is Gone
The federal 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit isn't available for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Any Oregon solar page or proposal still showing a 30% federal credit for a new installation is out of date.
Does Net Metering Reduce the Need for a Battery?
For pure bill savings, often yes. Because credits roll forward through the year, the grid acts a bit like an accounting battery: summer excess offsets later usage. A physical battery's value usually comes from outage backup, Time of Use management and Wattsmart incentives, not from avoiding exports.
Wildfire and Storm Risk Add Resilience Value
Pacific Power customers can face outages from wildfire risk, Public Safety Power Shutoffs, winter storms, wind and ice. A battery can keep a refrigerator, well pump, internet, medical equipment and heating controls running. That resilience is a real benefit, but evaluate it separately from bill savings.
Solar Alone Doesn't Provide Backup
A standard grid-connected solar system shuts off when utility power goes out. Backup takes a battery, a backup-capable inverter, isolation equipment and the right electrical setup. Panels alone aren't a generator, so ask directly: “Will this system actually power my house during an outage?”
Can Solar Still Make Sense With Pacific Power?
It can. Pacific Power customers have annual retail-style net metering, Energy Trust incentives, Wattsmart Battery incentives, state rebates when funded and strong summer sun. But without the federal credit, the fundamentals matter more than ever: a competitive installed price, correct sizing, an efficient home and a long ownership horizon.
The Ashborn Approach
Before recommending anything, Ashborn Partners looks at your Pacific Power usage, rate plan, HVAC, roof and net-metering credits. We also review Energy Trust and Wattsmart incentives, solar and battery storage. Then we connect you with participating providers when a project makes sense.
Oregon's net metering is valuable. Use it to offset a right-sized home, not to justify an oversized solar project.
Pacific Power’s Oregon Schedule 135 provides net-metering service to qualifying residential systems up to 25 kW. Excess credits carry through the annual period; unused credits at the end of the March billing period go to low-income assistance. Wattsmart Battery and Energy Trust incentives can change. Verify current terms before contracting.